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Karen Bosch is new COO of Luxury Home Tours
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
When Karen Bosch is not selling homes as an agent af�iliated with the North Scottsdale of�ice of Coldwell-Banker Realty, she spends her spare time operating as the COO of Luxury Home Tour. That’s an organization that encourages networking among different real estate �irms and touring homes of “architectural signi�icance” in Paradise Valley, Phoenix and Scottsdale. “I got my real estate license in 2004 in Paradise Valley and I was very aware of the Luxury Home Tour and I attended it on my own as an agent,” Bosch said. “I liked the integrity of the tour and the knowledge it imparted to the agents on the tour. We learned a lot about �inishes, current trends and all kinds of things.” Bosh was hooked from the start and knew she wanted to continue her involvement with the tour. “I later decided to volunteer after attending the tour and working at the lunch house, then in 2013 I was brought on as a tour director and a year later I was nominated and elected as a tour chair,” Bosch said. “Since then, I have served on the board in various capacities like the nominating, transition and �inance committees.” While the tour has introduced her to some of the city’s �inest homes, she also �inds its organization worthwhile for another reason. “It’s a really invaluable organization with two separate entities: the tour and the corporation,” she said. “On the corporation side, we contributed $15,000 to local charities like Detour Company Theatre, Arizona Pet Project and Teen Lifeline and many more, so there is the component where we are giving back to our community.” She also enjoyed learning about the tour’s history. “The tour was started in 1982 and it was mainly to gain access to properties that agents weren’t able to access and still have trouble accessing,” Bosch said. “We’re composed of about 100 af�iliate members that are title companies, lenders, designers and inspectors and the other 600 members are Realtors.”
While Bosch did notice a drop in attendance during the early days of the pandemic, she is seeing a steady return
towards normalcy within the tour. “Prior to the pandemic we had 200 in-person attendees to our events, but now we are seeing 140 in-person attendees and 20 additional via zoom,” she said. “There was a bit of a slowdown when the pandemic was declared in March of 2020, but we quickly grouped to create zoom meetings and virtual home tours to continue our work until people were comfortable to reconvene in person.” While the tour is beginning to feel normal again, it is having to function during an abnormal housing market. “There is still a limited inventory with a lower inventory than in the past,” Bosch said. “There are de�initely more buyers than properties to show.” Bosch also says the in�lux of jobs into Arizona has impacted the luxury housing market. “There’s also an in�lux of jobs to the state that are bringing in all kinds of executives,” she said. “Arizona is now attracting buyers from all over the world due to our great infrastructure, population and taxes. Couple that with the retirement and weather component – all of that appeals to people.” Bosch says that could impact the base price for homes featured on the tour. “We currently have a minimum sale price of $1.25 million but there has been discussion about raising that price since the market has escalated,” she said. However, she does foresee one upcoming change that could cool the market down. “Interest rates are still low and will continue to stay low however it recently came out that interest rates are going to shoot back up on second homes beginning April 1, so we will see how that impacts the luxury home market,” Bosch said. Even with the rising home prices, Bosch is still blown away by the beauty of the homes on the tour. “It still takes my breath away with how many experiences there are on our tour and there are so many architecturally unique properties,” she said. While most people would love to see the homes on tour, there are certain criteria one must meet in order to become a member of the Luxury Home Tour including being a licensed and registered real estate agent. “Guests can also only go on the tour twice with a realtor member but then they are required to become a member of the tour. We try to maintain the integrity and privacy of homeowners and showcase their properties to the top agents in the valley,” she said. “We also ask that no photography be completed on the tour unless permitted by listing agents.” Bosch is excited to see how the tour grows over the next year and believes it is a model for other markets across the country. “The Luxury Home tour is a model for other states and there are not many places in the country that have this type of organization that puts a lot of energy into its agents, the education and the integrity of the luxury market. I’m very proud to be a part of it,” she said.
Information: luxuryhometour.com
Karen Bosch is the COO of Luxury Home Tour and an agent affi liated with Coldwell Banker Realty in North Scotts-
dale. (Special to the Progress)
