housing costs budget

[CheyDee]

There are plenty of housing choices around in all ends of the valley, (east, west, north, south), which will meet your criteria. You may have to hunt and peck a bit to find the closest match to what you want in terms of price, size, and specific town.

Please consider what Observer posted about knowing where work will be prior to making a long term housing commitment. While traffic here is seldom like rush hour on 635, you probably wouldn't want to drive the equivalent of Dallas to Ft. Worth for a daily commute.

[cab591]

Another example:

Our house is in a good part of Chandler, with good access to the highways and shopping centers. We're in one of the better school districts in the Valley (Kyrene school district -- though my roommate and I are in college, so this doesn't really affect us). The house isn't "new construction" -- the whole neighborhood was built in the 80's -- but it's a lot of what you'll find all over the Valley. Currently, the house is a bit "90's" inside. The kitchen and bathrooms are functional, just slightly dated -- we don't have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Our house is 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, with a 2 car garage, and a pool in the backyard. It's about 1800 sq ft. In it's dated condition, it's worth about $130k, with homes in our neighborhood ranging from $100k-150k, with some foreclosed properties running below that. Renovated properties in our neighborhood seem to be going for about $150-180k -- same size, just updated kitchens and bathrooms.

This essentially reflects the home prices across the Valley. Keep in mind, the further out you go, the more you get for your money. You could pick up a 4000 sq ft, new construction, 5 bedroom house for $200k if you wanted to, but you'd be looking at a MUCH longer commute. I have a friend, in fact, who bought (albeit 2 years ago) a 5000 sq ft, 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom house, with a 3 car garage, for $130,000. While the price is tempting, he lives down in Maricopa, and has to commute up to the Phoenix area daily -- something I would never do.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Midwest runner

....Have housing prices stabalized in Phx since this long recession began with all the foreclosures, home price drops, etc.? Can one purchase a nice family house (3-4 br, 2 ba, 2 car garage, 2000 square feet or more) in a decent suburb of Phx with decent schools for around or under 200k?

Gilbert is a great place. Right now you can probably find a nice 2000 sq ft. 4 bed 2 bath (good schools/close to freeways) for $180,000- $200,000