Is Scottsdale a good place to eventually invest in real estate? (Phoenix: mortgage, debt)

[CmpEngineer]

Is Scottsdale a good place to eventually invest in real estate? I heard from someone that it is hard to get a renter in Scottsdale because since the people there are wealthy, they can afford to buy (rather than rent) a condo or home. Is that true? How does the residential vacancy rate compare to Gilbert, Mesa, and Phoenix?

[nehazaidi]

I am realocating from L.A. and when we took the tour (provided by my hubby's company) we were shown couple of apartments in Scottsdale. The rent was higher for a smaller unit compared to Chandler where we have decieded to move to......just my two cents.

[nevercoldcall]

Eventually ..............

For now the market is still severely overpriced. Rents are far lower than what it would cost to buy the same house.

On the "wealthy" thing, Scottsdale wealth is mostly a myth; it's a mortgage debt town. However, Arizona is a great place to be a landlord due to favorable "red state" laws. I live in CA now and would never own rental property here in a million years, but if the right deal came along, I'd definitely do it in AZ.

[sablebaby]

I would believe that you can easily rent out a house in Scottsdale as some people who can't afford to buy may end up renting instead.

[ejk]

I agree with Sablebaby-- I think you could get twentysomething renters who want a piece of the Scottsdale action but are not yet in a position to buy.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by ejk

I agree with Sablebaby-- I think you could get twentysomething renters who want a piece of the Scottsdale action but are not yet in a position to buy.

I did an internship with a girl who rented a house in Scottsdale. She and her fiance/husband (both in their 20's) were both getting their doctorates in psychology and came from more affluent families, so they were used to that type of lifestyle.

[SpeedyAZ]

On the "wealthy" thing, Scottsdale wealth is mostly a myth; it's a mortgage debt town.

Not in the least, Scottsdale is very much a wealthy area. How exactly do you know this stuff anyway? I'm a Realtor and I've lived here for nearly 8 years, I think I know a bit more than you.

[m1ndless]

Scottsdale is horrible. Try north phoenis. We are selling our house as an investment. We bought ours for 115K in 2000, its worth 240 today.

[63ragtop]

Originally Posted by m1ndless

Scottsdale is horrible. Try north phoenis. We are selling our house as an investment. We bought ours for 115K in 2000, its worth 240 today.

If you bought a house in Scottsdale in 2000, you would have "made" more than $125K. My friend has a house he bought for $200K in the late 90s and it's worth over $600K now. To generalize, the more you had spent in 2000, the more you would have made now.

Unfortunately that sort of price jump will not repeat anytime soon.

[topjimmy]

Now is not a good time to invest.