Please tell me about Anthem area (Phoenix, New River: home, neighborhoods, buyer)

[sheena]

Originally Posted by hts

This might be a little bit (ok, a lot) salesy, but I think Anthem lives up to all the hype:

Anthem is a new master-planned community offering exceptional homes for sale. Fifteen miles north of Phoenix, and designed by Del Webb, the community is tailored to fit the way your family lives, works and plays. A variety of retail outlets, medical offices and business parks have sprung up on the perimeter and in the designated business areas, furthering Anthem's self-contained feel. There are four new K-8 schools and one new state of the art high school. Anthem has two Greg Nash award-winning 18-hole Troon managed golf courses, located within the gated enclave of Anthem Country Club. The course has been rated the 11th best in Arizona. The Anthem Country Club with its one story homes will have two fully equipped club-houses with pools, top of the line exercise facilities and restaurants. One of the largest most complete recreation facilities in the valley is located in Anthem. The 63-acre community sports park has soccer and football fields, a kid sized railroad, a hockey rink, tennis courts, half-pipe meant to skateboard and a water park. There’s also a four acre catch & release lake. The community center features top of the line exercise equipment, an indoor basketball court, a three-story rock climbing wall, a health spa, swim and play pools, Master swim team training, yoga rooms, baby-care, a teen recreation room, and over 150 classes that residents of all ages and interests can enjoy. The community center is the perfect place to make friends and get involved. A portion of the moderate HOA fee entitles all Anthem real estate owners the use of the Parkside facilities.

Those who enjoy the outdoors, Anthem’s year-round sunshine makes this region a recreational paradise for avid golfers, hikers, mountain bikers, softball, basketball and tennis players. The ratio of home construction to open area averages about 65-70%. Anthem’s slightly higher elevation provides summer temperatures several degrees below the neighboring city of Phoenix. There are many miles of lighted walking paths throughout the community. Living in Anthem enables residents to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life without sacrificing convenience. If you are considering a move to the greater Phoenix area, look no further than Anthem and discover yourself, the finest in country living and real estate.

Homebuyers have several communities to choose from within the Parkside area and the exclusive guard gated Anthem Country Club community. Anthem’s southwestern style homes range from moderately priced to high-end luxury estates with golf course and mountain views. Parkside is geared toward the active family lifestyle while Anthem Country Club is attractive to established homebuyers with or without children at home.

Anthem was voted "Best Master Planned Community in America" by the National Association of Home Builders in 2001, "Best Master Planned Community" by the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona in 2000 and 2001, and "Builder of the Year" by Professional Builder magazine in 1999.

And it’s easy to understand why. Even with two golf courses and more luxury amenities, Anthem Country Club’s membership dues are lower than comparable gated country clubs in Phoenix’s North Valley. Buying an Anthem Country Club home comes with a complete set of unparalleled perks set against the Sonoran Desert backdrop.

Two fitness centers are staffed by professional trainers and massage therapists and provide a full menu of exercise, nutrition, and spa services. Reward yourself with a full body massage and steam bath after your workout on the latest cardio and resistance equipment.

If taking a swim is more your style or you just want to relax, you’ll have no lack of pool chairs at Anthem’s resort-like pools.
Anthem Country Club homebuyers have the option of living next to two spectacular golf courses designed by Greg Nash. The Anthem Country Club was ranked one of the top 132 golf course communities in the world by Links magazine. The Persimmon and The Ironwood courses are more than 7,200 yards from the back tees and have outstanding views of the Valley and mountains. Both courses are immaculately maintained and thrill golfers of every skill level with their remarkable bunkers, hole designs, and various elevations. The Persimmon course has earned several rave reviews from the press including:

• “10th Best Private Course In the Valley” by PGA professionals in Desert Golf magazine.

• “14th Best Course In Arizona” by Golf Digest.

• The rank of #3, #4 and #2 in its list of “Best Private Courses” by Ranking Arizona in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

End your day on the course at either The Persimmon’s or The Ironwood’s restaurants. Both feature full menus served indoors or out.

I feel like a born-again Christian, evangelizing what a wonderful place Anthem is (even though I'm not Christian). When you're a part of something so wonderful (in this case, Anthem), you just want to shout it out from the highest mountain so that everyone can learn and appreciate it as well.

Best of luck in your search!

Do any of your neighbors have purple rocks outside their houses? I heard Anthem was an interesting place.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

When you move back maybe you should be on some board for Anthem? I'm sure they would love someone as passionate as you. Just as Captain Bill raves about Val Vista Lakes (except he is a RE salesperson) and serves on some boards there.

I am also a Val Vista Lakes lover. I don't serve on any boards here though, I'm just a VVL lover.

[cbang]

Stucco box housing, strip mall retail, an 'outlet', and an hour away from anything there is to do in Phoenix.

[Garson]

Ok - I do not live in Anthem but I do live in an outlying area in a new home. Some of us choose these areas for the quality of life and LIKE being outside the busy areas. I walk to trails in the desert, see stars and enjoy the quietness of being outside the city. Some people love areas like Tempe but to me they are just not attractive, visually or in any other manner. Also - my new stucco home is more energy efficient than any home built in the 1900's.
My issue with Anthem when moving from N Phoenix was that I do not consider Pulte/Del Webb to be very good builders - and neither did the respondents in the JD Power homeowner satisfaction survey where they were rated below average in 2007. The homes are rather boring looking too. I also did not want to live in a "brand" community. There is an Anthem in Las Vegas and they are planning an Anthem in Buckeye as well. Can these people not come up with any other names? To me re-using the name de-values the original. IMOP.
However I do know several people that love living in Anthem and really enjoy the sense of community there.

[hts]

Originally Posted by sheena

Do any of your neighbors have purple rocks outside their houses? I heard Anthem was an interesting place.

Purple rocks, eh? I'm not familiar with that with which you speak. Truth be told, I doubt it exists, as the HOA Nazis would have a field day.

[JoePAz]

Originally Posted by sheena

Do any of your neighbors have purple rocks outside their houses? I heard Anthem was an interesting place.

I heard many stories about purple rocks and rock of varried colors, keys in bowls etc. I have lived in Anthem since 2004 and never found one to be true. Most of the stoires are just from other joking about other stoires they heard. As for the reality Anthem is nice family oriented place to live. You will find alot of nice people and even a few A-holes as you would expect from any place. As for the "purple rock scene", I am sure you can fine the same number of people into that lifestyle just about any place in Phoenix.

So the rumors are simply not true.

[asugraduate]

Originally Posted by JoePAz

Anthem Stuff - Local forum started and maintain by Anthem residents. Lost of posts by the same 5-6 people and they have their fair share of complainers, but gives you a different view point. Remember no community is perfect.
anthemstuff.com

I agree that anthemstuff is one way to find out about the community and some different points of view. Being an educator in the area, I tend to browse the education forum to see what the general public has to say.

[bebraver]

Anthem, or as my husband and I call "Anthrax" is wonderful if you like overpriced, low-quality cookie cutter homes with little or no property and Nazi-like HOAs. The amenities far outweigh the lack of individuality. The Homes are nasty, spray-on Spanish drywall horrors. But I guess that's what Del "Webb of Lies" has to offer the uneducated. We live in New River, BTW. and have 2 acres. No walls, fences, or HOAs breathing down our backs to make sure we put our garage door down. Remember, folks: Custom homes in Phoenix AREN'T custom. They're customary. Unless you think offering 4 shades of beige is custom...

[KarmaPhx]

Originally Posted by bebraver

Anthem, or as my husband and I call "Anthrax" is wonderful if you like overpriced, low-quality cookie cutter homes with little or no property and Nazi-like HOAs. The amenities far outweigh the lack of individuality. The Homes are nasty, spray-on Spanish drywall horrors. But I guess that's what Del "Webb of Lies" has to offer the uneducated. We live in New River, BTW. and have 2 acres. No walls, fences, or HOAs breathing down our backs to make sure we put our garage door down. Remember, folks: Custom homes in Phoenix AREN'T custom. They're customary. Unless you think offering 4 shades of beige is custom...

Anthem homes are cheap, especially right now.

[markas214]

Originally Posted by KarmaPhx

Anthem homes are cheap, especially right now.

True. There is a decent 3 bedroom corner house currently listed for $95,000 and plenty of 4 bedrooms in the $120s. I believe the cheapest new build is well over $200k.