Homebuyers looking for luxury living are taking note of the Old Pueblo.
Compared to markets such as Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, high-end homes are seen as affordable in the Tucson area and come with a more relaxed lifestyle than those in Maricopa County.
A record-breaking sale recently closed on a 6,788-square-foot home in the Catalina Foothills with a price tag of $7.48 million.
The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home with a 75-foot lap pool was a speculative build by local builder, and seller, Monty Bartholomew of Real Exquisite Estates & Properties LLC, who worked with local architect William Gansline.
Long Realty brokers Jessica and Randy Bonn marketed the house based on renderings.
“We were showing the site before the foundation was laid,” Randy Bonn said. “The renderings were a huge factor for potential buyers. They helped people see past the dirt to what was coming.”
The sales price was the highest recorded in Tucson and an all-time high for 98-year-old Long Realty.
“Tucson is a small, big city and has a lot of appeal,” said Renee Gonzales, CEO of Long Cos. “It’s prettier than Phoenix and has a great outdoor aspect and is on the map as far as food and beverage.”
She said the fact that this home is in the foothills was especially appealing since many existing homes there are older.
Randy Bonn said Long’s previous record was a $4.4 million home sale in 2022.
“There is a momentum for $9 million and $10 million homes to come on the market,” he said. “I feel confident that is coming … Tucson is starting to come into its own.”
He said a similar house in Paradise Valley, for example, would command over $12 million.
Over the past five years the Tucson area has seen major growth in the luxury segment. From 2019 to 2023, yearly sales of homes priced at $1 million-plus have seen a fourfold increase, from 108 homes to 478. For homes priced $2.5 million-plus: an eightfold increase, from three to 24. The $5 million-plus category — comprising a total of three homes plus the new record-setter — opened in 2022, according to Long Realty data.
‘A big leap of faith’
This 6,788-square-foot home in the Catalina Foothills recently sold for $7.48 million. A similar house in Paradise Valley would command over $12 million.
The home is in a gated community, north of Skyline Drive, in the upper central part of the foothills and backs up to the national forest, Jessica Bonn said.
She said the buyers are relocating from out of state and the home will be a primary residence.
It was the first time the husband-and-wife team sold a home that wasn’t yet built.
“We were under contract before the foundation was laid,” Jessica Bonn said. “The buyers were a little nervous … and took a big leap of faith.”
As big a leap of faith as the builder, Bartholomew, who has been building spec homes in the Tucson market for 27 years.
The lot originally had massive boulders and was on a flood plain.
“I usually try to find lots that are undesirable because they are too challenging for most,” Bartholomew said. “I saw that lot and wanted it … built the house over the flood plain to allow the water to run under the house.”
He has built about 40 custom homes in the Tucson market and sold his first $1 million home in 1998.
Outside of Tucson, Bartholomew builds in Mexico and South America.
This is his priciest home to date.
“I pick my price based on everything else available in the area,” he said, “then price it higher than anything else.”
Home shoppers need to make more than $106,000 a year to comfortably afford an average home in the U.S., which Zillow said is 80% more than in January 2020.Now, hopeful buyers are using creative ways to try to make their way into homeownership. Rachel Bingham, who is looking for her first home in Colorado, has been in the market for three years. "I would love to buy a house but, you know, due to my income, I'm limited to a specific market or townhome," Bingham said. "Honestly, a townhome condo is kind of my budget and I have a great salary. I work in tech, but this is just kind of where this inflated economy has put me." The real estate marketing company Zillow said the monthly mortgage on a typical home is nearly double what it was in January of 2020, now around $2,200."So, you really have to be strategic in buying," said Rachel DiMatteo, a Realtor in Colorado. "As opposed to four years ago, maybe even 10 years ago, you can buy your first home and it's a lot easier. Today it's a lot harder, especially with the wages kind of just creeping up but not to exactly where they need to be."Mortgage rates have fluctuated since 2020, now around 6.9% for a 30-year-fixed, and that's a two-month high according to Freddie Mac.Meanwhile, home values have risen about 42% in that time. And Zillow reported household earnings have not kept up with the increasing cost of getting a home. The company said you need an income of around $106,500 to afford the mortgage on a typical home. So, how are first-time homebuyers doing it? Zillow said half of first-time homebuyers say they got at least part of their down payment as a gift or a loan from family or friends."Especially as a first-time homebuyer, you don't have to put 20% down," DiMatteo said. "You can have anywhere between 2%-5% down. Another thing you can do is ask the seller for help. So, you can say, 'Hey, I'm interested in this home and here's my offer and also we'd like to ask for some concessions to help for the down payment on the home.'"It also depends on where you live. Places like Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Memphis require less than six-figure incomes to comfortably afford a home.It'll take much more in the West in places like San Jose and San Francisco, it's somewhere between $330,000 to $450,000 a year.Realtors like DiMatteo said that buying a first home is still worth considering as they believe prices will continue to rise in the future. SEE MORE: As affordable housing remains a challenge, one community gets a boost
