What Phoenix suburbs are in the most trouble?

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

It's so not just the outlying areas, it's inside Phx itself that has been terribly affected. My friend in 85028 lost $200k in equity. I lost close to $150k and I don't live THAT far out. Every area took a good size hit.

Every property owner has seen their values drop as a result from all this mess. However, the more established areas have seen fewer foreclosures and fewer vacancies ... while the outer suburban areas have a very high percentage of foreclosed properties, as well as some developments sitting still half constructed, or swaths of vacant land that were planned for development, but have never materialized.

What's sad is that those of us who didn't fall for these idiotic ARMs, and have paid our mortgages on time (or even paid them off) have taken a massive hit on our property values thanks to the lenders/lendees who let stupidity and greed rule. Those who obtained loans which they didn't deserve in the first place are often the ones who purposely fell through on mortgage payments, left their houses abandoned (with items stolen), and are now begging & crying for their share of the bailout money from D.C. You know where most of these foreclosed, abandoned homes are located? SUBURBAN areas. Drive around established Phoenix neighborhoods like Willo, Palmcroft, Arcadia, and Camelback East, and you will hardly find any vacant lots or abandoned properties.

[61scout80]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

The issue regarding far flung 'burbs like Maricopa is not so much chain stores and retail outlets, but the high rate of foreclosed homes. Several years ago, these newer developments in the outlying areas expanded rapidly with the anticipation of all the growth. Well, they received the influx of new residents, but a lot of those new homes were overpriced for the cookie cutter quality ... and many of those new residents obtained sub prime mortgage loans. When the bottom fell out, those newer residents lost their houses, which was partly their own carelessness as far as I'm concerned.

I really don't understand what the big attraction is about these far flung suburban areas anyway. Most of the residents have to commute such a long way to and from their jobs in the Phoenix metro area. Not all of them work downtown ... but even the commute times to the SE Valley from places like Maricopa are at least an hour each way when you factor in the traffic. Besides, if you can get a house for a dirt cheap price now, how much are you really saving when you count the price of fuel, and the wear & tear on your vehicle by having to commute so far???

i know you have read this from me at least 100 times on here. My commute from maricopa to work in chandler is 30 minutes, when i lived in chandler my commute was 30 minutes. If you don't believe me take the trip during rush hour, but be sure to watch the clock. that reservation crossing plays tricks on your mind. it is far shorter than many believe. Last week i drove to Peoria and 67th ave in an hour. I can be at the airport or rio salado college in 30-35 minutes in traffic. Its not nearly as far as most think. When was the last time you were in Maricopa?

There is under a 6 month supply of homes listed on realtor.com right now. Believe it or not supply is not as great as you make it out to be. we are all suffering from people who paid too much and can't pay their bills anymore. Is there even a city in the metro area that hasn't dropped $100k off the average sales price in the last 2 years?

fuel and wear and tear are so miniscule. The worst thing is that i just can't go out and by some fuel sucking monster, i need to make sure the car gets decent mileage. that said, i have the same TDI VW i had. my commute is about 90% highway @ 70 mph. much easier on equipment than my old 8 mile commute on city streets.

to me phoenix is not the center of the world. i could really care less about it, i rarely even find myself inside the 101. many of my neighbors feel the same way. We enjoy having the reservation as a buffer from the toxic brown cloud that hovers over your head, we enjoy seeing the stars at night and we enjoy that 2 houses being broken into is big news. I bet more homes than that are broken into daily in the close in cities.

For me when the big plans come to fruition, and maricopa is no longer the outskirts I'll move on. i don't want to be in the congestion of a big city. to me the troubles far outweigh the conveniences. I'll take my head clearing 30 minute drive on an open highway over the teeth grinding gridlock of the city any day.

[blueeyz911]

Originally Posted by 61scout80

to me phoenix is not the center of the world. i could really care less about it, i rarely even find myself inside the 101. many of my neighbors feel the same way. We enjoy having the reservation as a buffer from the toxic brown cloud that hovers over your head, we enjoy seeing the stars at night and we enjoy that 2 houses being broken into is big news. I bet more homes than that are broken into daily in the close in cities.

For me when the big plans come to fruition, and maricopa is no longer the outskirts I'll move on. i don't want to be in the congestion of a big city. to me the troubles far outweigh the conveniences. I'll take my head clearing 30 minute drive on an open highway over the teeth grinding gridlock of the city any day.

I agree. I love living in Maricopa and the drive really is not that bad. I was hesitant about moving there because of the drive but unless there is an accident on the 347, it's not that big of a deal.

I too love the buffer from the 347 between us and town. It feels great to not be living right in the middle of the city. Been there, done that for many years and I do not miss it at all.

To comment on the original post, Maricopa definitely is one of the burbs that was hit the hardest. I am not happy about all the equity I am losing on my house. But I am happy in my house so I will just kick back and ride it out.