Mandalay Homes “Turning things around in Pronghorn Ranch

Les Stukenberg/The Daily Courier Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor Deanna Austin moved into her new Mandalay home in Pronghorn Ranch in August.

Jason Soifer The Daily Courier

It took a little while for Deanna Austin to find what she wanted.

Austin got a job as a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott and began searching for a home late this past year. After a couple of strikeouts that included the mess of a foreclosure property, Austin found her dream, a 2,300-square-foot home in Prescott Valley.

“I just had a feeling about Pronghorn (Ranch),” she said. “For that (foreclosure) price, I found this.”What Austin discovered was one of Mandalay Homes’ spec builds in the community.

Dave Everson, president of the Phoenix-based homebuilder, said the company came into the community in late 2009 and finished construction on about 11 homes after the developer closed its doors nearly three years ago.

About a year later, Mandalay acquired 138 lots and Everson said he’s building 11 to 12 homes this year. “We’re meeting (buyers’) needs and I’m encouraged,” he said.  The community is going through a rebound after what happened there nearly three years ago.

In an October 2008

Daily Courier story, Dave Brown, chief executive officer of Brown Family Communities, said he chose to close down the family business of more than 30 years after his lenders called on his outstanding loans.

Brown said at the time that he sold about 650 homes in what were his Reunion, Reserve and Renaissance portions of the development and he sold 17 homes in the weeks leading up to making the move to pull the plug.

But lenders took all of the proceeds from those closings for months, according to Brown, who said he was using a mix of company money and his own until it ran out.

Realtor Cathi Pospisil, with RE/Max Mountain Properties, credits Everson’s company for the community’s turnaround. Pospisil cited Multiple Listing Service data from the Prescott Area Association of Realtors that she said proves her point about the turnaround in the subdivision.

Comparing third quarter 2010 statistics, Pospisil said 15 homes sold in the community worth more than $2.94 million and they sat on the market an average of 83 days.  In the third quarter of this year, Pospisil said 23 homes sold worth more than $3.97 million, with the average days on the market down nearly 20 days from the same quarter in 2010.  “They’re reviving a community that has sat quiet for four years,” she said.

Realtor Terri Chase, director of sales and marketing in the community, said buyers like Austin are finding affordable options from Mandalay Homes, such as two-tone paint, front landscaping, 18-inch floor tiles and quality fixtures.

“We don’t sell white houses with plastic floors,” she said. “We want the client to come in and move in.” And that’s bolstering sales, according to Everson, who said prospective buyers are more serious these days.

“We’re seeing a total change in behavior,” he said.