Queen Creek - Why is housing so cheap there? or Why is there so many foreclosures in that community? (sale, credit)

[rivera123]

wow! thanx . good stuff. maybe i can stick around 2 more years. I am kinda of leaving up to the man upstairs right now and have the attitude that the next AZ job offer i get i am going to take it and send for my family about 3 months after that. ( i was there last year for 5 months but couldn't sell the house and had to come back because it killed me being without my wife and kids. but i fell in love with AZ and at least know that i want to enjoy a better quality of life as i get up in years there. Thanz Again

[yukiko11]

Here is a wierd idea
Start or join a Chicago thread and find somebody from Phoenix who wants to move to Chicago. Maybe you two could exchange homes and rent from each other for a while until you are getting settled. I am also moving from Seattle to the southwest due to health issues so I understand how you feel, however, I would be less concerned with losing stuff that having your wife refuse to go. As she has her own career, she could make that choice. It doesn't seem that would be good for you either.

[esomething]

Originally Posted by Kabfon

I have asked this question in order threads and saw others asking with no reply. My thought is that maybe the question about Queen Creek was burried in the other threads as someone has to know why the housing is so cheap in Queen Creek and why the number of foreclosures seems so much higher than for other communities.

If anyone has the answer to this question, please let us know, as I am not the only inquiring mind. The homes seem almost new and spacious and the prices are like low 100 000s. I first I thought that it was because the land was not included but after checking this out with an agent, she stated that the land is included but never answered my question as to why the properties are so cheap and why there are so many foreclosures.

If anyone can enlighten, please do so....

I have lived in Queen Creek for 4 years, the homes out here are very nice and some very spacious. Queen Creek is a great town, the only drawback is no freeway close by, which makes commuting to work a bear...if you work in Phx area. The houses were not always this cheap...when the housing market was in its boom, people could not afford homes in Gilbert/Chandler area, so people started moving to the outskirts of town like Queen Creek, Florence and Maricopa to get a reasonable prices home. Well, as you know the housing boom flopped which left ALOT of vacant houses also everyones houses were extremely underwater (worth less then we all payed!) so alot of people began to foreclose and by cheaper homes in the area or in the more desired cities because it was finally affordable. I wouldn't say Queen Creek is bad...it is def in transition. Which I think many towns are since the housing boom flopped. I would say the schools are not the greatest out here, but that is basically in all of AZ...Queen Creek, has Walmarts, Targets, grocery stores, gas stations, fast food chains...so if you work in Queen Creek, its not a bad set up. I hope I helped answer your question.

[tortcmhurley]

would love to find and REALLY experienced short sale real estate agent in the queen creek area to sell my house... yes, we have suffered hardships galore and have even tried to work with the bank to no advail.... e-mail me ONLY if you are experienced or know someone experienced with a GREAT selling record please! [email]tortcmhurley@yahoo.com[/email] Thanks all...

[MoniAZmom]

In addition to what Irwin said, Queen Creek (meaning the Johnson Ranch area along Hunt Hwy) has other major issues as well... such as a lousy commute in/out on very limited and inferior roads (no jobs nearby), the water company has a monopoly and charges ridiculous fees, the schools are horrible and the area seemed to attract a general lower class of individual overall... it was built up wayyy too quickly and without proper infrastructure. Limited stores & services too. It was over-bought by investors and now its catching up with itself in this down real estate market. The rents are wayyy less than other areas also.

[tarrachristensen]

I have lived in Queen Creek since 1995 but my family has lived here since the 1940's. My grandfather started farming here in the 1940's and him and my grandmother made Queen Creek their homestead and raised their five kids here. While I have seen many changes, I still love Queen Creek. It was overbuilt, there is no doubt. And there was a developer, George Johnson, who sure got away with a lot. I will never understand how such a large master planned area as Johnson Ranch got approved with such limited access. But all in all, Queen Creek is a beautiful place filled with great people. Moderator cut: no advertising, also must have more than 10 posts to make specific recommendations

[AJLady]

I have lived in San Tan Heights for a while and I HATE it! Sure, the housing is cheap, but may I suggest that you rent first and live here for a year before making a decision to permanently commit to this town. Rentals here are EVERYWHERE - and I do mean everywhere! Almost every seventh or eighth house on my street alone has a rental sign in front of it. Rents for a 3-bdrm home average about $765 and a 4-bdrm average about $830. Yes, I agree with a previous poster that the water company has a monopoly and is OUTRAGEOUS in their cost. I think they charge a base charge of $48 and then add your water usage after that.

Most neighborhoods are EXTREME HOA - which limits what you can and cannot do with your own home/property. Backyards are concrete-walled tombs, reminiscent of prison yards, so if you are a person who likes to spend a good deal of time tinkering around your property or yard, then you will be vastly disappointed.

There are a LOT of very young families here, so if you are looking for a retirement town where you can meet lots of fellow retirees I would suggest Apache Junction or Gold Canyon. Also there are lots of gang activity and thugs in the area, so if you have older children/teens BEWARE! And please don't anybody write to disagree with me because I know what I am talking about - I have four teens and young adults living with me. A beautiful 17-year-old girl was killed a while back by two such gang members. She was beaten, stabbed, choked and burned - when she didn't die fast enough for her killers (who kept trying different methods to kill her). She was then dumped in the desert.

The race population in the Johnson Ranch/San Tan Heights area is about 50% white, 35% black, and 15% hispanic, so there is a wide diversity of groups here and we all manage to get along just fine in my opinion.

Traffic is bad, but nothing like it was a couple of years ago. The local merchants here are all very friendly, with the employees of QT and Sonic taking first place with friendliness and professionalism.

Dining and restaurants are poor - not in service but rather in availability. There aren't hardly any! San Tan Flats (restaurant) has great food and a terrific ambiance - but are very pricey.

All in all, it is a great community for young families just starting out, but a poor choice to bring older children into, and a not-too-much-to-do community for retirees.

I would give it a thumbs up for newlyweds and young families. A red flag for those looking to relocate with older preteen or teen-aged children, and a big thumbs down for retirees.

[tarrachristensen]

Sorry, hit the wrong button.
The only thing I would disagree with is that I believe most of your complaints are regarding an area of Queen Creek, known as San Tan Valley or Johnson Ranch. I think this is an absolutely beautiful area as it is located at the base of the San Tan mountains but unfortunately due to limited access the traffic can be really bad, especially during rush hours. Which is one of the reasons the home prices are so low out there. You can purchase a short sale for around $48 per square foot but traditional sales you are looking at about $70 per square foot. There are many homes under $100,000. Another reason you can find such great deals is it was overbuilt. But if you go more towards the heart of Queen Creek you can avoid the traffic jam and still find some great deals. Look at subdivisions like the Villages and Queensland Manor. And if you want to go a little further west, a little more expensive, you can find great subdivisions like Sossaman Estates and Cortina. There are also some beautiful horse properties and acre subdivisions. Look at Queen Creek Ranchettes, Circle G, The Pecans (not to be confused with Pecan Creek), Orchard Ranchettes, just to name a few. I would also have to disagree with the crime, Queen Creek has a very low crime rate. I do think before anybody moves to any city they should try to spend some time there. If they can't do that then they should at least try to talk to as many people that live in that city as possible.

[rivera123]

hello.
i haven't been logged on a quite a while.
(had my own issues to deal with)
long story short, we sold our house in chicago and moved to chandler az.
queens creek is really no different than anywhere usa when it comes to the real estate market. It's low everywhere!
We chose chandler because of the great schools.
I can tell you too that we bypassed queens creek because of their schools. (they are rated at around a 4 or 5 out of a possible 10). So if you are raising kids, that is what you have to take into consideration and i am sure that is one main reason it reflects more affordable housing. other than that, take my advice cause i am not too far down the road in chandler, Q/C is a beautiful comunity to live in.

[abq rabbit]

Becareful- research 'Land Fissures' online before even considering buying a home in Queen Creek. Be sure you are sitting down while you look at the pictures- it is a frightening phenomenon.