What price range has the best long term profit potential in the West Valley? (Phoenix: sales, foreclosure)

[HarveytheRabbit]

It seems for the price of an extra 500-1000 sq ft, a third garage, and an extra bedroom, I can save 50k now and get a nice newer home in a decent area for around 100k with a very small monthly mortgage payment. Or I can go all out for the home at 150k and enjoy those amenities now.

My question is, in ten years what would have been the better choice financially?

[twiggy]

That would depend on where you were financially in 10 yrs. lol No way to tell now, when in doubt and you are in doubt or you wouldn't be asking go for the financially safe decision. I don't think of buying a home as an investment anymore, especially here, it's just your own place so that you can fix your own things yourself, custom things yourself. Don't worry about a return. Just make sure you are comfortable and can afford it.

[Ritchie_az]

Yeah, that's tough to tell. I'd look closely at the neighborhoods, the 5, 10 and 25 year plans for the cities, and try to guess at what the place might look like down the road.

[Finger Laker]

Agreed. I'm not very bullish on much (if any) appreciation in values over the next 5 years.

If you are carrying a debt load it may make more sense to spend that $500/mo to lower monthly expenses and build savings.

Or you could be in a position where you get a great deal and great rate on a dream home type place right now, can make it work in the short term and reap a greater reward long term (greater than 10 yrs IMO)

I think most of us are out of the crystal ball business though

[artvandelay]

My suggestion is that you consider Goodyear and Litchfield school districts as a safety against dropping values, but who knows in regards to appreciation? The poster above had it correct-consider it your own rental. It seems the West Valley, specifically in the poorer school districts, have no apparent price bottom, while the 2 districts I mentioned probably won't go too low.

[Finger Laker]

there is no goodyear school district, per sefor elementary schools goodyear is served by Avondale, Liberty & Litchfield Parkfor high schools it's primarily Aqua Fria - although Buckeye Union comes in to play for some (Estrella)

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

there is no goodyear school district, per sefor elementary schools goodyear is served by Avondale, Liberty & Litchfield Parkfor high schools it's primarily Aqua Fria - although Buckeye Union comes in to play for some (Estrella)

You are correct about Goodyear districts. Desert Edge is in an area that seems nice.

[Discovery1]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

Would recommend staying away from Goodyear if at all possible. It is economically underdeveloped and has little infrastructure relative to the expenses it has taken on in the past few years. Also, there is a toxic soil issue in the West Valley which threatens home values even further.

Since this summer, our sales office has called for a 25-40% decline in home values. Many factors play into this analysis, including the removal of government support for the market including the expiration of the tax credit. Already, average home values have fallen more than 9% since this summer. The momentum of falling home values continues as investors have been choosen other asset classes in the wake of the foreclosure legal crisis. To prevent catching a falling knife, we have been informing our clients to wait 6-9 months to reassess the market, and to avoid catching a falling knife.

Seems like you are doing alot of cut and paste these days huh .

[Ritchie_az]

Would recommend staying away from Goodyear if at all possible. It is economically underdeveloped and has little infrastructure relative to the expenses it has taken on in the past few years. Also, there is a toxic soil issue in the West Valley which threatens home values even further.

That's a load of crap spoken from someone who has not visited the city in a few years....

[altus2006]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

Would recommend staying away from Goodyear if at all possible. It is economically underdeveloped and has little infrastructure relative to the expenses it has taken on in the past few years. Also, there is a toxic soil issue in the West Valley which threatens home values even further.

Ritchie is correct in that this statement is a load of crap.

If you check out the Superfund sites for Arizona, one would have to avoid buying anything in Chandler, Glendale, Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale and Cave Creek in order to stay away from any toxic land.

If you check out the following link, updates to the clean up operations appear to be on schedule. As far as Goodyear is concerned, the toxic land appears to be near the airport and not in the housing areas in the Goodyear community.

Goodyear has some of the best streets, parks and infrastructure in the valley.

Arizona | Region 9: Cleanup | US EPA

altus2006