Phoenix Condo Project Sells Out in Record Time

Housing demand is growing rapidly in Phoenix, and while the city has historically been a single-family market, high-rise multifamily and condo product is growing in popularity. The Optima Kierland Center in Scottsdale is a perfect example of demand for condo product. In 2016, the project sold in record time—220 units in nine months. The pace of sales was three times as fast as other condo sales in the local market. Now, the 202-unit second building in the project is launching sales efforts. Already, the second building has received more than 50 reservation and contract requests—exceeding the initial sales efforts for building one.

“The market has shown demand for a community that offers a great location, market pricing, exceptionally designed product, and an elevated amenity package,” Crel Vogel, sales manager at Optima Kierland, tells GlobeSt.com. “Looking at the trends from Optima Kierland buyers in the first condo tower, we saw that they were looking for a lock and leave lifestyle and a rightsizing opportunity from larger homes, close to restaurants and urban amenities.”

The project is not only an example of the rising demand for dense living options and luxury, lock-and-leave-style housing, but also of the changing demand for housing in Phoenix. “Optima Kierland is unique in the market in that it meets that demand directly, offering complete flexibility with floor plans, combination homes and bespoke finishes,” Vogel says. “This allows buyers to create a custom home at the 7180 Optima Kierland Tower in an urban setting. The design process at Optima is similar to what our buyers have experienced with creating larger custom homes in the past.  Now they are choosing to shift into more urban areas like the Kierland neighborhood.”

With the early interest in the second building—it is scheduled to open in 2020—is a strong indicator that sales for the second building will be equally as strong. The early activity is again outpacing the rate of sales in the surrounding market. “We’ve had a very successful sales launch. We began sales for the 7180 Optima Kierland tower on January 1, 2019 and to date we have 57 reservations, effectively 16 sales per month—or 25% of the building already sold,” says Vogel. “This is far outpacing the Scottsdale market. The positive momentum we are experiencing is similar to the momentum we had in the first tower launch so we expect to continue to lead the market in a swift sellout.”

The success of the project will likely be the catalyst for other luxury condo projects in Phoenix and Scottsdale specifically. It has also made the developer more bullish on condo investment in the market. “Given the success of 7120 Optima Kierland and the other local Optima developments, it would be no surprise that other developers look to Optima’s condominium developments as the strongest example on the sellout of a condominium community that leads the market in sales velocity and market values,” adds Vogel. “The success at our first tower gave further confidence to the Optima team to deliver a second condominium tower, 7180 Optima Kierland, which is now selling. The second tower started sales at the beginning of the year and it has been eagerly accepted by the market.”