Sales up 20% at Scottsdale's Windgate Ranch

Behind the gated walls of Scottsdale's Windgate Ranch, streets are filling up with residents, mesquite trees are maturing and homes are selling at a modest pace.

It has been more tortoise than hare through the recession for Toll Brothers, but the Pennsylvania-based homebuilder has sold 270 homes here over the past five years.

Windgate Ranch, which is said to be Scottsdale's last master-planned community because no other parcels are set aside for such a development, has persevered through a long market downturn with about 43 percent of 633 homes sold, said Mark Bailey, Toll Brothers vice president.

After a brisk start, sales slowed for a few years and bottomed out last year, he said. This year, "We've had one of the best summers ever," with sales up 20 percent over 2010, Bailey said.

Windgate Ranch is a 780-acre community northwest of Thompson Peak Parkway and Bell Road.

It's positioned geographically and pricewise between McDowell Mountain Ranch to the south and DC Ranch to the north.

Windgate's best features include its unobstructed views of the McDowell Mountains, proximity to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve trails and backyards that overlook washes and open space.

Key amenities include a 12,000-square-foot community center, with pools, fireplaces, game rooms, event space and a playground. A new neighborhood park includes two tennis courts.

Prices start at about $540,000 for 2,300 square feet up to $1.3 million for 6,300 square feet. That is down from the original pricing of $630,000 to $1.47 million.

The median price for new and resale homes in Windgate's ZIP code - 85255 - through Aug. 31 this year was $505,000, according to Information Market data.

Windgate has 40 floor plans and eight model homes.

There are about 20 houses under construction and five of those are spec homes that will be quickly available to buyers, Bailey said.

by Peter Corbett The Arizona Republic Sept. 30, 2011 04:03 PM




Sales up 20% at Scottsdale's Windgate Ranch