I frequently find myself accompanying clients through Del Webb’s Sierra Canyon development in Somersett. [For those of you unfamiliar with Sierra Canyon, it is a Del Webb™ active adult, 55+ community. Pulte Homes is the builder.] Every time I visit, the sales office seems to be bustling. So today I thought I’d give a quick update on the housing market there.
According to the sales agents sales have been brisk. In fact, I was told that they sold 16 homes in February alone. I was also informed that the prices for their units have begun to increase slightly. According to the agent with whom I spoke, the price increase is due to their inventory levels getting back to acceptable levels. When I asked about standing inventory I was told they have six units available immediately. These available floor plans include: 1 Tahoe, 1 Northstar, 3 Alpine Meadows, and one of The Estates models (see below).
The most recent price list for the development (effective 04/02/07) provides the following prices [note: these prices do not include lot premiums]:
Classics
The Washoe @ 1,241 SF $294,990
The Tahoe @ 1,420 SF $318,990
Premiers
The Northstar @ 1,631 SF $364,990
The Alpine @ 1,826 SF $392,990
Estates
The Virginia @ 2,486 SF $511,990
The Sierra @ 2,464 SF $515,990
So, homes seem to be moving for Pulte at Sierra Canyon. Let’s take a look at the resale market…
– The MLS shows 26 Active listings for Sierra Canyon. Of the 114 current listings for all of Somersett, Sierra Canyon accounts for nearly a quarter (23%).
– The 26 listings range in price from $255,000 to $648,787.
– The median price point is $413,444, and the average price is $430,926
– 9 are owner-occupied; 2 have tenants; and the remaining 15 are vacant (~58%).
– The average DOM (days on market) is 73 days.
– 2 homes have sold in the past 30 days. That yields a 13 month supply of homes.
– Final sales price is coming in at 90% of asking price. Solds were listed an average of 167 days.
– There are no pendings.
Data courtesy of NNRMLS April 2007.
Reno Ignoramus
26 resales on the MLS. There are at least 3 more being sold FSBO that show up on Craigslist from time to time. The 3 FSBOs are also vacant.
29 resales. 18 vacant flips gone bad. 2 rented out flips gone bad.
Resales going for 90% of asking. Very interesting.
The average DOM of 73 is a joke, of course. We all know that’s a joke. I have been watching some of these Sierra Canyon flips go on and off the market for well over a year.
So there were 2 resales and Pulte says it sold 16 houses last month? If that is true, it seems the builder is sort of devastating the resale market.
However, I am wondering if there is any way to discover how many houses Pulte has actually sold in recent months. As in closed escrow kind of sold. Not as in took a deposit kind of sold. Something tells me Pulte did not close escrow on 16 houses last month. Can anybody research this?
Grand Wazoo
Excellent points RI – methinks the downtown market for new condos is in the same shape. Today’s article in the RGJ was more of a puff piece than a real look at how those properties are doing. One notable tidbit – ground breaking for the Arterra has been delayed from fall 2007 to spring 2008. The “receiver” for the Palladio says his customers are getting “more agressive” – meaning they must be cutting prices a bit. I’d really, really like to know what recent unit sales are actually going for.
Reno Ignoramus
Does the RGJ ever do anything other than a puff piece about the local housing market? For a long time, I was reluctant to accept the notion that the RGJ was so beholden to the local real estate industry, and its big advertising dollars, that it would intentionally distort its news coverage. But more and more now I have to acknowledge that it does appear to function only as an outlet for the industry’s spin.
I notice that there are a couple of Palladio resales being sold FSBO that appear on Craigslist every few days or so. There are also a couple resales in the MLS besides the developer units handled by Dickson. Maybe Guy can let us know if anything actually sells. You know, the really closed escrow kind of sale. Not the we got a $2500 deposit kind of sale.
The sidewalk in front of the Palladio has been poured, probably so that the Starbucks can get open. There has been obvious activity in the Starbucks the past few days. As for the Palladio itself, it continues to appear that very little is happening.
bill
And if you believe Del Webb sold 16 homes in Feb… then you better hurry or they’ll run out of inventory. Strange that in the past 10 months I’ve only seen about 16 homes under construction and most have an AVAILABE sign on them. Don’t trust what you’ve been told. Try and find out the truth! I’ve seen homes here on the market for over 1 1/2 years…. TOO PRICY. They did raise the price after including what used to be upgrades, so nothing has changed here!
Reno Ignoramus
Yesterday, Pulte reduced the price on every house they have on the MLS in Sierra Canyon. You can look it up. Across the board price reductions.
This must be a sign of buyer interest picking up, and how this squares with Guy’s comment that prices there are slightly rising, well, I think Guy got sold a line of you know what.
I am still waiting for somebody to verify Pulte closed escrow on 16 houses in Sierra Canyon in February. Anybody?
GreenNV
According to Assessor’s records, Pulte (PN II Inc.) closed 5 homes in Sierra Canyon in February, 9 in March, and 7 in April.
Reno Ignoramus
Thanks GreenNV for that info. Very informative. I just could not imagine that Pulte closed 16 escrows in February.
Once again we see the necessity of having to separate the truth from the spin jive.
GreenNV
RI,
The Assessor’s site has a link to sales info. Being an Assessor’s site, it is about 30 days behind real time. But the output is incredibly searchable once you know the system.
Del Webb seems to be ramping up construction once again, based on my road trip this weekend. They have literally hundreds of sites prepped and ready to go. And they are cranking on the road to Verdi.
I don’t know why they lie on sales and closures. But they are an extraordinarily experienced developer in their niche, which is why I watch what they are up to.
mTucker
Before you buy in Somersett or Sierra Canyon READ THE HOA DOCUMENTS! And know the HOA will enforce every word in them.
Examples –
Don’t leave a hose connected to your outside hose bib, it’s ‘unsightly’.
If you need a temporary street parking permit the board will perform a visual inspection of your driveway to ensure it’s not cluttered before they decide (yes/no) to issue it.
The boards here are controlled by the builders, not the residents, and you need to understand that before you spend your good money on a home in a totalitarian subdivision.
I have warned several prospective buyers and they all choose to buy somewhere else.