associate broker, abr, gri, crs & clhms mcdowell … · associate broker, abr, gri, crs &...

ASSOCIATE BROKER, ABR, GRI, CRS & CLHMS

Helene Cass

(480) 563-3333 (888) 471-9500 Online at www.MMRHOMES.com

RE/MAX FINE PROPERTIES EACH OFFICE INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

McDowell Mountain Ranch Real Estate News

Spotlight On Our Community In fact, YAM, the Center’s management company is apparently so encouraged by the improving retail environment that they’re moving forward with plans to build out the remainder of the center. The areas that will be receiving particular attention include the parcel on the corner of Bell Road and Thompson Peak Parkway which they feel will probably be attractive to a business that requires some sort of drive through option.

Long term residents of MMR will probably recall that this spot was once owned by Circle K and, at one point, was going to be devel-oped as a convenience store/gas station com-plex. Circle K eventually decided that the par-cel was too small to accommodate their needs, tried unsuccessfully to sell it off during the recession and eventually accepted an offer from the current Marketplace owners. The other area that will be receiving special attention is the pad located between the late lamented Satori and Chase Bank. This will eventually be home to either a row of smaller shops or just one larger user. In any event, we should have plenty of time

The retail sector has, once again, proven to be the source of most of the compelling news about our area. And, interestingly enough, most of that news seems to be ema-nating from the McDowell Mountain Market-place (a.k.a. Basha’s Center). There is a lone negative note to report and that’s the fact that Satori, the cozy, charming and apparently “just a bit too quiet to actually be successful” sushi shop, closed its doors at the end of August. Fortunately, that loss was immediately offset by the arrival of the Goodwill Industries Ex-press Drop Off location that’s moved into the space that had once housed Jennifer Pilates. Incidentally, Goodwill’s opening had an ancil-lary aesthetic benefit in that it resulted in the disappearance of the clothing donation boxes that were scattered about the parking lot. It will be interesting to see if any sort of sym-biotic relationship develops between Goodwill and the very upscale designer consignment shop, Finder’s Keepers, which, incidentally, is our current Business of the Month. If you haven’t been in there yet, do check it out. It’s right around the corner, next to Bashas. And speaking of Bashas, they’re in the midst of some exciting renovations themselves. When they’re done, there will be both a new Starbucks Coffee and a Soup ‘n Salad bar —two more very good new reasons to stop at the center. The Grand Opening is scheduled for October 22nd. If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Freshbox, the juice and more store that we’ve reported on in earlier editions, the con-sensus is that they’re going to be open some-time in October. The Marketplace certainly seems to be a happening place.

Vol. XVII, No. 5 September-October 2014

to acclimate ourselves to the changes; the preleasing and project approval phases are expected to take at least a year before con-struction can even get under way. Meanwhile, just up the road in DC Ranch, Whitestone REIT, the owner and manager of our own Desert Canyon Cen-ter, is proving to be rather adept at devel-oping new tenants for their Market Street venue. The Living Room Wine Café will soon be replacing the recently departed Armitage Wine Bar; PavoReal, the high-end interior design studio, has opened their doors next door to Safeway; Jalapeño Inferno, the very popular Mexican Restaurant, already doing business at Scottsdale and Pinnacle Peak Roads, is preparing to open their doors in October and DCdanceAZ, a very cool dance studio, opened in August. Despite some inconveniences, parents at Desert Canyon Elementary School seem to be taking the shortened Wednesday schedule in stride. The Scottsdale Unified School District implemented half days at most of its elementary schools this year to make up for cuts in its “specials” programs. Those cuts, which resulted in fewer art, mu-sic, PE and other classes, also meant there would be less preparatory time for the re-maining teachers. To make up for those lost hours, SUSD shortened Wednesdays for most K-5 students. Perhaps it’s a sign of our residents’ resilience and flexibility, but most parents seem to be adapting to the new schedule. There were some who moved their children to other schools, such as Sonoran Sky in Paradise Valley, Archway Classical Academy in Scotts-

(Continued on page 17)

FYI-This is actually just a conceptual Image

2 Helene’s MMR Real Estate News/September-October 2014

Eagle Ridge 16569 N 106th Street

4BR+BONUS/2.5BA 2,974 SF

Spacious Home Adjacent to Wash w/Sparkling Salt Water Pool & Moun-tain Views! New Carpeting Through-out & New Stainless Appliances Too!

$575,000

Cimarron Ridge 11291 E Caribbean Lane


Guard Gated w/Dramatic Courtyard Entry, Travertine Floors, Granite Ctrs, a Jetted Tub & Sparkling Pool. On a Wash Lot w/Mtn & City Light Views!

$1,065,000

Just Some of Our Current MMR Area Listings!

Discovery Canyon 15136 N 102nd Street

3BR/2BA 1,688SF

Amazing Remodel w/Travertine Flrs, Granite Counters & Slate-Tiled Mas-ter Bath! Flagstone Patio w/Built-In BBQ, Fire Pit, Great for Entertaining!

$367,000

Eagle Ridge 10312 E Rosemary Lane 3BR+DEN/2BA 2,367 SF

Lushly Landscaped Private Backyard w/Sparkling Fenced Pool! Office w/Custom Built-In Desk. New Carpet, Granite Kitchen and Updated Baths!

$499,900

The Overlook 16065 N 106th Way 4BR/2BA 1,972 SF

Gorgeous Kitchen w/Granite Count-ers, Cherry Cabinets, Updated Baths w/Granite, Private Yard w/Spa and a Trane 16 SEER A/C Installed in 2012!

$465,000

Windgate Ranch 9946 E Desert Jewel Drive 5BR+DEN/4.5BA 4.364 SF

Like a Model Home! Shutters & Sur-round Sound, Custom Granite Kitchen & Wood Flrs. Resort Yard w/Pebble Sheen Pool, Spa and Putting Green!

$1,249,000

The Preserve 10441 E Hillery Drive 4BR/3BA 2,132 SF

Clean as a Whistle! Located on a Cul-de-Sac St & against the Wash w/Blt-In BBQ, Misting Systm, Synthetic Grass Area, Spa & Mountain Views!

$377,500

And a Few of Our Recent Transactions

Sienna Canyon 10755 E Redfield Road

4BR/2.5BA 2,936 SF

This Split Plan is Located on a Cul-de-Sac St & Backs to a Wash w/Solar Heated Pebble Tec Pool & Spa, Rock Waterfall and BBQ! Granite Kitchen!

$580,000

Arizona Vintage 10313 E Star of the Desert Dr

3BR+LOFT/2.5BA 2,316 SF

Fabulous Floor Plan with Super-Sized Family Room! Backs to Wash w/Mtn Views, Oak Wood Flrs, Maple Cabi-nets & Low Maintenance Backyard!

$394,500

Desert Cliffs 10567 E Raintree Drive

5BR+LOFT/3BA 3,924 SF

Backs to a Wash w/Heated Pebble Tec Pool, Firepit, Built-In BBQ, Moun-tain & City Light Views! Travertine Floors, Granite Counters & it’s Gated!

$650,000

Cachet 16420 N TPP #2003 3BR/2BA 1,810 SF

This Light & Bright 2nd Floor Condo has Gorgeous Mountain Views! 2 Car Garage w/Direct Entry, Gas Fplc in the Great Room & Two Balconies!

$305,000

Trovas 16305 N 109th Way

4BR+DEN/3.5BA 3,200 SF

The Resort Backyard w/Heated Peb-ble Tec Pool & Spa, Gas Fireplace & BBQ Backs to a Wash w/Mountain Views! Granite Ctrs & Travertine Flrs!

$799,000

Our Feature Home


Fall, Real Estate’s 2nd Season, is on its Way!!!!!

Windgate Ranch 17734 N 98th Way


This Stunning Home w/Unobstructed Mountain Views Backs to a Private Wash! Gourmet Kitchen w/Stainless Appls & Granite, Custom Pool & Spa!

$1,100,000

Backs to a Wash! Mountain Views!

Castle Chase 10663 E Autumn Sage Drive

3BR/2BA 1,499 SF

Peace and Quiet! That’s what awaits you in this Lovingly Maintained, Single Level Home Built w/Block Construction in a Prime Loca-tion Adjacent to a Desert Wash w/Mountain Views! Desirable South Facing Back Yard w/Built In Gas BBQ & Sparkling Pebble Tec Pool w/Retractable Cover. Complete with Plantation Shutters Throughout, the Rear Windows have Remote Controlled Electric Sun Shades, there’s an Eat-In Kitchen with Stonite Counters, a Breakfast Bar, RO Sys-tem and Ceramic Tile Flooring. Cozy Gas Fireplace w/Mantle in the Great Room, a Murphy Bed in the 2nd Bedroom & the 3rd Bedroom has a Desk/Workstation that can Convey. This Light and Bright Great Room Plan is on a Cul-de-Sac Street in a Gated Neighborhood & is Move In Ready! There’s also a Private Community Center with a Heated Pool, Spa & Fitness Room! Call Me Today at 480-563-3333 to See this Beauty!

$415,000

Just a Few More of Our Recent Transactions

Sonoran Fairways 14075 N 106th Place

4BR+LOFT/3.5BA 3,466 SF

Gated & on the Golf Course w/Heated Pebble Tec Pool & Spectacular Mtn Views! Remodeled Kitchen & Baths, Jetted Tub & a Sitting Rm off Master!

$677,000

Trovas 11075 E Acacia Drive


Popular Floor Plan w/Curved Wall of Windows is on an Elevated Lot w/Htd Pool, Spa, Built-In BBQ & Mtn Views! Granite Cntrs, Sound & Central Vac!

$755,000

One Hundred Hills 16265 N 112th Way


This Custom Home is Nestled against the McDowells w/Htd Pebble Tec Pool, Spa & Incredible Views! Envy the Chef’s Kitchen w/2 of Everything!

$1,450,000


It was something of a surprise when the Armitage Bistro on Market Street in DC Ranch closed its doors earlier this sum-mer. After all, they had just celebrated their 10th anniversary and, generally speaking, ap-peared to be one of the more suc-cessful venues in the center. Owner Matt Ronnfeldt reports that he’s looking for a new location in the Scottsdale area. Meanwhile, the space won’t be vacant for long. The Living Room Wine Café is planning to open its doors any day now. It will be their second location. They’ve had a great run in Chandler over the last 5 years offering wine by the glass, sharable food and a “Cheers-like” atmosphere. For more information, please visit livingroomwinebar.com. It seems that we’re not the only country with an annoyingly contentious political system. Winnepeg’s mayor, Sam Katz, has been under fire at home for apparently not being certain where his primary residence is —- the U.S. or Canada. You can either believe that fairly absurd contention or the considerably more likely alternative that someone simply checked the wrong box when he purchased his vacation home in Windgate Ranch a few years ago. It seems that people will try to score political points with the most trivial stuff these days. Incidentally, in case you’re curious, I under-stand that the Maricopa County Assessor’s

Office is actively pursuing the $600 in (ad-ditional) taxes that they’re owed as a result of the error (or, if you prefer, conspiracy). Either way, we applaud his choice of vacation locales and we’re pleased to offer sanctuary whenever things get too crazy back home. If you were concerned that Scottsdale’s rate of plaudit acquisition might be slow-ing just a tad, there’s no need to worry just yet. Livability.com, a website whose ultimate goal seems to be to rate and rank every conceivable aspect of our lives, just named Scottsdale the second-best mid-sized city in the United States for "foodies". On the surface that sounds pretty cool; but the fact that we finished just behind New Haven, Connecticut, as a home for crea-tive cuisine, might have tarnished the acco-lade just a bit. The rankings examined U.S. cities by their dining options, accessibility to healthy foods, availability of locally sourced products, the number of critically acclaimed restaurants and chefs and, more revealingly, the percentage of income residents spent eating out. The Salt River-Pima Indian Community’s Riverwalk development area introduced yet another major contributor to the enter-tainment landscape last month. The new TopGolf entertainment venue, which is lo-cated just off Indian Bend Road and the 101 in the vicinity of the Talking Stick Casino, opened for business.

Depending on your perspective, this exciting new facility is either a driving range disguised as an adult party spot or vice versa. Either

Odds & Ends way, it’s a lot of fun. The place which is al-most unimaginably high-tech (they actually use microchip embedded balls to track each shot’s accuracy), has 102 bays and can ac-commodate up to 600 players at a time.

And the community is not done yet. The Odysea Aquarium, located in the same gen-eral area, is planning to start construction any day now and should open in December 2015.

The August storms that caused such extensive flooding in many parts of the valley prompted MMR resident Donna Neuhauser to request we share some tips about keeping pets safe in such situations. Her #1 rule in the event of evacuation is, obvi-ously, that NO pet should ever be left be-hind! #2 is that they should be “chipped” or wearing some sort of identification. Having established those basic principals, her top pri-orities are identifying a safe place where your pet can be cared for, designating a backup person to take care of them in your absence and assembling a pet supply kit with essentials like food, water, bowls, leashes and collars. Donna is the owner of Donna’s Golden Pet Service. If you’d like a complete list of items to include in your pet supply/first aid kit, call her at 480-862-WOOF or visit www.donnas-goldenpetservice.com.

2014


The Arizona Republic published a very revealing report on “rogue movers” over

the summer. The article was, for the most part, a warning that there are predatory com-panies out there that will promise low rates to get a consumer’s business and then hold their possessions hostage until they pay an exorbitant

ransom to secure their release. Sadly, this isn’t a particularly new phenomenon. In fact, the increased number of incidences is really just a somewhat bizarre indication that the housing market has improved.

Unfortunately, local authorities are hampered in their efforts to stamp out the problem be-cause many aspects of the business fall un-der the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Moreover, the characters in-volved tend to be mercurial in their business practices, quickly closing down once they’ve been exposed and emerging elsewhere with a new name and corporate identity.

The only real advice the AZ Republic had to offer was Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) and the suggestion that this is one of those situa-tions where going through all the appropriate steps to check out a service provider is a genuinely good idea.

The reason I’m addressing the matter here is because I wanted to add my own little codicil to the story. These movers often try to solicit customers using information that they’ve illicitly obtained from the Multiple Listing Ser-vice and they’re not at all shy about suggest-ing they were asked to contact you by your

Realtor. For the record, that would actually be viewed as a breach of ethics in the real estate industry; and, when it comes to my team, I can state unequivocally that it’s never true.

If you ask us to recommend services, we’d be pleased to share the names of vendors whom we’ve had positive dealings with over the years. However, we would never give your name directly to any service provider.

Since we began by commenting on the AZ Republic’s article, I’d like to say that I abso-lutely concur with one of the recommenda-tions offered in that article. Dirck’s Moving and Logistics, located in South Phoenix, has long been at the top of our list of preferred movers. We’ve had numerous clients use their services over the years and the feedback has never been anything but positive.

The next major event on the MMR com-munity calendar is the Oktoberfest cele-bration. It’s scheduled for 2 PM on Saturday, October 11th at the Community Center and should be a great way to kick off the string of autumn holidays that includes Halloween, the slew of harvest festivals from a number of cultural sources and which ultimately culmi-nates when the last of the Thanksgiving Tur-key has disappeared from the refrigerator.

With that in mind, we’re going to be assem-bling a pumpkin patch (or a reasonable fac-simile thereof) as our contribution to the fes-tivities. Although we may be missing the col-orful leaves and the crisp chill in the air, our temperatures should have cooled enough to

The Service You Deserve allow our imaginations to do the rest. We hope to have a profes-sional photographer on hand to create keepsake photos of your kids and we’re also going to be working closely with the folks from MMR Vendors who, conveniently enough, will be operating a pumpkin decorat-ing venue right next door.

The “not actually a football pool” that we’re sponsoring at Twisted Lizard Tavern and Grille this year formally got underway with the NFL’s seasonal kick off on Sep-tember 4th. The game itself seems to be quite popular, but it’s amazing what you have to do to insure that the folks who monitor such things don’t view the competition either as gambling (ours is theoretically a game of skill, not chance, and besides, there’s abso-lutely no cost to participate) or as directly encouraging the consumption of alcohol.

And once you’ve pleased them, you then have to step even more carefully to in-sure that you’re not violating any of the National Football League’s fairly draco-nian rules about usurping and/or inter-fering with their brand.

So please stop by “TL” any Tuesday and pick up a sheet listing a series of American cities that have been oddly paired and may or may not be somehow involved with each other


Literally a Football Pool


It would probably be helpful to begin by examining some of the factors that are helping to shape our local real estate mar-ket. For instance, it's interesting to note that the inventory of homes for sale in MMR has dropped over 20% since our last edition. We have just 69 properties on the market at the moment and, while low inventory can some-times create intense competition, and, as a result, upward pressure on prices, that has not been the case thus far.

One of the key reasons for that is that almost 45% of our available homes are priced over $600,000. That's the threshold at which the aggregate number of buyers qualified to pur-chase a home begins to recede significantly.

Although interest rates have not yet become a factor, the Fed is continuing to reduce their bond purchases and we can expect that they

will rise somewhat in the months to come. However, if history holds, we’re probably safe until the mid-term elections are over.

The chart below suggests that the mar-ket is slowing. And, in fact, our rate of appre-ciation has not only flattened out during the last few months but it’s actually declined (albeit by a statistically insignificant amount) since our last edition. Moreover, in compari-son to last year at this time, our sales are down by about 13% and the length of time it takes to find a buyer has grown by about 30%…… but our prices are up about 6%.

One phenomenon that helped contribute to the modest decline in equity growth is the number of sellers who initially included an aggressive presumption of growth in price when placing their homes on the market this past spring. Unfortunately, when that antici-

pated spurt failed to materialize, many ran out of time and ended up settling for less than they hoped for and, in fact, often somewhat less than fair market value.

Based on our own experience, the mar-ket appears solid and strong. In fact, al-though it was something of an anomaly, July and August were our team’s 2nd most suc-cessful monthly tandem this year (based on closed sales). We actually accounted for just a hair less than 20% of all the homes sold in the community in that period.

Actually when I look at the numbers and factor in both my 30+ years of professional experience and my “spidey sense”, I’d readily conclude that we’re in the midst of a fairly stable market. However, when the media looks at the same situation, they’re


The Resale Market, Analyzed

Mortgage Interest Rates

Conforming* Loans 30 Year…….4.125% 15 Year …...3.25%

5 Year ARM.…2.875% 7 Year ARM…3.25%

Jumbo* Loans 30 Year…….4.25% 15 Year …...3.75%

5 Year ARM……3.00% 7 Year ARM……3.25%

Rates effective 8-26-14 Fees vary by lender

All loans have Zero Points

*In Scottsdale, Conforming refers to loans up to $417,000 and Jumbo to larger amounts

Call your lender for Current Quotes!

Community # Sold Avg Price Avg SF DOM $/SF % Change

Cimarron Hills 15 $681,133 2,903 113 $234.22 1.52%

Panorama Point 12 $400,663 1,901 45 $212.98 0.57%

Sienna Canyon 10 $686,447 3,198 90 $216.17 1.49%

The Overlook 9 $466,000 2,309 90 $204.36 12.56%

Trovas 9 $749,056 3,229 109 $233.40 -1.37%

Cimarron Ridge 8 $772,875 3,006 88 $255.25 6.71%

Cachet 7 $264,500 1,488 84 $178.54 -1.40%

The Preserve 7 $373,500 1,761 78 $215.94 -0.44%

100 Hills 6 $934,167 3,486 65 $260.12 -2.51%

Discovery Canyon 6 $355,483 1,607 106 $222.69 10.21%

Sonoran Estates 6 $1,222,417 3,964 102 $309.17 4.10%

Arizona Vintage 5 $359,200 1,696 92 $215.93 3.93%

Armonico 5 $608,500 2,945 97 $208.66 8.01%

Castle Chase 5 $409,600 1,663 81 $246.58 8.15%

Desert Cliffs 5 $674,800 3,110 38 $225.65 10.89%

Discovery Trails 5 $366,990 1,781 77 $210.75 0.45%

Sonoran Fairways 5 $510,400 2,359 59 $219.83 7.58%

Sunrise Point 5 $466,600 1,680 51 $277.23 10.24%

Arizona Highlands 4 $509,750 2,272 36 $224.28 24.79%

Sunset Point 4 $503,475 2,482 50 $205.25 1.92%

The Ridge 3 $312,250 1,674 46 $186.53 12.01%

The Summit 3 $534,683 2,380 107 $223.14 12.62%

Vermillion Cliffs 3 $654,667 3,380 83 $197.00 -4.87%

Eagle Ridge 2 $584,950 2,915 65 $204.37 4.76%

Montecito 2 $470,000 2,396 35 $196.16 1.68%

Mirador 1 $760,000 3,129 96 $242.89 2.57%

The Ranch 152 $572,068 2,504 80 $228.50 3.58%

Please note that the overall totals for The Ranch would be the most

statistically reliable barometer because of the larger sample size

involved.

The Key: SF = square feet

$/SF = Average sales price per square foot DOM = Days on Market

% Change = the change in the value per square foot since 12/31/2013

Closed Sales By Community (January through August 2014)


apparently ready to declare that we’re in the midst of a housing slump. With all the really important news there is to report in the world, you’d think they’d relax a bit, but it seems like the real estate market is one of their favorite playthings. It’s an easy route to our heartstrings and besides, no matter what state the market may actually be in, they can always find someone who believes the con-trary is true or soon will be.

What is actually happening is that the Greater Phoenix market area is gradually working its way toward to a relatively “normal” status. The foreclosure/short sale phenomenon is virtually over which means that there are no extraordinary returns to be had on short term property flips. That, in turn, means that the speculators have all but left the market to the ordinary buyer. Since those buyers generally take considerably longer to make a purchase and when they do decide to buy, rarely plan on reselling immediately, the sales statistics are down. However, fewer speculator gener-ated sales and an appreciation rate that ap-proximates the historical norm (4%) are not reasons to be concerned, they’re reasons to celebrate.

It’s been so long since we’ve had a more or less normal market that people don’t recog-nize the condition and the media, for its part, is behaving like a degenerate gambler who misses the action and feels the need to stir things up. Normal can be nice and, personally, I’d like to try it for awhile.

Even if we were to buy into the media’s premise, it would be difficult to find a clear

(Continued from page 6)

The Resale Market, Analyzed (Cont’d) set of reasons to explain exactly why demand among the buy-to-live-in crowd would have slowed down. Most pundits have little to of-fer in the way of an analysis as to why the market might have shifted so dramatically. Instead, they seem content to rely on a col-lection of vaguely plausible but relatively tepid factors to explain the situation.

Actually, they may be right about those fac-tors having some affect on the situation but it’s hard to believe that they would actually explain why 300 million people might wake up one morning and say “ya know, I’d rather watch the World Cup than look at houses”. Particularly when most of the factors that usually drive markets like improving con-sumer confidence, low interest rates (which could be rising in the near future), pent up demand and a decent, albeit not extraordi-nary, selection of homes suggest that this market should be charging ahead.

The limited local evidence we have that there may have, in fact, been some sort of slow-down can (as we noted earlier) be found in the “% change” number shown on the chart on page 6. It indicates that values in The Ranch have only climbed about 3.58% this year versus an increase of more than 10.48% at the same time last year. Of course, the fact that 4% is pretty much the historical norm for appreciation might suggest that we should spend more time examining exactly why the market outperformed last year rather than why appreciation is lower this year.

However, even that appreciation number might be misleading when it comes to provid-ing a clear picture of how the market has ac-tually been performing of late. It’s been dis-torted by the surprisingly slow start we had at the beginning of the year. If you recall, the national weather picture was so bad in Janu-ary that it not only affected the hardest hit regions themselves but also created a spill-over effect in markets, like ours, which ordi-narily would have been immune.

If you were to look at just the six months ending in August, you’d find that they’ve been much stronger and that the appreciation rate has actually been running closer to 6%.

Personally, I’m betting that the fall months will be productive and others seem to feel similarly. We added six new listings in August and already have four more in queue for Sep-tember. That’s a pretty dramatic display of confidence in the fall market, or what most Realtor’s refer to as the “other season”.

If you’ve the patience to listen to a little “theory”, I may be able to offer enough insight about the real estate market to help you look past some of the hype. How-ever, let me warn you that this is exactly the type of material that probably caused you to drop Economics 101 in college and sign up to appear in the Student Union Frolics.

Most market analysts including Mike Orr, the Director of the W. P Carey (ASU) School of Real Estate and the statistical guru behind Cromford Associates, believe that over the long term, housing values essentially move with the rate of inflation and, despite the dra-



Resale Activity at the Ranch HOMES CURRENTLY FOR SALE

Address Subdivision Model Price Sq Ft Br Gar Pool

16600 N TPP #2031 The Ridge Heritage $263,000 1298 2 1 N

16420 N TPP #2121 Cachet Heritage $267,000 1338 2 1 N

16420 N TPP #2023 Cachet Monarch $273,600 1659 2+Den 2 N


16420 N TPP #2113 Cachet Monarch $310,000 1659 3 2 N

16600 N TPP #2031 The Ridge Monarch $314,900 1674 2+Den 2 N



10470 E Star of Desert Discovery Trails Coronado $344,000 1451 3 2 N

10345 E Star of Desert Discovery Trails Sabino $359,000 1603 3 2 N

10393 E Star of Desert Discovery Trails Sabino $359,500 1604 3 2 N

15136 N 102nd St Discovery Cyn Sunset $367,000 1688 3 2 N

15264 N 102nd St Discovery Canyon Sunrise $374,950 1451 3 2 Y

10411 E Pine Valley DR Sunset Point #1650 $395,000 1849 4 2 N

10245 E Mallow Cir The Preserve Brisas $398,000 2132 3+Den 2 N

14927 N 103rd Wy The Preserve Avalon $399,900 1702 3 2 Y

10355 E Tierra Buena Panorama Point Mariposa $409,900 1963 4 2 N

10663 E Autumn Sage Castle Chase Carlisle $415,000 1499 3 2 Y

10453 E Pine Valley Dr Sunset Point #1912 $429,900 1908 3 3 N

10851 E Le Marche Dr Castle Chase Windsor $435,000 1936 2+Den 2 N

14871 N 103rd Pl The Preserve Brisas $439,000 2132 4 3 N

10449 E Helm Dr Sunset Point $439,900 2159 4 3 N

10417 E Pine Valley Dr Sunset Point #1912 $449,900 1908 3 3 N

16056 N 106th Wy The Overlook Mesquite $465,000 1972 4 3 N

10458 E Karen Dr The Preserve Brisas $465,500 2132 4 2 Y

10437 E Helm Dr Sunset Point #1855 $475,000 2120 4 2 Y

14881 N 102nd St Discovery Canyon Palo Verde $475,000 2364 3+Den 2 Y

10278 E Bahia Dr Eagle Ridge #3335 $489,000 1998 3 2.5 Y

10376 E Acoma Dr Sunset Point #1912 $492,500 2114 3 2 N

10514 E Bahia Dr The Summit Samoa $495,000 1885 2+Den 3 Y

10312 E Rosemary Ln Eagle Ridge #3344 $499,900 2367 3+Den 2 Y

11369 E Helm Dr Sunrise Point Sierra $500,000 2043 2+Den 2 N

10340 E Acoma Dr Sunset Point #1912 $515,000 2304 3 2 N

11317 E Butherus Dr Sunrise Point Estrella $529,900 1797 2+Den 2 N

10655 E Acacia Dr Arizona Highlands Catalina $589,900 2689 3+Den 3 Y

16569 N 104th St Eagle Ridge #3355 $575,000 2974 4+Den 3 Y

10333 E Acoma Dr Sunset Point #2787 $589,000 2797 4+Loft 3 Y

11028 E Betony Dr 100 Hills Sevilla $595,000 2704 3+Den 2 N

10414 E Helm Dr Sunset Point $615,000 3021 4+Loft 3 Y

10272 E Acacia Dr Montecito Santa Barbara $625,000 3000 5+Den 2 Y

10254 E Bahia Dr Eagle Ridge #3355 $659,000 2933 5 3 Y

16742 N 109th Wy Trovas Sorrento $678,999 2600 3+Den 3 Y

10817 E Gelding Dr Sienna Canyon La Palma $679,900 2936 4 3 Y

Although the listings and transactions shown in this publication involve a variety of organizations and agents, you’ll note that all of our Team’s listings and sales are shown in BOLD TYPE on a GREEN BACKGROUND.

This data was assembled on or about 8-26-14 based on information obtained from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. The information is pre-sumed to be reliable but is not guaranteed.


Resale Activity at the Ranch (Cont’d) MORE HOMES FOR SALE


10634 E Sheena Dr Sonoran Fairways Cholla $695,000 3466 4 3 Y

10279 E Verbena Ln Montecito Presidio $719,900 3402 4+Den 3 Y

10935 E Greenway Rd Cimarron Hills Laredo $735,000 2787 4 3 Y

16457 N 103rd Pl Eagle Ridge #3375 $740,000 3462 5 3 Y

10579 E Conesion Rd Sonoran Fairways Cholla $765,000 3466 5 3 Y

11326 E Beck Ln Cimarron Hills Laredo $790,000 2787 4 3 Y

14808 N 110th Wy Mirador Solano $795,000 2836 3 3 Y

10673 E Firethorn Dr Mirador Solano $799,000 2977 3 3 Y

11503 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Andorra $799,000 4076 5+Den 3 Y

16198 N 109th St Trovas Dante $824,997 3297 3+Den 3 Y

14863 N 110th Wy Mirador Solana $835,000 3108 3+Den 3 Y

16778 N 109th Wy Trovas Lodi $939,900 4724 5+Loft 3 Y

11303 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Montilla $950,000 4060 4+Den 3 Y

11066 E Verbena Ln Trovas Dante $965,000 3300 3 3 Y

11034 E Verbena Ln Trovas Medici $1,025,000 4102 4+Den 3 Y

11291 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Montilla $1,065,000 3749 4+Den 3 Y

11400 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Montilla $1,100,000 3749 4 3 Y

11516 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Ridge Montilla $1,149,000 3908 3+Den 3 Y

11348 E Greenway Rd Cimarron Hills Laredo $1,150,000 2788 3+Den 3 Y

11303 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills Medina $1,199,999 4025 3+Den 3 Y

11356 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills $1,245,000 4464 3+Den 3 N

11368 E Winchcomb Dr Sonoran Estates $1,395,000 3933 5 3 Y

11405 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills Malaga $1,499,000 4613 3+Den 3 Y

11439 E Penstamin Dr 100 Hills Malaga $1,674,900 5721 4+Den 3 Y

PENDING & UCB TRANSACTIONS Address Subdivision Model Price Sq Ft Br Gar Pool


16600 N TPP #1029 The Ridge Legacy $324,900 1892 2+Den 2 N

10857 E Betony Dr Castle Chase Carlisle $330,000 1489 3 2 N

10249 E Karen Dr Discovery Canyon Catalina $335,000 1525 3 2 N

10318 E Le Marche Dr Arizona Vintage Bordeaux $355,000 1478 3 2 N

10270 E Blanche Dr Discovery Canyon Scenic $370,000 1837 4 2 N

15644 N 102nd Wy Panorama Point Mariposa $389,000 1963 4 2 N

10562 E Morning Star Dr Panorama Point Ironwood $439,000 2655 4+Den 3 N

10599 E Morning Star Dr Panorama Point Ironwood $459,000 2726 4 3 N

10350 E Bahia Dr Eagle Ridge #3344 $479,000 2367 3 2 Y

10572 E Meadowhill Dr Sonoran Fairways $489,000 2077 4 3 N

14891 N 107th Way Desert Cliffs #6040 $584,900 2351 4 3 Y

14023 N 106th Pl Sonoran Fairways Ironwood $675,000 2346 4 3 Y

14219 N 109th St Sienna Canyon Talavera $699,000 4000 5 2 Y

16265 N 108th Wy Vermillian Cliffs $709,900 3098 4 3 Y

** UCB is short for “Under Contract – Backups”. That there’s an accepted contract on the property but the sellers have requested that the home con-tinue to be marketed in hopes of getting backup offers. As a practical mat-ter, these listing receive little, if any, attention within the real estate commu-nity. However, when inventory grows very scarce, there is a possibility that they might draw some interest.


Resale Activity at the Ranch (Cont’d) PENDING & UCB TRANSACTIONS


11456 E Blanche Dr Cimarron Ridge Sevilla $725,000 2784 Y 2 Y

10917 E Raintree Dr Desert Cliffs #6090 $739,900 3924 5 3 Y

11074 E Verbena Ln Trovas Verona $799,000 2826 3+Den 3 Y

16305 N 109th Wy Trovas Alessi $799,000 3200 4+Den 2 Y

16414 N 109th St Vermillian Cliffs #932-5 $799,000 3348 4+Den 3 Y

11543 E Caribbean Ln Cimarron Hills Andorra $1,175,000 4069 4 3 Y

11215 E Paradise Ln 100 Hills $1,249,900 3497 5 3 Y

16229 N 115th Pl 100 Hills Custom $2,195,000 6555 4+Den 4 Y

CLOSED SALES (JULY & AUGUST) Address Subdivision Model Price Sq Ft Br Gar Pool


16420 N TPP #1037 Cachet Legacy $262,500 1737 2 2 N

10457 E Karen Dr The Preserve Sontera $279,000 1222 3 2 N

16420 N TPP #1124 Cachet Legacy $320,000 1737 2+Den 2 N

10222 E Blanche Dr Discovery Canyon Sunrise $339,000 1481 3 2 N

10496 E Penstamin Dr Discovery Trails Catalina $353,000 1504 3 2 N

10322 E Karen Dr Discovery Canyon Scenic $369,400 1837 4 2 N

14960 N 102nd St Discovery Canyon Scenic $370,000 1837 4 2 N

10441 E Hillery Dr The Preserve Brisas $377,500 2132 4 2 N

10612 E Tierra Buena The Overlook Primrose $389,000 1679 3 2 N

10313 E Star of Desert Arizona Vintage Chablis $394,500 2316 3+Loft 2 N

10448 E Acoma Dr Sunset Point $399,000 2159 4 3 Y

10819 E Le Marche Dr Castle Chase Helmsley $409,000 1681 3 2 N

15709 N 104th Pl Panorama Point Mariposa $410,000 1963 3+Den 2 N

15902 N 107th Pl Castle Chase Stirling $420,000 1701 2+Den 2 Y

10556 E Tierra Buena Ln The Overlook Mesquite $462,500 2152 4 2 N

10407 E Sheena Dr Sonoran Fairways Mesquite $480,000 2016 3 2 Y

16544 N 105th St AZ Highlands Santan $495,000 2161 3+Den 3 Y

16032 N 106th Wy The Overlook Palo Verde $500,000 2421 4 3 Y

10551 E Karen Dr Cimarron Hills Valencia $520,000 2459 3 2 N

10338 E Pine Valley Dr Sunset Point #2787 $520,000 2797 4+Loft 3 Y

10850 E Palm Ridge Dr Sienna Canyon Catalina $548,000 2738 4 3 N

15053 N 114th Wy Cimarron Ridge Sevilla $560,000 2656 3 3 N

10755 E Redfield Rd Sienna Canyon La Palma $580,000 2936 4 3 Y

10945 E Betony Dr 100 Hills Sevilla $610,000 2629 Sevilla 3 N

10402 E Helm Dr Sunset Point $625,000 3064 4+Den 3 Y

16550 N 108th St Armonico Santana $625,000 3098 4 3 Y

10374 E Bahia Dr Eagle Ridge #3375 $640,000 3462 5+Den 3 Y

10567 E Raintree Dr Desert Cliffs #6090 $650,000 3924 5+Loft 3 Y

Full disclosure requires that we advise you that these lists were assembled on 8-26-2014. Accom-modating our newsletter production schedule required us to forgo a few days worth of data from the end of the month. Hopefully, it won’t have a material impact on the resulting stats.


Resale Activity at the Ranch (Cont’d) CLOSED SALES (CONT’D)


10832 E Bahia Dr Armonico Montana $662,500 2994 4 3 Y

14075 N 106th Pl Sonoran Fways Cholla $677,000 3466 4+Loft 3 Y

10693 E Raintree Dr Desert Cliffs #6090 $739,000 3924 5+Loft 3 Y

11067 E Acacia Dr Trovas Verona $745,000 2826 3+Den 3 Y

11075 E Acacia Dr Trovas Dante $755,000 3415 3+Den 3 Y

16674 N 111th St Trovas Alessi $757,500 2958 4 3 Y

10988 E Winchcomb Dr Sienna Canyon Talavera $790,000 3801 5 3 Y

11047 E Mirasol Cir 100 Hills Morena $860,000 3509 4 3 Y

11416 E Winchcomb Dr Sonoran Estates $1,140,000 3700 5 3 Y

11344 E Winchcomb Dr Sonoran Estates Saguaro $1,175,000 3700 4+Den 3 Y

14065 N 111th Pl Sonoran Estates Saguaro $1,359,500 4335 5+Den 3 Y

16265 N 112th Wy 100 Hills Custom $1,450,000 4549 3+Den 3 Y

* The Closed Rentals listed above represent less than half of those that actually closed in MMR dur-ing the last two months. For a complete list, please visit our website and check the Web Postscripts to this newsletter for more detail.

ACTIVE RENTALS Address Subdivision Model Price Sq Ft Br Gar Pool

10437 E Penstamin Dr Discovery Trails Sabino $1,800 1622 3+Den 2 N

10615 E Firewheel Dr The Overlook $1,825 1770 3 2 N



11357 E Helm Dr Sunrise Point Estrella $2,200 1797 2+Den 2 N

16526 N 105th St Arizona Highlands Pinnacle $2,450 1859 3 3 Y

10322 E Acoma Dr Sunset Point #2797 $2,750 2797 4 3 Y

10346 E Morning Star Dr Panorama Point Ironwood $2,875 2711 4+Den 3 Y

16742 N 109th Wy Trovas Sorrento $3,088 2600 3+Den 3 Y

16457 N 103rd Pl Eagle Ridge #3375 $3,350 3462 5 3 Y

11067 E Acacia Dr Trovas Verona $3,500 2826 3+Den 3 Y

10888 E Karen Dr Cimarron Hills Montilla $3,500 3749 3+Den 3 N

10848 E Meadowhill Dr Sonoran Estates $3,700 3658 4+Den 3 Y

11066 E Verbena Ln Trovas Dante $4,000 3300 3 3 Y

CLOSED RENTALS (JULY & AUGUST) * Address Subdivision Model Price Sq Ft Br Gar Pool

15301 N 104th Wy The Preserve Montana $1,649 1504 3 2 N

10317 E Penstamin Dr Discovery Trails $1,675 1550 3 2 N

15915 N 102nd Pl Arizona Vintage Merlot $1,700 1347 3 2 N

10324 E Star of Desert Arizona Vintage Bordeaux $1,700 1478 3 2 N

10271 E Hillery Dr Discovery Canyon Sunrise $1,750 1481 $3 2 N

10494 E Star of the Desert Discovery Trails Sabino $1,750 1622 3 2 N

14949 N 104th Pl The Preserve Brisas $1,825 2132 3+Den 2 N


10372 E Raintree Dr The Preserve Avalon $1,900 1702 3 2 N


El Mercadito


Market Analysis (Cont’d)

The data used to create these reports was obtained from public records and extracted under license from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc (ARMLS). Cromford Associates LLC, Re/MAX Fine Properties, Helene’s Team and ARMLS expressly dis-claim and make no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, as to the accuracy of the data used or the merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. These reports were copyrighted in 2014 by Cromford Associates LLC.

matic changes in market values like the run up before the recession and the contraction after, the true value of real estate, in general, really always reflects the inflationary curve. The chart immediately below is one that Mike prepared for a conference earlier this year and it pretty solidly demonstrates that fact.

The theory suggests that, in general, the real reason why real estate is such an extraordi-nary investment is not that its increasing in value faster than other sectors of the econ-omy but because homeowners are generally so amazingly well leveraged.

Viewed in its simplest terms, a 4% annual increase in value on a $400,000 home gener-ate a (paper) yield of $16,000 each year. This actually represents a 20% return on the hypo-

(Continued from page 7) chart for McDowell Mountain Ranch and it revealed one of the key differences between the behavior of the broader market and how the choice of where you live can affect your return on investment.

If you take a look at the MMR-centric chart in the lower left hand corner of the page, you’ll note that although our community’s numbers did, at one point, drop down to that theoreti-cal inflationary baseline, they never fell below it and, in fact, reaching it was the trigger to resume growth.

That means that although individual home-owners might have suffered significantly (and in some cases, I’m sorry to say, quite tragi-cally), the community itself never actually lost any real value. We simply gave back some of our unrealized profits.

By the way, just when we thought we might be close to putting all the recession related mortgage issues behind us, it seems that there’s something new to worry about. Borrowers have suddenly be-gun missing payments on home equity lines of credit they took out during the housing bubble, and that could deal another blow to some of the country's biggest banks.

The loans are becoming a problem because many are just beginning to reach their 10-year anniversary, which is the point when borrow-ers often must start paying down the principal as well as the interest that they’ve been pay-ing all along. More than $221 billion of these loans are due to hit this mark over the next four years and that represents about 40 per-cent of all the home equity lines of credit cur-rently outstanding.

For a typical consumer, this change could actually cause their monthly payment to triple and because these loans usually have floating interest rates, those payments could rise fur-ther when the Fed does eventually hike rates.

Of course, there are also scenarios out there where everything works out fine. For in-stance, if economic growth continues to pick up and home prices rise, borrowers may be able to refinance and roll their existing mort-gage and home equity lines of credit into a single new fixed-rate loan. Let’s hope!

thetical $80,000 in cash (the traditional 20% down payment) that you originally invested. Moreover, since an investment in personal shelter is most often made for a longer term, a homeowner would probably earn many mul-tiples of the one year return we used in our example before deciding to take their (generally tax free) proceeds.

Of course, a home is not a bond with a fixed rate of return and the actual yield is always subject to the affects of supply and demand at the time of sale — a fact, we had rein-forced for us during the recession. However, just as importantly, marketplaces are not ho-mogeneous. They are composed of a series of micro markets which may perform some-what differently than the overall market.

To demonstrate the premise, I asked Mike Orr to prepare the same inflationary curve


Our Featured Business

Finder’s Keepers only opened its doors in the McDowell Mountain Marketplace (a.k.a. the Bashas Center) in early June. However, it already seems destined to be-come a favorite of MMR residents with an eye for style and value in women’s clothing.

The boutique is an upscale, designer consign-ment shop and owner, Terri Sheehy, prides herself in merchandising women’s and teen clothing, accessories and shoes not only at incredible prices but in new or “like new” condition. Terri estimates that about 30% of her merchandise still has the tags on it and, in fact, goes to great lengths to authenticate any item that comes into her shop without them. That attention to detail has earned her quite a following among both consignors and shop-pers!

It all began back in February 2013. After hav-ing worked at Copper Ridge school for 6 years, Terri was looking for something new and happened upon an article on the business of consigning. She was intrigued by the busi-ness model, particularly the part about inven-tory coming to you. It occurred to her that many of the women she had met at Copper Ridge often “purged their closets” to make room for the new; and the thought of partner-ing with them, of having them supply inven-tory for her store and paying them a portion of the sale once their item(s) sold, was really exciting to envision.

With a supply of fabulous quality clothing and accessory items from her contacts, Terri

opened Finders Keepers in February 2013 in a small facility just north of the Scottsdale Quarter. Her business thrived and grew. One key to her success was her decision to focus on being of service to the consignor rather than on just moving inventory and haggling with buyers. That approach insured that she would have a continuous supply of high end merchandise to offer and that, coupled with extensive word of mouth, insured that the buyers would find her.

Actually, things went so well that she quickly realized she was going to need additional space to fulfill her goals and that’s where the McDowell Mountain Marketplace entered the picture. They not only offered the additional space she needed but access to foot traffic that she hadn’t enjoyed before.

Terri is excited to welcome MMR residents into her shop. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and there are some incredible deals to be had. Designer handbags and jeans fly off the racks and include designers Michael Kors, Coach, Brighton, Kate Spade and True Relig-ion, Paige, Rock and Republic and more. Ac-cessories include fun, unique reading glasses, David Yurman necklaces, jewelry by Gunni

Belle (whose designer actually lives in DC Ranch) and even Maddie & Me charm brace-lets who generously donate a portion of their proceeds to rare cancer research.

Terri’s is absolutely the PERFECT place to go for those “wear one time” formal dresses that can cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere. The cocktail and formal long dresses she has are beautiful, and the chance of someone else having the same dress at your event is slim. It’s simple — need that nice cocktail dress for the holidays? Want to keep your spending for high school dances/prom some-what under control? Think Terri’s!

Conversely, those of us who have unworn or rarely worn items in our closets should abso-lutely consider consigning them to Terri. The process is really quite simple. If you have just a few items, you can stop in any time to have Terri evaluate them; or, if you have a bunch, just call ahead to set up an appointment. When your items sell, Terri will pay you (the consignor) 50%. And she does not have the policy of discounting items every few days until they do sell like many other consignment shops do. She will, however, mark things down as they become out-of-season.

On Thursdays, Terri hosts “Wine & Consign” events from 5-7. Stop on in with your items you’d like her to consider for consignment, have a glass of wine and take a look around. You are sure to find some real gems and pos-sibly make some money in the process!

Bottom line is that Finders Keepers is a great place to shop (and consign) if you like to get great value for reasonable prices. Shopping at Terri’s is truly a win-win for all involved.


The once futuristic idea of a electroni-cally managed home has actually become a reality if you’re discussing new construc-tion and are blessed with a generous budget. What has been somewhat surprising though is how slow we’ve been to take ad-vantage of the new tools that are available for retrofitting our current homes. It does, how-ever, seem like that process may be picking up speed….at long last.

In all fairness, homes have been getting smarter for some time. Most use automated sprinkler systems, programmed water soften-ers, pool filters and programmed security systems. Even those low-voltage outdoor lighting systems come with simple mechani-cal timers. What is changing is that all these functions are now becoming connected via home networks, phones, tablets and com-puters.

Already, refrigerators can remind you to pick up milk or beer on the way home from work via your smart phone. The LG CES lets you shop for food directly from a screen on the front door of the appliance. Heck, the fridge can even send a recipe over to your LG smart oven. (Personally, I’m uncomfortable with the fridge talking to the stove; what if they stage a coup?)

The potential is probably limitless. Someday LED-based paints may even allow you to change wall colors using your tablet or phone. Now that one may be a while coming and with TVs now exceeding 80 inches, painting the wall at all might prove an anachronism.

In terms of practicality and cost effective-ness, the best place to kick off your participa-tion in the evolutionary process is probably by

The Home Technology Evolution advantage? They generally cost over $200.

Next on the priority list when it comes to par-ticipating in the great home technology meta-morphosis is probably to embrace systems for climate control. These allow homeowners to either reduce energy use when they’re not home, to cool only the bedrooms while they’re asleep or to focus the cooling power on other parts of the house that are generally in use during the day. They can be quite cost-effective and many are even able to control secondary components like variable lighting and motorized shades.

While homeowners can easily install locks and the more basic climate control systems, some of the latest smart home technologies actually require more expensive professional installations. In fact, Angie’s List reports that more extensive systems, which can include options ranging from phone or tablet-controlled security to massive audio-visual systems that turn homes into luxury theaters, can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $200,000 to install.

There are a couple of nearby businesses like VIA and SmartHome Solutions that will install these larger, more complex systems for you. In fact, now that the recession is largely be-hind us, this is becoming a major growth in-dustry. According to the research firm Berg Insight, the market for these systems is ex-pected to exceed $9 billion by 2015. That’s up from just under $2 billion in 2010.

The bells and whistles are fun to contem-plate; but remember, before you can enjoy any of this new technology, you have to be able to get into the house. Just ask my neighbor.

insuring and securing access to your home. In fact, a neighbor told me a story the other day that certainly helps makes a case as to why access to technology could come in handy. He returned home one afternoon after having been away for a couple of hours to find his wife in severe distress and futilely pounding on the back door. It seems that their son had inadvertently locked his mom, who had been swimming when they left the house, outside in 108° heat with no way back in.

Even if you don’t have a befuddled child to contend with, there are plenty of other ways to wind up stuck outside of your own home. The popular solution has always been to hide keys under the mat, in fake sprinkler heads or under faux rocks, but that creates a vulner-ability that not everyone is comfortable with. Until recently, the only real alternative was to install keyless Schlage or Kwikset locks – sold for $80 to $200 at Lowe’s and Home Depot – on the front doors.

However, today those mechanical alterna-tives are being bypassed in favor of more advanced electronic methods that allow resi-dents to unlock their deadbolts using their phones’ Bluetooth connection. The advan-tage? You can share the electronic “key” with friends, family, or the cat sitter. The dis-


The tenth annual Tour de Scottsdale will be held on Sunday, October 12, 2014. The event kicks off at Market Street in DC Ranch and features the traditional 70-mile ride and a 30-mile “citizen’s ride”. The funds raised from this event provide support for the work of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy (MSC). In fact, The Tour is actually one of the primary annual fundraising events for MSC. In addition to their financial contribution, the Tour also offers one of the best opportunities the MSC has to engage with our neighbors. We not only work directly with the DC Ranch staff and residents who organize most of The Tour activities, but there’s also interaction with communities, like McDowell Mountain Ranch, which border the Preserve and host substantial portions of The Tour’s route. These occasions allow us the chance to broaden community support for the Preserve itself and the overall goals of the MSC. In essence, The Tour provides a wonderful vehi-cle for spreading our message and for con-necting communities. The funds that support the MSC’s continued stewardship of the McDowell Sonoran Pre-serve are derived from both sponsorships and registration fees. This year, Lexus is the “presenting sponsor” for The Tour and Oliver Smith Jewelers is sponsoring the 30-mile citizen’s ride. The Faster Cycle Shop, Spooner Physical Therapy, PMT Ambulance,

Scottsdale Healthcare and Safeway are also sponsors and each has donated generously to help maintain the McDowell Sonoran Pre-serve for the benefit of future generations. The maintenance of the Preserve is the for-mal responsibility of a public-private partner-ship between the City of Scottsdale and MSC. MSC’s role is wide-ranging, and in-cludes conducting patrols, doing trail mainte-nance and providing educational programs for the public.

Between 1998 and 2013, Conservancy-trained volunteers contributed more than 270,000 hours of service and MSC is re-garded as a leader in the field of stewardship. They are, in fact, a primary resource for groups from around the country who contact them regularly to learn about their methods. Services of this sort would simply not be pos-sible without donations from a variety of sources, including The Tour and its sponsors. Tour funds have also been critical to the for-mation and success of the McDowell Sono-ran Field Institute. The Institute is the scien-tific research arm of the Conservancy, dedi-cated to the study and preservation of the natural and human history of the Preserve. It

partners with professional scientists and in-volves volunteers in research programs as citizen scientists. The volunteers do field work, data entry, basic analysis, mapping, and other tasks under staff or scientific supervi-sion and the results are used for long-term resource management, education and to con-tribute to the broader scientific knowledge of natural areas. The first program using this model started in 2008 when a group of volunteers recruited a member of the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) to assist them with an informal inves-tigation of the geology in a small area of the Preserve. Their work ultimately led to the publication of two papers, one of which was actually the first paper ever submitted with non-geologists as the principal authors. More recently, the Field Institute published The Flora and Fauna of Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve, containing the first com-prehensive survey of the Preserve ever. If you’re interested, it’s currently available on our website, www.mcdowellsonoran.org. Quite obviously, we encourage you to sup-port The Tour and the Conservancy. To learn more about The Tour and its relationship with MSC, we invite you to visit www.tourde-scottsdale.net. And to learn more about MSC itself, try www.mcdowellsonoran.org or our new Wikipedia page, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDowell_Sonoran_Conservancy. We hope to see you on October 12th. This feature was contributed by MMR area resident Jace McKeighan. Jace is a volunteer steward with the McDowell Sonoran Conser-vancy and a partner in the law firm of Dicarlo, Caserta, McKeighan & Phelps PLC.

The Tour de Scottsdale Supports MSC


Spotlight (Cont’d)

dale and even the new BASIS elementary charter school in downtown Phoenix, but such moves happen every year. Most parents have left their kids at DCES, perhaps because there are many stay-at-home or work-at-home parents or because of the fairly large number of new after-school options. Although the most common solution to the 1 p.m. release time is for children to simply go home, many parents are relying on district-provided solutions, which offer fee-based after-school programs. For the first time, the district published all the after-school programs in a single booklet, which is much better than the usual wad of crumpled flyers that travel home in student backpacks. Wednesday’s programs include Spanish, ipad, dance and yoga, karate and art classes. Kids Club, which is a more general-ized afterschool program, is offering special early release day rates. And if those don’t work, the YMCA, Scotts-dale Park District and the Boys and Girls Club offer various programs, though each has dif-ferent transportation issues and solutions. Whether the shortened days are here to stay is not yet clear. A lot depends on the school bond override vote in November, which would provide about $11.5 million more fund-ing to Scottsdale Unified School District cof-fers in the 2105-2016 school year. Notre Dame Prep is pushing hard to complete its new sports complex. As you can see from the photo at the center of the page, they’ve progressed far enough to have

(Continued from page 1) installed the synthetic turf playing surface for the football field. The next steps are the installation of the lights and the stands; and, if everything falls into place as expected, the school is hoping to be able to say goodbye to Scottsdale Com-munity College which has served as its home field since 2002 and finish up their fall football schedule at the new facility.

The Sports Complex, which also includes facilities for track, soccer and lacrosse, is the second phase of a three part multi-million-dollar construction project that was kicked off by adding a campus access road, parking lots and infrastructure and will ultimately conclude with the construction of a performing and fine arts center. The Sports Complex will be named for Scot Bemis, the coach who started the school’s football program but who sadly passed away at age 45 from lung cancer.

We do have a modest update for those who have expressed interest in Villas Alto-zano, the townhouse style condominiums that are planned for the area adjacent to Windgate Crossing. Stephen Troth, the VP

of Sales and Marketing for Standard Pacific Homes, explained why they haven’t shared much information with the public thus far. It seems that, as a matter of corporate policy, they are reluctant to provide detailed informa-tion on a new project under development when they have an existing project nearby that still has product for sale.

Standard Pacific is still marketing the Villas at DC Ranch (located at 94th Street and Legacy Boulevard), but they hope to be able to offer information to prospective buyers on the new project “later in the 4th quarter”.

If you were driving east on Bell Road in the vicinity of the water storage tanks last month, you might’ve thought that you'd encountered some sort of alien life form. In truth, it was just a new Verizon cell tower in the early phases of construction. It’s now completed and those with discerning tastes will probably say it resembles a sa-guaro with access to a supply of the types of drugs that dishonorable ath-letes often tend to favor. The good news is that Veri-zon believes that the installation will mean that resi-dents of Arizona H i g h l a n d s , Armonico, The Summit, Vermillion Cliffs and other nearby areas will be experiencing a dis-tinct improvement in their cellular service.



Service You Deserve (Cont’d) nance. If you’re curious, copies of these items can be found on our website.

Trulia and Zillow, the two largest inter-net based “home-listing providers”, have announced that they will be merging. De-pending on their perspective and the efficacy of their medication, this is being viewed by members of the real estate industry as either the beginning of the end for traditional sales or the formal launch of a new more sophisti-cated resource that will benefit everybody. Those with apocalyptic tendencies see it as leading to some sort of an Amazonization (is that even a word?) of the industry. On the other hand, those with foresight see it as the pathway to better consumer experience.

I’m expecting the latter; but, quite honestly, I thought it would’ve been the competition between these two giants that would lead to the most exciting innovations. Now that they’re merging, I suspect their short term focus will more likely be on reorganization and cutting costs than improving services.

In any event, I don’t see anything really worri-some about the merger. Housing is simply not an easily merchandised commodity and both organizations have already proven that it’s simply not possible to write an algorithm that can provide accurate pricing (just check the pending lawsuits out there), nor can they effectively negotiate a deal, provide advice and counsel or replace any of the myriad other services that Realtor’s provide.

Still, there are probably changes coming, but I’m betting that the industry will adapt and prosper. Information and service providers are almost always allies; not adversaries.

LOOKING BACK AT THE RANCH

Just 5 Years Ago* September 2009— The Bajada Nature Trail at the Gateway Center was formally opened to the public. Over Easy and 18°

opened their doors over in the Ice Den. Café Porto-bello celebrated its first anni-versary with Bill Wallace and Kari Kinney at the helm. We added Linda Hilgendorf,

then an MMR resident, to our Team as a Transaction Coordinator. Real estate prices had dropped 17.63% during the first nine months of the year and would con-tinue their downward spiral for about an-other 18 months. We debuted the cur-rent version of our website.

About 10 Years Ago* September 2004 — The design process for the “new” Arabian Library resumed after having been on hold for a year be-cause of budget woes. The fence that had been erected by Toll Brothers to re-strict public access to what is now the Gateway section of the Preserve was dis-mantled after the City of Scottsdale paid an extraordinary ransom to purchase the prop-erty. Jessica Knits opened their doors in the Desert Canyon Center Woodside Homes began selling homes at Trail’s North (on Paradise Lane and 98th Street) to registrants on their waiting list of over 900 names. Our newsletter expanded from 12 to 16 pages. * As gleaned from our newsletter archives

during the course of the subsequent week. Trust me, the game is a great deal more fun than it sounds on paper.

It’s election time and just about the only thing that everyone seems to agree on is that there just has to be a better way to promote candidates than with those darn signs. Frankly, I tend to agree; but, with war chests for races like the city council so small, the signs are probably the only economically viable option for creating name recognition for those involved. Overall, it’s probably a fairly small price to pay to have some say about how we’re governed.

As to the HOA’s role in this area, House Bill 2695, which became law this spring, spells out their limitations rather clearly. In general, an HOA can’t prohibit a homeowner from displaying a sign anywhere on their property (other than on the roof). They can, however, limit the time they can be displayed to 71 days before the election and 3 days after and they can limit the number and the size.

Our HOA hasn’t promulgated any specific rules beyond those spelled out by the basic state statute, A.R.S. 33-1808, the amend-ments in HB 2695 or Scottsdale’s own ordi-



Of course, the garden club will still have to approach the city about using the land for this project; but, with the SUSD on board, the remaining h u r d l e s somehow seem con-s ide rab l y less formi-dable. By the way, in order to enter into contractual agreements with the school district and city, the club will need to formally organize itself as a nonprofit entity.

If you’re interested, you can help to move the project along by volunteering your time. The club is looking for people interested in helping out with marketing, fundraising and other related efforts. Please visit mmrgarden.org to sign up for their newsletter or to contact the group for more information.

As has been customary in recent years, the Homeowner’s Association didn’t have a formal meeting scheduled for July. How-ever, at their August meeting, they did an-nounce that the new Safeguard security sys-tem was operational. There are now cameras in place in and around the pool areas (they’re actually the globes shown in the adjacent photo) to discourage potential vandalism.

The timing of the in-stallation turned out to be providential

Spotlight (Cont’d)

The opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent those of RE/MAX Fine Properties. Similarly, neither articles nor adver-tisements should be construed as endorsements of any product, person, company or service.

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS WITH US Find out how advertising with us can help your business to become more visible to potential customers. Call Kathi at

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Speaking of driving, it’s nice to be able to report that the work on the intersection of Thompson Peak Parkway and Paradise Lane has been completed. Unfortunately, I’m such a creature of habit that I’m still react-ing with stunned surprise whenever the new traffic signals appear on the horizon.

Although this intersection certainly needed attention, the solution still seems to have left some users a bit uncer-tain about the best way to navi-gate their way through it. I’m not really sure what could have been done differently; but, hopefully, any residual confusion will disap-pear as people become more accustomed to the layout.

The MMR Community Garden Group made some significant progress last month. They met with SUSD Superintendent Dr. David J. Peterson and Desert Canyon School Principal Dale Link, and both agreed that the project would not only be a good use of their property and a benefit to the commu-nity in general but that it would also advance the school district’s mission and goals.

If things work out as discussed, the district would lease the garden site (which is located just east of the school’s “north” baseball field and west of 104th Street) to the club for a nominal fee.


This newsletter is printed on Recycled Paper

Helene can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

RE/MAX Fine Properties Is located at 21000 N. Pima Road Suite 100 Scottsdale, Arizona 85255

WebPostscript -This symbol indicates that additional information on this subject is available on our website. Visit www.MMRHomes.com, click on the “my newsletter”

selection on the menu bar and scroll down the newsletter home page. You’ll find a number of additional PDF files for review.

The best way to get truly timely information about our community is to visit our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MMRhomes. Much of the in-formation reported in this Newsletter on a bi-monthly basis is posted there virtually as it happens.

since the association is about to embark on a project that will involve resurfacing the decks and remodeling the bathrooms at both com-munity pools.

They're also considering another enhance-ment to the security system and that’s an upgrade of the access card readers. It ap-pears that the existing devices aren’t working as well as hoped with the newer cards. General Manager Mike Woolington also re-ported that he’s in the process of testing LED lights that use a fraction of the energy of the compact fluorescent bulbs currently in use along our paved trail system. Considering that there are 233 lights along those trails, that could potentially result in significant energy savings. Moreover, if the new lights do work out, there’s an added benefit in that they’re expected to last considerably longer.

Another active experiment involves one of the picnic tables near the Community Center. It’s been re-paneled with a wood alternative called Trex, which is often used on back-yard decks. The goal is to try to make the tables more comfortable and to freshen up their appearance. If you’re in the area, please take a moment to check them out and let Mike know what you think of the new look.

Other maintenance concerns discussed in-cluded the need to trim the trees around the community center (they didn’t fare very well during the recent Monsoon rains) and the possibility of installing sod over the Commu-nity Center lawn to improve the area’s ap-pearance during the summer. It seems that the current approach of over seeding with winter Rye grass makes it hard for the Ber-muda grass to assert itself.

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