Exit #126, North of I-10 Real Estate (Goodyear, Buckeye: hotels, new home, safe area)

[foma]

Anybody familiar with the Exit #126 area like around Lifetime Fitness? That's where DH and I go to workout and we've noticed a plot of land just west of it that looks like it's going to get developed. Also, directly east of the building is Camelot homes but the prices are really expensive ($400K+ range).

If anybody can recommend any homesites - new or current - that's under $300K, can you post? Or, whatever your thoughts are of that area would be helpful, too. Buckeye is just too dang far the more we think about it. Verrado is nice but we're really getting into the habit of working out at Lifetime that we'd love to live around that area.

Also, what part of town is that considered? Goodyear? Litchfield Park? If you live in Litchfield Park, is your address "Litchfield Park, AZ" or "Goodyear, AZ"? That whole area is really confusing for me!

Thanks guys.

P.S. If you live out in Buckeye, ever notice a nasty maneur stinge, especially at night? It totally grosses me out. DH can stand it 'cuz he grew up in the country but I'm a city girl and OHMYGOD I hate it! What little "new car smell" I had left in my car moving here 6 months ago is totally gone now b'c of the maneur smell. GRRRRR!

[cityscout]

I'm researching the area myself. My wife and I are a month or so from closing on a new Camelot home. Exciting!!!

What sold us was the location - Lifetime members ourselves, Estrella Falls Mall, and recently announced Cancer Center of America. The area is ripe for development. This will translate into a higher than average increase in property values.

Camelot is a great builder. They build beautiful homes. TW Lewis, also a great builder and building in the area, isn't any cheaper. The area is going to be expensive because of the land values. Convenience and location are key selling points. We currently live in the North Valley and have witnessed the impact Desert Ridge Mall has had on development and property values in the area.

I would suggest you use zillow, an online property estimator. It's not 100% accurate, but it's a good ballpark calculator of home prices. It provides great images of homes. This with MLS data (wife is a realtor) is a great start.

I'm a gym rat myself. Enjoy running, weightlifting and the pools. My wife isn't hooked yet, but I'm working on her. She'll come around.

It's a beautiful area with great potential for growth in the next 24 - 36 months. I wish you luck. The thought of living walking distance from this phenomenal fitness club is almost criminal. I hope you find your home.

[Ponderosa]

Plenty of homes in that price range between 126 and 124 on the south side in a master planned community called Canyon Trails.

[foma]

I see that you are new to City-Data! I sent you a private message (click on "My Settings") with a couple of questions regarding the area for a little more anonymity. Congrats on the new home and yes, Lifetime is pretty awesome!

[foma]

Ponderosa - is the south side "safe"? a good neighborhood?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by foma

Ponderosa - is the south side "safe"? a good neighborhood?

I think so. It is all brand spanking new middle class area. I used to take my daughter over there for piano lessons. Nice new homes, neat and clean streets, and tons of kids riding bikes around. There's a couple neighborhoods that have entry models for 160K (according to the sign on the models). The only part of Goodyear that is questionable is the old town area south of Van Buren and Litchfield Road. Even that is pretty tame, though. There's also a couple of scattered areas of mobiles out by Perryville prison. It looks pretty seedy there, but I don't know much about it.

BTW, one of the subdivions over there has my all time favorite AZ subdivision name, "Sin Lomas". As you probably have noticed subdivisions here often have silly names like Pebble Creek (no creek, no pebbles - it was a cotton field). Sin Lomas is flat as a pancake. Truth in naming.

[foma]

thanks for your input!

[Boatdrinks]

We looked at Palm Valley, which I believe is an exit away from the Lifetime Fitness (maybe a bit more - sorry I can't remember). I think Palm Valley is in Litchfield Park. We REALLY liked that area. I tend to not be a big fan of the west valley - no real reason other then we started our time in AZ in the east valley and it's kind of home for us - but we thought long and hard about moving to that area, as well as to Estella Mountain Ranch which we also really like. Litchfield Park felt like a really nice, safe area with great access to shopping, restaurants, etc., it's a very pretty area, and we also liked being rather close to Lifetime. I'll admit, though, that we didn't see all of the Litchfield Park area so I can't speak to the entire city/town.

We looked at a Fulton development right next to the Catholic Church in Palm Valley. It seemed like a decent development, and the prices were great. We also looked at a Beazer development there which was nice and closer to the golf course. And the TW Lewis homes, but those would be a lot more then 400K.

Had we decided to buy in the west valley, it definitely would have been in that general area. I'm no expert by any means, but I do think that area is going to be a good long term investment, based on the projected development, including the mall, hotels, etc., and the current cheaper housing prices then in much of the rest of the valley.