Les Stukenberg/The Daily Courier A number of builders have homes in various stages of construction as home- building in the Yavapai Hills subdivision sees a new growth spurt.

PRESCOTT – An improving real estate market sparked plans by a group of business people to take over development at Yavapai Hills with plans to complete the subdivision in 15 years.

Yavapai Hills Developers LLC bought the remaining lots from the original developer in February 2011 and is working with builders and a real estate firm to build and sell homes.

The limited liability corporation bought 475 to 500 acres from the Klein family, including 110 improved lots, said Jason Gisi, development manager for the LLC. Yavapai Hills, which dates to the 1970s, is located off Highway 69 and Sunrise Boulevard.

Gisi and the real estate agent who is selling the lots indicated that the timing is good with a recovering real estate market. Citing the Multiple Listing Service, Gisi said the distressed property rate (for foreclosures and short sales) is only 3.5 percent in Prescott.

“Number 1, it was a real good value,” Gisi said. “Number 2, I believe in the future not only of Arizona but (of) central Yavapai County.”

He said the LLC is engineering 124 lots in the next phase, and plans build-out of the entire development in 15 years.

Sales have been healthy, according to Geoff Hyland, a Realtor with Re/Max Mountain Properties, which has a sales office near the entrance to Yavapai Hills.

Hyland said Re/Max has sold 22 of the improved lots since this past July. Fifteen homes are being built, and five buyers are working with builders to build custom homes.

Seven are inventory or homes being built on speculation, and three are model homes, Hyland said. He added Re/Max is working with seven builders.

Home prices range from around $230,000 to as high as $600,000, Hyland said. The smallest homes cover 1,600 square feet and have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, three-car garages and a tile roof.

The more expensive homes start at 3,500 square feet, Hyland said. The median price is $300,000, and lot sizes are typically a half-acre.

Many buyers are moving from the Midwest, and a number of them are nearing retirement, Hyland said. However, he added some younger families are buying because they can afford the smaller homes.

“A lot of people are coming in because the price of the lots is low related to what it has been historically,” Hyland said. But one sign of market confident is prices have gone up three times, most recently in May.

The “beautiful community,” neighborhood, people, homes and amenities appealed to buyers Sandy and Tony Mazzurco, who moved from Plano, Texas.

Sandy said her husband wanted to move to within driving distance of relatives in Scottsdale – and with milder summers.

Sandy said she and her husband moved into an apartment this past June, bought a homesite in September and hired a contractor to build a 3,200-square-foot home with five bedrooms.

“We can’t wait to move in,” she said. “We got delayed because of the (winter) snows.”

Sandy said she also likes the clubhouse at Yavapai Hills, with its monthly dinners, swimming pool and tennis courts.

Yavapai Hills also is a Firewise community in which homeowners have cleared brush, Hyland said. Firewise also is integrated into building design and materials.