Is Queen Creek the best value for Phoenix AZ real estate / housing? (Apache Junction: custom home, neighborhoods)

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by asufan

You do understand that Queen Creek starts about 5 miles East of the Chandler border, along Queen Creek Rd?

I think my estimate of 15-25 minutes is more accurate, I suppose more if work is in the far NW part of Chandler and the home is at the for SE part of Queen Creek. I think many forget that the far reaches of what was once called "Queen Creek" is now called San Tan Valley. QC is the relatively smaller community closer to Gilbert.

Oh I realize that...just going off of city core to city core since the OP didn't say WHERE in either city. If they are commuting to the Price Corridor, that would be less time than say, ASU Research Park. And the roads have gotten much better than when we lived out there in 2003...it took me a good hour to get to Ray and I10. Err on the side of caution.

[Sandduner]

Originally Posted by TempeAZnative

Nope pretty much all the houses built during the boom were built as cheap as possible with chicken wireless and Chinese drywall. They are built on top of each other with yards the size of a stamp.

Another question, but do you think we are in a boom now? Have the building materials and methods changed since "the boom"? In your opinion.
Sorry to derail the topic.....

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by Sandduner

Another question, but do you think we are in a boom now? Have the building materials and methods changed since "the boom"? In your opinion.
Sorry to derail the topic.....

Actually yes. More builders are focusing on energy efficiency since the boom, and very few tract builders nowadays are building code minimum homes that were once commonly built during the boom.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Sandduner

Another question, but do you think we are in a boom now? Have the building materials and methods changed since "the boom"? In your opinion.
Sorry to derail the topic.....

It doesn't feel like a boom, in the early 2000's we were throwing up 50,000-100,000 new homes a year, a lot sat vacant and a lot also never got fully built. Last year we built something like 15,000 or so new units, so I don't see the tell tale signs of a boom. Jobs seem to be the source of our growth now, which is how it should be. Now if we can fix our education system the area should really thrive.

It does feel like we're facing a growing supply issue which may cause more rapid price appreciation as demand increases and supply in desireable areas remains constrained.

Here's a lot of data on the topic

http://www.metrostudy.com/phoenix-ho...iating-market/

[bdarkness]

I mean this is apples and oranges asufan, but show me a house outside of Queen Creek with a legitimate 4 car garage on more than half an acre for $500k - $550k. I came here to learn and find out if there were other areas in the entire valley of Phoenix that we were overlooking. It turns out that 100% we have not overlooked anything. QC is the best value right now in Arizona for great priced luxury homes. We won't mind the commute because, again, in Queen Creek, there is very little traffic into Tempe or Chandler. Anyone who says a 2000 or 2500 sq foot home is just as good as 4000 hasn't lived in 4000. When you add in pool tables and big closets, it is a huge difference. One house we looked at for less than $550k had a 200 square foot closet in the master and walk in closets everywhere else. I mean all that and a one story home... Coming from the east coast this is crazy inexpensive.

Maybe you are really happy with your 2 or 3 car garage, but my husband will not be. We also would not be content having a neighbor 20 feet from our side wall or parking our RV at a storage facility. But that is us. Everyone cares about different things. If bars and clubbing is your thing, then QC is not for you. That is true. There is a Mormon church just 2 miles from the house we want, and big house, big land, church and family is very important to us.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by bdarkness

I mean this is apples and oranges asufan, but show me a house outside of Queen Creek with a legitimate 4 car garage on more than half an acre for $500k - $550k. I came here to learn and find out if there were other areas in the entire valley of Phoenix that we were overlooking. It turns out that 100% we have not overlooked anything. QC is the best value right now in Arizona for great priced luxury homes. We won't mind the commute because, again, in Queen Creek, there is very little traffic into Tempe or Chandler. Anyone who says a 2000 or 2500 sq foot home is just as good as 4000 hasn't lived in 4000. When you add in pool tables and big closets, it is a huge difference. One house we looked at for less than $550k had a 200 square foot closet in the master and walk in closets everywhere else. I mean all that and a one story home... Coming from the east coast this is crazy inexpensive.

Maybe you are really happy with your 2 or 3 car garage, but my husband will not be. We also would not be content having a neighbor 20 feet from our side wall or parking our RV at a storage facility. But that is us. Everyone cares about different things. If bars and clubbing is your thing, then QC is not for you. That is true. There is a Mormon church just 2 miles from the house we want, and big house, big land, church and family is very important to us.

I hear you and I agree that's a good value if proximity to dining and nightlife isn't a big issue. I also agree about the large single levels, I really liked a 4,000 sf house we looked at but we decided on a 3600 sf semi custom single story in South Chandler. It has an oversized 3 car garage and it's side by side in the front (we aren't fans of the split or tandem garages). We don't have half an acre but it's oversized at over 14000 sf which is big enough for a pool, spa and outdoor living areas plus room for a dog. To us though, location was more important so we went with Chandler.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by bdarkness

I mean this is apples and oranges asufan, but show me a house outside of Queen Creek with a legitimate 4 car garage on more than half an acre for $500k - $550k. I came here to learn and find out if there were other areas in the entire valley of Phoenix that we were overlooking. It turns out that 100% we have not overlooked anything. QC is the best value right now in Arizona for great priced luxury homes. We won't mind the commute because, again, in Queen Creek, there is very little traffic into Tempe or Chandler. Anyone who says a 2000 or 2500 sq foot home is just as good as 4000 hasn't lived in 4000. When you add in pool tables and big closets, it is a huge difference. One house we looked at for less than $550k had a 200 square foot closet in the master and walk in closets everywhere else. I mean all that and a one story home... Coming from the east coast this is crazy inexpensive.

Maybe you are really happy with your 2 or 3 car garage, but my husband will not be. We also would not be content having a neighbor 20 feet from our side wall or parking our RV at a storage facility. But that is us. Everyone cares about different things. If bars and clubbing is your thing, then QC is not for you. That is true. There is a Mormon church just 2 miles from the house we want, and big house, big land, church and family is very important to us.

For me, I cant think of an area that ranks worse than queen creek for value. There are limited locally owned eateries, no arts districts, no culture to speak of, no public transit, live music is limited, pro sports is completely lacking, yeah... just about everything I want to share with my family is missing. It also drives up fringe development which is another thing I really don't care to support. But if all you care about is the biggest space and most land you've probably found it in QC.

In time there will be additional costs to living there, mainly the loss of free time as commutes get worse and possibly increased taxes to build infrastructure out in Pinal county.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by bdarkness

I mean this is apples and oranges asufan, but show me a house outside of Queen Creek with a legitimate 4 car garage on more than half an acre for $500k - $550k. I came here to learn and find out if there were other areas in the entire valley of Phoenix that we were overlooking. It turns out that 100% we have not overlooked anything. QC is the best value right now in Arizona for great priced luxury homes. We won't mind the commute because, again, in Queen Creek, there is very little traffic into Tempe or Chandler. Anyone who says a 2000 or 2500 sq foot home is just as good as 4000 hasn't lived in 4000. When you add in pool tables and big closets, it is a huge difference. One house we looked at for less than $550k had a 200 square foot closet in the master and walk in closets everywhere else. I mean all that and a one story home... Coming from the east coast this is crazy inexpensive.

I STILL say you can find this in Mesa or Apache Junction, especially in one of the uninformed areas. With just a few keystrokes, I found this that meets your requirements, and many more.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4.../7672245_zpid/

I suspect you are looking without a realtor. I suspect you have decided that you want a new build. If either of those statements are accurate, you will NOT find "the best value" in the area.

I also suspect that no matter what anyone said to you when you "came here to learn if there were other areas in the entire valley of Phoenix that you were overlooking " you had already made up your mind about QC.

I hope you're not retiring in the next few years - that huge house and land will become a nightmare. I also hope that you will accept and can financially absorb a big loss when you sell.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by locolife

For me, I cant think of an area that ranks worse than queen creek for value. There are limited locally owned eateries, no arts districts, no culture to speak of, no public transit, live music is limited, pro sports is completely lacking, yeah... just about everything I want to share with my family is missing. It also drives up fringe development which is another thing I really don't care to support. But if all you care about is the biggest space and most land you've probably found it in QC.

In time there will be additional costs to living there, mainly the loss of free time as commutes get worse and possibly increased taxes to build infrastructure out in Pinal county.

This. Some people care about much more than a huge house near a church. Different strokes. The OP already has her mind made up, but must have been having second thoughts given the need to seek reassurance.

[whatIf...]

We've been house hunting for almost two years now and I have to say that if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. The properties on the outskirts of town are usually less expensive than those in central phoenix, but they have their own costs built in, too. We have great freeways here, but they can only help so much - most things in phoenix seem to be 10 miles away from any location you start at.

Also, I don't know if it's still an issue as much as it used to be, but I remember hearing about earth fissures in queen creek a while back.