You may have noticed that Portello in Chandler (located just east of Alma School Road on Queen Creek Road) has taken on new life from its earlier demise. Blandford Homes, a long established builder in the Phoenix area, acquired the project and has been aggressively building homes in the community.
If you didn’t know better, you would think that we were still in the midst of a building boom given the number of new homes going up there and the crews of workman working feverishly hard. There are numerous homes being built on numerous streets in the community. In fact, Blandford Homes Portello website calls out that ‘48 Homes Sold in the Last 5 Weeks!” My belief is that Blandford has priced well to finish out the community out rather than maintain a protracted presence there.
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Portello - A Concept Driven From the Earlier Market Frenzy
The original Portello was a Randall Martin community that was started back aroud 2005-6. I never was a fan because I felt that the builder had based the design off of an assumption that buyer demand would remain so robust that the homes would sell like regardless of what they built. Portello isn’t the builder’s only failed community.
I base this on the relatively small lots in the community and the overall more dense feel of the neighborhood. The homes tend to be more vertically oriented and closer to their neighbors. Randall Martin was trying to capitalize on providing more elegance and designer touches with smaller (”more manageable”) lots. In some sense, this is similar to an Elite Communities project in Southeast Chandler that went belly up long ago.
When the downturn began, these communities were hard-pressed to win converts as prices declined. Buyers began to demand more in the way of features including getting back to larger lots.
For Any Concept, Pricing Matters
Now, part of my earlier criticism was based on pricing. I didn’t care for the pricing at Portello before. I do generally support any home project concept (assuming quality is there) if the pricing is done in such a way to reflect that.
In this case, Blandford’s open pricing looks to be attempting to create value in the homes as likely evidenced by their announced sales. However, I haven’t reviewed pricing sheets in detail.
Overall, it’s great to see Blandford Homes finishing out the project. I am sure that eases many people’s minds who live in the community despite all the construction noise and cars. This is the market in action when a new builder comes in to replaced a failed previous one.
Paseo Lindo Across the Street
Ironically, Paseo Lindo, a new “lifestyle village” created by Cachet Homes and located across the street on Arizona Avenue, looks to be momentarily mothballed. I pass by regulary and though the models are up, I don’t see any actual framing construction there. The website indicates that the models will open in Fall 2009 (though I swear these have been done for at least 5-6 months?). My concern here would be that the concept - denser community orientation with “green” aspects, again fails to attract buyers as buyers want larger lots and more flexibility.
When it comes to “green” aspects of homes, I still believe you have to deliver a larger lot. Buyers want the space and don’t perceive that a larger lot means a negative environmental impact in my opinion. As well, I don’t believe Buyers trust homebuilders enough to believe that the concept with smaller lots was driven from an authentic focus on building “green” homes. I suspect that the community would have stronger appeal if it provided larger lots with the other “green” aspects. One note: I recall this community having a strong “green” focus. Though the website calls out some aspects of this, it doesn’t seem to be positioned as strongly as I recall.
However, again, pricing matters. If pricing is done in such a way to make the properties compelling, then they will sell.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
God, you must feel important-the wisdom of a Monday morning quarterback!
Dear Clay,
Let me say that, unfortunately, I find your comment disappointing.
Firstly, let me say that I take the approach in this blog to educate buyers on the issues we face in real estate in the Valley and give them insights as to what makes a smart purchase. By pointing out observations, I hope someone can better understand what can make a good home and a good purchase. This is their most important decision so I want to help my clients and readers get it right.
Secondly, nothing in my article talks to a prediction or monday-morning quarterbacking. I checked out the Randall Martin homes in Portello long ago (visited the office when it was still a trailer and the area dirt) and have watched them sprout up. I know the area they are in very well and probably better than any other area across the Valley. My observations back then were dead on. Not because I was a Realtor, but because I took the perspective of a homebuyer and questioned the inflexibility of tiny backyards as a tradeoff to get supposed designer touches. Perhaps if the properties were marketed as patio homes I wouldn’t have had issues. But, in my opinion, the people who started Randall Martin got it completely wrong by believing they could sell the homes no matter what they did in a raging market and based their designs on maximizing the density of homes (to make more money?) in their developments.
How many people would want a home that has a 10 foot deep backyard, is narrow as well, and backs up to Queen Creek Road? What builder would even think of creating something like that except for maximizing profits? The product didn’t match up with the direction of the market or changing buyer preferences. In my opinion, more focus on style and not substance and true value for consumers as the product in my opinion hobbled buyers in the future because of the points I make in the post. These weren’t inexpensive homes to start. They were intended to sell at a premium.
As you may have noticed, I don’t say that buying one of the Blandford Homes is a bad idea. I acknowledge that if pricing is right for whatever the product is, then the purchase can make sense. In fact, based on their reported sales results, it looks like they found the right balance of pricing and offering to entice many buyers in. I don’t believe Randall Martin was charging similar prices back then as to what Blandford is today.
Lastly, I find the tone of your comment inappropriate and ill-spirited. I would suggest to you that there are many forums and comment boards that seem to only collect harsh and destructive commentaries from readers without offering any insights or reasonable perspective. Perhaps the tone and comment above would be more appropriate for there.
Biltmore Homes