A developer is planning to use a live auction to sell nine new homes in a Green Valley subdivision.
Mark Hughes, owner of Hughes Development, will use that method to sell some of the homes in Las Campanas Village, a retiree-oriented community west of La Cañada Drive and north of Esperanza Boulevard.
Three of the nine homes will be sold "absolute" — that is, no matter how low the winning bids are. Hughes said he will reserve the right to refuse winning bids for the other six.
The homes previously were listed in the $250,000 range.
Hughes said he's taking an experimental approach to "kind of see where the market is."
The developer said he has 27 unsold homes in the subdivision that have been sitting on the market for about nine months.
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"They just need to be sold," he said. "We thought we would take a shot."
Green Valley, popular with retirees, saw a huge upswing in investor activity about two years ago, rapidly driving up prices, said Steve Smith, president of the Green Valley Association of Realtors. But sales have slowed considerably over the past year, he said.
Now, there is "just too much on the market," he said.
Hughes said builders "just couldn't keep up with the demand" during the boom years. But sometime last year, the market "came to a screeching halt" in Green Valley.
The Las Campanas Village sale is being coordinated by The Larsen Co., a Mesa real estate firm that specializes in auctions.
Owner Stewart Larsen said each buyer is required to bring a $10,000 cashier's check to register. Winners must pay 10 percent of the home value immediately and will have 30 days to pay the balance with cash or financing, he said.
Take a look before bidding
New-home auction:
1 p.m. March 29 at Las Campanas Village in Green Valley
Open-house times:
1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, and Monday through next Friday.