Housing Prices (Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler: cul-de-sac, appointed, refinance)

[gregandvicky]

We are thinking of moving back to the area. We sold in Goodyear 4 years ago and moved to central Texas, Austin area just before things got out of control. Yes we missed the big bucks, bad timing.
It seems prices have almost gone back to the 3 or 4 year ago prices with some builder incentives. We are in the $150,000 to $165,000 range.

We have found some Shea developments and some Horton, Richmond American and Ryland developments in Maricopa and Queen Creek that seem affordable once again.

What do you think. A good time to move back or should we hold off for another 6 months to a year??
Thanks for your input.

[sablebaby]

Yeah, some of the new home builders are offering some of the same pricing as a few years ago, however, some of these new homes are pretty far out there. If you want to move out that far, then I say do it, as it's in your price range, otherwise you won't find anything in that range now anywhere.

That was my price range a few years ago and then the boom hit and we waited a year and then we up'd our range by double.

[gregandvicky]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

Yeah, some of the new home builders are offering some of the same pricing as a few years ago, however, some of these new homes are pretty far out there. If you want to move out that far, then I say do it, as it's in your price range, otherwise you won't find anything in that range now anywhere.

That was my price range a few years ago and then the boom hit and we waited a year and then we up'd our range by double.

We like living "out there". The further aqway from the cluster of Phoenix the better. I am retired and my wife works at home so comuting is not an issue.

[ArizonaBear]

$150K will get you a new home in both Maricopa as well as Queen Creek.

Even with the declining housing market: I suspect that prices in the above areas will 'bottom out' @ about $120K-130K so you may be wise to 'bite the bullet' and buy within the next 6 months

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

Yeah, some of the new home builders are offering some of the same pricing as a few years ago, however, some of these new homes are pretty far out there. If you want to move out that far, then I say do it, as it's in your price range, otherwise you won't find anything in that range now anywhere.

That was my price range a few years ago and then the boom hit and we waited a year and then we up'd our range by double.

But it's not the same house. 4-5 years ago you could still buy under $100K in Goodyear and I remember 80s and 90s in parts of Surprise. Cheapest with the price cuts is now 160-170. So the house you will get for your 150 is not going to be as big or as well-appointed or as desirably located as the one you got for 150 several years ago. I you like Maricopa, though, that is today's bargain area. I would take Maricopa over Casa Grande and Casa Grande over QC, personally.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

But it's not the same house. 4-5 years ago you could still buy under $100K in Goodyear and I remember 80s and 90s in parts of Surprise. Cheapest with the price cuts is now 160-170. So the house you will get for your 150 is not going to be as big or as well-appointed or as desirably located as the one you got for 150 several years ago. I you like Maricopa, though, that is today's bargain area. I would take Maricopa over Casa Grande and Casa Grande over QC, personally.

Agree on all counts.

RE: CG I actually like the older downtown area myself with its mom and pop stores, sidewalks, etc.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by gregandvicky

We are thinking of moving back to the area. We sold in Goodyear 4 years ago and moved to central Texas, Austin area just before things got out of control. Yes we missed the big bucks, bad timing.
It seems prices have almost gone back to the 3 or 4 year ago prices with some builder incentives. We are in the $150,000 to $165,000 range.

We have found some Shea developments and some Horton, Richmond American and Ryland developments in Maricopa and Queen Creek that seem affordable once again.

What do you think. A good time to move back or should we hold off for another 6 months to a year??
Thanks for your input.

Personally I'd wait but that's just me.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by gregandvicky

We are thinking of moving back to the area. We sold in Goodyear 4 years ago and moved to central Texas, Austin area just before things got out of control. Yes we missed the big bucks, bad timing.
It seems prices have almost gone back to the 3 or 4 year ago prices with some builder incentives. We are in the $150,000 to $165,000 range.

We have found some Shea developments and some Horton, Richmond American and Ryland developments in Maricopa and Queen Creek that seem affordable once again.

What do you think. A good time to move back or should we hold off for another 6 months to a year??
Thanks for your input.

Tough call. As you have noted, prices on new have come down a lot. In the case of the smaller homes, they are going at about cost of construction. I can't see them dropping a lot more unless companies want to take losses. One thing to consider is that now you can easily get a good lot - big cul-de-sac, desert preserve, lake etc. Those were hard to find even before the boom. They are the first to sell new and resale. And the lot premiums are low. Interest rates are down right now, too, though I think they will drop over the short run. But you can always refinance. Things will turn around unless the US economy tanks - not impossible but the Fed is not likely to tolerate much asset deflation before stepping in.

[Boatdrinks]

If you definitely want to move back, I'd list your house in Austin now and make your move based on when it sells. That is, if you HAVE to sell your TX house before moving here. If you plan to keep it, then you have a lot more flexability. Who knows what the market will do 6 months from now. Prices could get a bit lower, but in your price range, I can't imagine they'd go that much lower. Builders are pretty desperate here, so you can get some good deals. Likewise with resales.

Have you looked into Casa Grande? They're building a new mall there now and there's a ton of construction. I know Fulton is building there and pretty much all the other builders too - great prices and it's close to the 10 which is nice. Maricopa is nice but for me, I don't like how far it is from the highway. QC is also an option. There's an area called San Tan Heights, on Hunt Hwy at the base of the mountains that's nice with great prices. There's not much in the way of commercial options though. You'll have more options with Maricopa and Casa Grande, at least nearby. The nice thing about QC is that it's close to Gilbert and Mesa, so you have more commercial options within 10 or 15 miles or so. Likewise with medical (hospitals, docs, dentists, etc). The thing with all 3 locations is that resale will probably be tough within the next 5 or 10 yrs. I wouldn't buy there if you thought you may be selling any time soon.

I'd recommend making a few visits out here. The areas you mentioned have changed a lot over the past 4 yrs and if you haven't been here since you moved, you may be surprised.

[MotleyCrew]

We were poking around in Maricopa looking at houses this last weekend. There are some very nice developments going in and we could not get over the prices for a starter home. Some are in the $120K's, some great homes by Shea, 1,900 sq ft for $165K. Not a bad price for the square footage. Most are smaller homes but certainly easy on the pocketbook. These were about 10 min out from the hub of Maricopa. Chandler is not too bad a drive for bigger shopping, but still not much in Maricopa. The do have a new Fry's and Bashas with a Home Depot in the works.