Housing dip triggers Agritopia price cuts

As Gilbert’s Agritopia community nears buildout on its first phase, even the niche subdivision is feeling the recent housing-market downturn.

VIDEO: Agritopia residents talk about their community

GRAPHIC: See a map of Agritopia's location

The development, known for its features that promote neighborhood interaction, has reduced home prices to compete in the sluggish market. And specialty housing such as Agritopia can be especially vulnerable to a market slowdown, experts say.

The developer has about 17 existing homes and available lots remaining in Agritopia’s approximately 160-unit first phase. They expect to have those sold by the end of the year, said Christa Marten, a sales associate with Scott Communities, which is selling the Agritopia home sites.

“I certainly think the pluses are in the buyer’s favor,” she said.

Since construction began in February 2002, the project has been sold on its amenities that include large front porches, small front lawns and short fences — all aimed at encouraging community interaction.

When completed, Agritopia will feature various-sized homes along with parks, athletic fields, gardens and a community center.

It was that closer, homey feel that enticed Ronna Meredith to move from north Scottsdale to her Agritopia home three-and-a-half years ago.

“This is a great community, great closeness,” she said. “People here just bring over a plate of cookies.”

She’s not concerned about the real estate slump since she’s not planning to move anytime soon. But she said she has noticed for sale signs in her neighbors’ yards are staying up longer than they used to during the past few months.

But now, Scott Communities is offering $40,000 discounts on new homes as a buyer incentive.

And it was knocking off $45,000 off a handful of existing homes available when their original deals were canceled.

The price cuts at Agritopia have dropped the development’s cottage models to the $210,000-$250,000 range. The cottages range from 1,321 square feet to 1,991 square feet.

“Those types of incentives are not unusual” said Ben Sage, Arizona director for Metrostudy, a national real estate research and consulting company. “The market’s pretty slow right now.”

The lowest base price in Agritopia, about $210,000, is considerably lower then the median base price for a new home in Gilbert at $289,000, according to figures provided by Sage.

More distant communities such as Florence and Maricopa are feeling the brunt of the current slump, mainly because of resale competition, Sage said.

“I can state that Gilbert is hanging on better,” he said. “It’s not doing great, but it’s not suffering as badly.” And a slowdown in the overall housing market can mean extra trouble for specialized projects, such as Agritopia, since there are probably even fewer buyers looking for niche products.

“Generally speaking, niche product is more at risk when the market goes down,” Sage said.

But to resident Meredith, Agritopia won’t lose its appeal with buyers who were looking for the close-knit community she has found. “I think people who want the front porches and smaller yards will still want to buy here,” she said.

Agritopia developers have been planning two more phases of roughly the same size and makeup as phase one.