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.”
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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.”
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