North Ranch – Does Color Matter?

October 10, 2007 | By Kelley Koehler | Filed Under Homeowner Associations, Tucson Neighborhoods

Yesterday, I got a call from a resident of North Ranch, a subdivision in Northwestern Tucson. She was interviewing a couple of local Tucson real estate agents, trying to put some information together for the North Ranch homeowner association board meeting. I am not privy to all the details, but it sounds like the community is thinking about changing the color scheme. I gather that they want to increase their resale value and “get homes selling” in the area.

North Ranch is off of Thornydale, north of Linda Vista. There’s about 700 homes in the subdivision, and most were built in the early 1990s. The average house is about 1900 square feet, and sits on about a 0.1 acre lot. Typical turnaround on these houses is about 3.25 years, and the average sales price over the last 6 months is $244,565, with a median of $219,000.

A defining characteristic of the neighborhood is the color of the houses. In fact, the resident I talked to has heard it called the “pepto bismol” neighborhood. In fact, the resident I talked to related a specific incident where someone chose to live in a different neighborhood just because of the pink houses. From what I gather in our conversation, the association picked colors in the past that faded badly. I don’t think it’s that bad, really.

It’s good to hear that the association is trying to address the colors of the houses. It’s a very nice area up there, and having a little change of colors of the exteriors would help to make the subdivision a little more personalized, more custom.

So does pink really matter? I think so, especially if you’re the one pink house in a sea of earth tones. If every house is pink, well, maybe it matters less. However, there is so much inventory right now that buyers can afford to be extra picky. Maybe pink is a deciding factor after all.

There have been 20 houses sold in North Ranch over the past 6 months. There are 25 houses on the market right now. That means there’s over a 6 month supply of houses in North Ranch. I’m sure there are 25 anxious home sellers in North Ranch, but it’s going to take some time for all of that inventory to sell, pink house or not.

tags: color, north ranch, pink house, resale, tucson real estate

Comments

8 Responses to “North Ranch – Does Color Matter?”

Keith on January 21st, 2008 6:05 pm

Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with you there is much more of a problem than pink but you’ve got to start somewhere….Thanks for the site it is really wonderful, tons of useful information and articles…Please keep up the good work, thanks from http://www.republicpm.com
Chris on February 9th, 2008 12:03 pm

Thanks for your informative website!

I am the community manager and am familiar with the situation. The resident who contacted you wanted to paint their home but didn’t like any of the approved color schemes.

The resident asked the ARC committee to do away with all pink color schemes…basically saying all the approved colors should be changed for the entire neighborhood (718 homes) so they could get what they wanted.

The homeowner cited anecdotal evidence such as alleged comments from real estate professionals that North Ranch’s pink homes made them more difficult to sell. Fortunately a member of the ARC committee is also one of the most respected realtors in Tucson and was able to refute that notion.

There are 4 subdivisions in North Ranch which have “pink” houses, 2 subdivisions with earth tone schemes and 4 have a mixture of both. The original developers modeled the community after similar communities in San Diego, hence the pink, blues, teals, mission tile etc.

In 2007 the ARC committee changed the approved paint colors to more closely resemble the original palette to correct a mistake by a prior board (indoor pigments were selected in 2005 which fade faster in the bright AZ sun).

North Ranch is a very desirable community to live in with a character all its own, perhaps partly due to the unique color palette. During the real estate boom pink houses in North Ranch sold in a matter of days. Like everywhere else, homes in North Ranch take longer to sell now.

Maybe in a year or two homes will begin selling like hotcakes. Who knows, maybe in a year or two earth tones will no longer be trendy and everybody will want to paint their home pink.

Chris
Joel on March 23rd, 2008 11:03 am

We’ve lived in NR since April, 1994. We chose it over the foothills houses at the time because we wanted neighbors (unusual, I know), and love the neighborhood and facilities. We are just now painting our house, as we have a lot of trees and the original paint has held up very well; which is good, as for a couple of years (2005 – 2007) the board had approved color choices that differ from the original choices as Chris said. I found this quite odd, as we have CC&Rs and to think you buy a house with a lot of restructions, only to find out you can’t re-paint it the original color? But with the new board returning us to the original colors, all is good! One issue is that we must get the paint at Dunn-Edwards, and it goes for about $30/gallon; I haven’t checked Home Depot lately, but I would guess we could get the same quality for less in matching colors. Joel
Warren Dubois on August 4th, 2009 9:56 am

I have lived in North Ranch since 1993, sold 142 homes for the developer and after over 30 years in the real estate business, just retired. It has been my experience that a community holds its appeal and looks for about 8 years then starts going down hill. North Ranch is over 20 years old and looks as good now as it did in the beginning. A lot of thanks goes to the board of directors and management company for upholding the CC&R’s.
As far as the “Pepto” colors go, when one drives by on Thornydale the colors can be seen and if pink bothers you, don’t turn in. That may be a little harsh but I do get a bit upset when people purchase and can’t have their way a little later they get mad. Everyone gets a copy of the CC&R’s when they buy – read them. By the way, Dunn Edwards gives NR a discount and most paint companies can match any paint you give them.
My wife (who was also in the new home business) and I have seen lots of communities in our travels and I will put NR up against any .
Ross on January 28th, 2010 1:31 pm

I agree, NR has remained a desirable community for more than two decades. The pink color scheme is very unique. And lets not forget the upscale subdivision of La Paloma in the Foothills. Also has predominately pink homes; And many of those homes sell for an excess of over $1,000,000+
Ross on January 28th, 2010 1:35 pm

Is there any chance that the HOA, could gate NR and make it a gated subdivision, which would increase: Security,resale values and would make it a more desirable and upscale subdivision? I would gladly pay a few dollars more per month in my HOA dues, if we could have a gated community!!!
Chris on January 28th, 2010 3:40 pm

The NR board just approved a new expanded paint colors list which is available on the community web http://www.nrcatucson.com

Unless the county sells Cactus Canyon Pass to the owners of NR there is no way to gate the community.
Ross on January 28th, 2010 5:50 pm

Thank you Chris, for the info., I had figured that Cactus Canyon was owned by the city/county. Hence, the reason we are not a gated community. I was sure that I was not the first, to have the suggestion that we be gated.

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