Housing for Less than $300k (Phoenix, Scottsdale: houses, neighborhoods, buying)

[Akonyo]

Hey all.

My parents are moving to this area next year and are looking for a house. They are retirees. They're basically looking for around 1,800 square feet with a decent backyard in a non-sketchy area.

We checked out Litchfield Park and the houses tend to either be WAY overpriced (in my opinion) for its location or on top of each other without any land in between neighbors.

We're thinking about checking out Chandler, Sun City, and San Tan Valley, which seem pretty reasonable as per Zillow. Any other ideas?

[Hal Roach]

Newer homes are often on 5-6000 sf lots, which is bigger than Vegas, and the house, garage, driveway take up more than half the space, and a pool can take 1/2 of what's left (counting the deck). Older city homes will often have 7000-8000 sf lots, and mid-century maybe a little more. Corner lots will be bigger, and often demand a premium. Other ideas? North Central News | The Voice of the North Central Phoenix Community

[ScottsdaleMark]

I'd look for older homes on larger lots, large developers never build on large lots anymore, even for luxury homes (unless city regs require a certain lot size) they cram as many homes in per acre as they can ... but they used to be more generous, and people mostly just pay for the square footage of the house, the square footage of the land is kind of an afterthought so buying a large lot isn't much more expensive ... I had a modest block house on an acre lot and I kept feeling like it was under-valued and under-appraising but my realtor told me that the lot was only worth $1 a square foot...so being on an acre lot (43,560 square feet) would only be worth like ~$35,000 more than being on a "normal" ~7500sqft type lot.

[ajonesaz]

You should be able to get 1800 sq ft anywhere in the metro area for under $300k. Add Sun Lakes (just outside of Chandler) and even some areas of Scottsdale to your radar. I can't imagine retirees liking San Tan Valley. The more you age, the closer you will want to be to medical facilities and doctors offices. I imagine they would be happier in town.

[AZgarden]

I live in Ocotillo and my house, almost 1800 sf, has a lot about 8300 sf. Houses are about 25 years old.

[Akonyo]

Thank you all for the advice!

[crystalys]

I live in Moon Valley in North Phoenix, which is an older neighborhood built in the 1950's to 1990's and there are a good amount of homes in this area under $300K with 1800+ square feet. The lots tend to be larger here. My lot is over 10,000 sq ft which is typical in my specific neighborhood. Also there are a higher percentage of people who stay in their homes longer here because it is a good area with a convenient location to amenities and easy access to all freeways. This would be a place that your parents might consider because the homes may be older, but they were built well and taken care of over the years.

Moon Valley - A Popular Neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona

Moon Valley Neighborhood Association – Neighbors Helping Neighbors

[thinkalot]

Originally Posted by Akonyo

Hey all.

My parents are moving to this area next year and are looking for a house. They are retirees. They're basically looking for around 1,800 square feet with a decent backyard in a non-sketchy area.

We checked out Litchfield Park and the houses tend to either be WAY overpriced (in my opinion) for its location or on top of each other without any land in between neighbors.

We're thinking about checking out Chandler, Sun City, and San Tan Valley, which seem pretty reasonable as per Zillow. Any other ideas?

In Sun City you would get the most for the money. There is also every type of medical care there. Many of the homes have good sized lots.

[Akonyo]

Originally Posted by crystalys

I live in Moon Valley in North Phoenix, which is an older neighborhood built in the 1950's to 1990's and there are a good amount of homes in this area under $300K with 1800+ square feet. The lots tend to be larger here. My lot is over 10,000 sq ft which is typical in my specific neighborhood. Also there are a higher percentage of people who stay in their homes longer here because it is a good area with a convenient location to amenities and easy access to all freeways. This would be a place that your parents might consider because the homes may be older, but they were built well and taken care of over the years.

Moon Valley - A Popular Neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona

Moon Valley Neighborhood Association – Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Thank you! I will look into this area.

Originally Posted by thinkalot

In Sun City you would get the most for the money. There is also every type of medical care there. Many of the homes have good sized lots.

Thanks. I actually meant Sun Lakes, not Sun City. Sorry about that. I just moved here last week and am still learning the area myself!

[Dewey59]

Don't rule out the Sun Cities (original, West, Grand, etc.). VERY good bang for your buck and there is outstanding medical facilities, 55 and older friendly communities, and a ton of things to do (clubs, hobbies, etc.). Where I am at (SCW), $300k would almost buy the biggest, nicest house in the city!