stupid question? do houses in AZ have basements? (Phoenix, Peoria: for sale, neighborhood)

[stupidbicyclist]

Just wondering if houses in arizona have basements? It may be a stupid question, but being from the midwest most houses have basements. So just want to know before I realize on my own that they don't have them.

[jenkaye]

Hardly any do....it would be smart if they did so we would have a cool place to run to

[Boatdrinks]

Many builders are doing basements now, which is great. However, they tend to cost at least 100K over the price of a house without a basement.

[itsadryheat]

usually runs about 60- 65 dollars a square foot

[country pride]

To my knowledge, very few do, and I know that because Ive been in some of them.
But the reason might be because we dont get tornadoes, hurricanes or other disasters that might utilize the need for one. But we do have dust storms and those 'mini twister' things, at this hour and before my coffee I forget what theyre called but they do a lot of damage. The word will hit me later and I'll come back with it, lol.

[Magnum Mike]

Very few homes have them, and they can usually be found in older developments from the late 1950's and 1960's. There may be newer homes with basements, but you won't find too many of them.

Sunken living rooms are about as close as you can get to a basement in the Phoenix area..

[WantingoutofAz]

Originally Posted by stupidbicyclist

Just wondering if houses in arizona have basements? It may be a stupid question, but being from the midwest most houses have basements. So just want to know before I realize on my own that they don't have them.

The two story house is definitely much more common than basement homes but basement homes do exist as I live in one and it is not an older home. Ours was built in 2004. I went from a 3000 sq. foot 2 story to a 4000 sq. foot 1 story with a basement and there is no comparison. The basement is sooo much cooler and the air conditioning doesn't run nearly as often as it did in our two story. We live in North Peoria and our basement home is a Fulton. These same homes are in Litchfield Park also. In Vistancia, TW Lewis is building brand new basement homes although they are very pricey....$800,000 on up. In my neighborhood (Fletcher Heights) the basement homes that are for sale range from $600,000 to $765,000 for approx. 4,000 sq. feet.

In my opinion, if you can afford it, the basement home is worth it.

[azloafer]

I recall the first time that we came to Arizona from Wisconsin. We were just visiting then, but we did look through model homes at several different places. This was 30 years ago. The same size house as we had in Wisconsin was about $10,000 less in Arizona, BUT in Wisconsin we had an all brick home with a 2 car garage and a basement. Here we would be getting a slump block or stucco home with no basement and a carport. We did move here 21 years ago, but we really do miss the basement. When you think about it, the basement is as large as the house, it is like having an extra floor. Many basements in Wisconsin were fixed up to look as nice as the first floor. I have always wondered why Wisconsin homes automatically come with a basement and Arizona homes are built on a slab?

[sablebaby]

Probably 99% percent of homes do not have basements, however that doesn't mean you can't find them. But, like another poster said, they usually cost a whole lot more, especially if they are in a good area.

[motormaker]

I think I read somwhere that it also had something to do with the water table in the area. In many areas in the east and mid-west that have basements you might have to install a sump pump.