Dewey Or Prescott Valley?

[norm]

Brian,

How much are the homes in the PCC selling for?

[Curious]

Originally Posted by Pettrix

DON'T MOVE HERE!

Unless you have lots of $$$ or have your own business, you WILL NOT make a good living here. Housing is too expensive and pay is too low. Services are bad. Prescott is a RETIREMENT TOWN.

Dear Pettrix,

I suspect you have been simply scanning the above blogs, because something close to a RETIREMENT TOWN is exactly what we will be looking for. Homes in the Prescott vicinity are expensive, but in what desirable area aren't they? We are certainly not rich, but by the time we sell our upgraded home here, we hope to find something similar in value for our retirement. We are already 60...so I suspect we will do OK.

Being so down on the area however does make me wonder about your personal situation. Have you relocated from elsewhere? Are you seeking employment? What is the basis for your opinion?

Just, Curious

PS If you would like to keep abreast with housing $$$ across the country, you may enjoy watching some of the HGTV episodes that pertain. Trulia.com and Realtor.com are also eye openers.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by norm

Brian,

How much are the homes in the PCC selling for?

Hi Norm - I live out in the Country Club, too. Nice variety of homes out there, varying in age, size, and price. That's one thing I like about the area - you get more of an established "neighborhood" feel vs a "cookie-cutter" subdivision. Prices will range from low $200's for a little smaller, little older home up to $600+ for 4000 sf custom. Most homes tend to be in the $300's.

[LBear]

IF you don't need to work and have $$$$, then you should be OK. Jobs are low-paying and hard to find out here. I've lived here for 4 years, and I have been VERY INVOLVED in the business community here in Prescott/PV. It is a HUGE problem out here and the employers know it. This town is sort of a "Beverly Hills/Sun City" retirement/independently wealthy area.

For instance, housing in Prescott is 20% ABOVE the national average. Now, pay in Prescott (NOT counting real estate agents salaries) is 25% BELOW the national average. Realtors due to the HUGE $$$ they raked in the past couple of years due to the housing boom, REALLY skew the numbers. So, as you see, living out here for the middle-class person is VERY difficult.

I had 25 employees working for me. NOT ONE, let me repeat that, NOT ONE, lived in Prescott. They couldn't afford to, even myself as a manager. We all live in Chino, PV or Dewey.

Originally Posted by Curious

Dear Pettrix,

I suspect you have been simply scanning the above blogs, because something close to a RETIREMENT TOWN is exactly what we will be looking for. Homes in the Prescott vicinity are expensive, but in what desirable area aren't they? We are certainly not rich, but by the time we sell our upgraded home here, we hope to find something similar in value for our retirement. We are already 60...so I suspect we will do OK.

Being so down on the area however does make me wonder about your personal situation. Have you relocated from elsewhere? Are you seeking employment? What is the basis for your opinion?

Just, Curious

PS If you would like to keep abreast with housing $$$ across the country, you may enjoy watching some of the HGTV episodes that pertain. Trulia.com and Realtor.com are also eye openers.

[norm]

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Hi Norm - I live out in the Country Club, too. Nice variety of homes out there, varying in age, size, and price. That's one thing I like about the area - you get more of an established "neighborhood" feel vs a "cookie-cutter" subdivision. Prices will range from low $200's for a little smaller, little older home up to $600+ for 4000 sf custom. Most homes tend to be in the $300's.

Gretchen,

Thanks for the reply. When we visited PCC 3 years ago the price for a nice sized fairly new house was $175. We have another 2 1/2 years before we buy and I hope houses there are still affordable.

[LBear]

Originally Posted by norm

Gretchen,

Thanks for the reply. When we visited PCC 3 years ago the price for a nice sized fairly new house was $175. We have another 2 1/2 years before we buy and I hope houses there are still affordable.

NORM -

You should have bought back then. Like Gretchen stated, most homes will run in the $300's. Once you start looking at 3,000+ sq.ft, the price tags will jump to the high $400's and up.

Right now, the market is SLOW, but it is like that EVERYWHERE. Surprisingly, the prices only dropped 3-5% here in Prescott. Most will ride it out and then try and sell when the market rebounds (1-2 years from now???)

When it does start to take-off again. Prices will climb fast and hard. Remember, Prescott is LAND-LOCKED. There is no more "usable" land out here. What they are resorting to now is blasting away mountains (no joke) to build more real estate. They just spent $6 million dollars to blast a mountain so that they can build a Lowes. Remember, this was TAX PAYER $$$ the city of Prescott used. Now, that cost does NOT include the building itself. Prescott just paid for the infrastructure.

The best & only place IMHO left in Prescott (where you can get Pine trees, acreage and views) is Williamson Valley. That is where they are pushing with development. It is only 15-30 minutes (depending how far out you are on WVR) from downtown Prescott. They are building like MAD out there.

The "no 5-lanes" people are opposing any growth. They will lose in the end. As there is a group of people getting ready to sue the "no 5-lanes" people because they are endangering the lives of people driving down Williamson Valley Road, due to the fact that they are stopping the county from doing the roadwork. The county wants to make it 5 lanes due to safety and high-volume of traffic.

[Curious]

Dear Pettrix,

Thanks for your honesty. Your description did paint a clearer picture. Being that my husband and myself are among the first wave of "Boomers", I am thinking things won't change for a long time to come. I also feel therein lies the solution. Business providing services to accommodate growth will flourish. My guess is that escalating housing prices will also spill into neighboring areas such as Chino Valley, Dewey, Cottonwood etc. and soon you too will reap the benefits. It is all matter of time.

Those of us heading toward retirement are simply looking for an appropriate climate, friendly people, and good medical care. You can't blame us for that.

The employer/employee situation is unfortunate. We are very familiar with this, as we relocated to NC from Chicago after being forced into a job change. We needed to totally reinvent ourselves in our 50's. This is happpening everywhere. Your business must be doing pretty well to have 25 on payroll.

Curious