(Photo courtesy of Five Star Development)

Ninety-one villas will surround the Ritz-Carlton resort in Paradise Valley.

(Photo courtesy of Five Star Development)

Villas range in price from just under $1 million to more than $5 million.

A new type of sales launch appears to have paid off for the group behind the planned $2 billion Ritz-Carlton Resort in Paradise Valley.

Scottsdale-based Five Star Development held what it thinks is the largest-valued, single-day real estate event in Arizona to sell Ritz-Carlton residences. During last Saturday’s private event, 89 of 91 villas were reserved, totaling nearly $250 million. Days later, the remaining two were snatched up.

The villas, which range in price from just under $1 million to more than $5 million, will surround a new Ritz-Carlton resort to be built on the corner of Lincoln and Mockingbird Lane.

Developers expect to break ground on the resort and homes this summer and open by the end of 2018.