KB Home Pays $52 Million for Suburban Phoenix Parcel

KB Home bought a massive parcel in suburban Phoenix with plans for its second master-planned community amid a residential market that has stabilized from the pandemic-era buying frenzy.

The Los Angeles-based homebuilder bought a 115-acre vacant parcel in suburban Queen Creek for $52 million, or about $452,252 per acre, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

The seller was Henry Bosma, who’s also behind the 136-acre Bosma Farms residential development in Queen Creek.

KB Home plans a community of 500 homes called Olea Groves on the 115-acre site, at the northeast corner of Meridian and Combs Roads. Olea europaea is the scientific name for olive trees, and the project is across the street from the Queen Creek Olive Mill tourist attraction.

Olea Groves will consist of 160 townhomes and 340 detached single-family homes, ranging from 1,400 to 3,000 square feet. Development is slated to begin next spring with delivery expected in late 2027.

The project is the second master-planned community that KB Home is developing on its own. The first was Entrada del Oro in Gold Canyon. Sales for 32 homes there began in early 2019 with prices starting in the $200,000 range.

Home prices in the Phoenix metro have fallen from record highs post-pandemic, but more buyers are coming back to the bargaining table as interest rates come down. The metro’s median home price was $460,500 last month, an increase of 2.3 percent from a year ago, according to Redfin.

Sixteen new home communities are open for sales or are under construction in the Phoenix metro. Six new communities are planned to open in the coming months.

KB Home has houses for sale in several suburban Phoenix communities, and sales are expected to start soon in several others, including Teravalis, a master-planned community in Buckeye, about an hour from Phoenix.

— Chris Malone Méndez