New Build Home Locations

[Howard Roark]

By "summer home" in Arizona, I imagine you intend to rent it out during the high season. IMO, why bother sweating it out and whipping yourselves with chains that way? Get a time share instead. Time share costs have come down due to the Great Recession. And they are not necessarily "stay in the same location" types like they were in the past. Hilton has time shares. Mine is through Shell Vacations club. Get out of New York for 8 weeks (buy 8 weeks of time share) and spend time in Arizona without having a vacant place for 44 weeks.

I don't know the particulars of the cost. Most experts scoff at time shares. My maintenance fee is $1,000 per year for one week. I would prefer $1,000 per year for ten weeks. I heard of people in SVC who have 38,000 points, which is good for six weeks of one bedroom time shares. But their maintenance costs are (gulp) $9,000 per year. Even with maintenance costs, these may still make it worthwhile to pay $9,000 per year to be in Arizona compared to keeping a vacant place for 40 weeks or so.

[AZ Tracy]

Are you interested in an active adult community? (age restricted) If you like Pulte Homes, you should check out Sun City Festival.

[1bie792]

Agree completely with Phoenixlady. We bought a new home once and never will again, they include nothing, inside or outside. Also, you want a home built when it was NOT a building boom, so it was not slapped together fast. Older houses, among other older things, are built better. I have no problem with older homes, more important is owner maintenance and updating.

[unit731]

Originally Posted by 1bie792

Agree completely with Phoenixlady. We bought a new home once and never will again, they include nothing, inside or outside. Also, you want a home built when it was NOT a building boom, so it was not slapped together fast. Older houses, among other older things, are built better. I have no problem with older homes, more important is owner maintenance and updating.

Much of this is true. Older homes constructed not during the boom may be constructed better.

During the boom some homes were built without letting the concrete slab cure properly leading to cracks and sinking a bit.

Older homes though do not have the up to date wiring such as cat5e and RG6. Some older homes have plumbing pipes in concrete slab.

Of the three developments you mentioned choose the one that appeals to you the most. Check to see if there are sidewalks. Check to see if there is enough parking for yourself and guests. Check to see where children wait for the school bus.

If this is an age restricted community then most are quite nice.

[S. Chris Webb]

The locations:
1) Trovita Estates - Mesa, AZ 85205
2) Norterra - Phoenix, AZ 85085
3) Canyon Trails - Goodyear, AZ 85338

All 3 communities have homes similar in size yet 1 & 2 are starting in the 320s where 3 is the upper 100s...is there a reason for such a wide price difference and which of these areas is the best for a retired couple in late 50s ?

I can't speak for Mesa, but the difference between Norterra & CT is location. That part of NW Phoenix is simply a more desired area (with higher land value) than that part of Goodyear. Not that there's anything wrong with CT. Unlike the majority of North Phoenix, the majority of homes in that part of Goodyear were built on farmland during the recent boom, which means the area was hit harder during the housing price collapse. There are at least three phases of CT now. One does feature a community pool and rec center. The other phases don't. Same may be said for the Norterra area - there may be some subdivisions/phases within that have more or fewer amenities. Be sure to compare the amenities offered by each of the communities, as well as familiarize yourself with each of the communities before making a decision. Which of these areas is best for a "retired couple in late 50s" will depend on the couple's personal preferences & desires.

[patty1970]

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

The locations:
1) Trovita Estates - Mesa, AZ 85205
2) Norterra - Phoenix, AZ 85085
3) Canyon Trails - Goodyear, AZ 85338

All 3 communities have homes similar in size yet 1 & 2 are starting in the 320s where 3 is the upper 100s...is there a reason for such a wide price difference and which of these areas is the best for a retired couple in late 50s ?

I can't speak for Mesa, but the difference between Norterra & CT is location. That part of NW Phoenix is simply a more desired area (with higher land value) than that part of Goodyear. Not that there's anything wrong with CT. Unlike the majority of North Phoenix, the majority of homes in that part of Goodyear were built on farmland during the recent boom, which means the area was hit harder during the housing price collapse. There are at least three phases of CT now. One does feature a community pool and rec center. The other phases don't. Same may be said for the Norterra area - there may be some subdivisions/phases within that have more or fewer amenities. Be sure to compare the amenities offered by each of the communities, as well as familiarize yourself with each of the communities before making a decision. Which of these areas is best for a "retired couple in late 50s" will depend on the couple's personal preferences & desires.

Thanks for all the replies, I'm coming out to Phoenix in a few weeks to look at the places myself...and I did notice that Norterra is near a mountain preserve so I'm guessing that areas near mountains have a higher value?

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by patty1970

Thanks for all the replies, I'm coming out to Phoenix in a few weeks to look at the places myself...and I did notice that Norterra is near a mountain preserve so I'm guessing that areas near mountains have a higher value?

Sometimes, sometimes no. There are all kinds of things that go into value. I think accessibility to retail, freeways, etc. is one biggie and another is just how upscale the neighborhood is. There are huge differences in the look and feel of different communities, just based on how much is spent on common areas, the homes themselves, and so on.

[S. Chris Webb]

"I did notice that Norterra is near a mountain preserve so I'm guessing that areas near mountains have a higher value?"

Generally (but not in all cases, by far) the farther in the Valley (from Scottsdale west) you go North, the higher the values. the North Phoenix/Glendale/Peoria area is newer, built on raw hilly desert rather than farmland, has good schools, mountain views, and has less of an big-city feel than many other areas, which attracts more desirability and higher prices. If you go farther west to north Peoria/Glendale, better schools and suburban feel gets more amplified. If you are looking at new homes, you may also want to consider Vistancia, Stetson Valley, or an area around there.

[Finger Laker]

Also, CT does have good access to the nearby mountains (Estrella & White Tanks)

Distance to downtown has zero to do with any of the price differences ...... all 3 communities are in the 20-25 mile range to downtown ...... Mesa will be closer to old town scottsdale and points east, norterra closer to north scottsdale, cave creek and points north and CT closer to glendale and points west

With that said there is a variety of reasons why an area could be more desireable ..... some may come down to lot sizes, schools, ammenities, overall cost/desireability of an area, etc.

In AZ you also have to keep an eye on when the neighborhood developed .... the bulk of CT didn't exist before the housing bubble (same with most of the homes around it) - the burst left a lot of inventory and undeveloped land.

All three areas have their ups & downs and those will be very individual to you. I also wouldn't hold myself to just those neighborhoods - when you come out to look around explore other nearby developments, you may find something that fits your needs more than either of those 3

We were trying to talk our inlaws into buying in the CT phase that has the community pool around 6 months ago, but they balked

[sunnymom]

I second Sun City Festival. My aunt and uncle have a house there and they love it! My parents may buy and 2nd home in there for retirement. I have visited 3 times and each time has been wonderful. The people there are very nice and the pool is awesome!