Turquesa Equestrian Estates – Equestrian Living At Its Best
I had an inquiry regarding Turquesa Equestrian Estates from a reader and thought it a good topic to share here as I performed some research on the community. This is the story of how a severe downturn in Scottsdale real estate has impacted a planned, upscale community concept.
Turquesa Equestrian Estates was proposed as far back as 2005 as a high-end home equestrian community located in north Scottsdale. The planned 40-acre development with its fully complemented equestrian center known as Skystone Ranch was to be home to custom home sites with each home having anywhere from 1.5 to 2.44 acres.
The concept was to allow for homeowners passionate about horseback riding to have a community tailored to their specific interests – with all the required amenties for equestrian riding while being close to the amenities and advantages of Scottsdale.
The community was intended as a close-knit neighborhood where homeowners who shared similar interests would get to know each other.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it turned out.
An Unforgiving Real Estate Market for High-end Homes
Through 2007, there were articles and websites talking about the development. But, the development ran into trouble likely through 2008 (though I imagine that it would have been somewhat clear before then that the concept was challenged given the market). My expectation is that investors pulled out of the project rather than taking the risk to see how the community would do. Likely, that would have been a wise decision.
The Phoenix real estate market has been unforgiving, especially in the sale of high-end custom homes. At any given time, only 6% of homes priced above $1M available on the market were selling. This meant that there were many options for potential homeowners across the Valley. Horse properties can be harder to find than traditional custom home properties but they aren’t scarce by any stretch.
Combine the statistic above with the fact that Scottsdale real estate in terms of Scottsdale homes were showing only 6-9% were under contract for purchase at any time (one of the weakest sub-markets in the entire Valley of the Sun) and you have a recipe for poor performance.
Though I find this concept very appealing, I can see that interest would have waned given the tough climate and the statistics above, especially in the last 12 months.
Never Got Off the Ground
Turquesa Equestrian Estates never likely really got off the ground. There are no listings in MLS for homes now or in the past aside from a couple of lots. There is no website or working phone number anymore. And tax records show only land was recently transacted in the area.
The Arizona Department of Real Estate captured the development as being in trouble back in January.
In fact, the property did sell at public foreclosure auction on December 31, 2008 to Mortgage Equities XVII, LLC of Phoenix for $12,037,947.90 for “Lots 1 through 18, inclusive and Tracts A through G, inclusive, TURQUESA EQUESTRIAN ESTATES, according to Book 787 of Maps..” from public records. Turquesa Equestrian Estates, LLC was the previous official owner.
What Comes Next for the former Turquesa Equestrian Estates?
In some sense, for a community concept like this one, that was initiated right at the market high, to be successful today, it almost has to foreclose and sell to another developer or investor for pennies on the dollar. Home price points are lower though costs are still great.
With some luck, we might see a similar development come out of this project. However, anything is possible with a new owner for the property. The fact is that any new developer will need to do a viability analysis or market research to see what might provide the best return on investment. It may also be some time before we see any development given the current market climate.
So, for now, the ‘dream’ of a Turquesa Equestrian Estates is defunct. The property is under a new owner. What comes next will be interesting to watch for.
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