Peoria, Goodyear, Buckeye or other west side locales (Phoenix, Mesa: days on market, low income)

[WallyHaskel]

Hi,

I’ve spent the last month looking for homes in the east valley. Nice homes are either out of my price range ($350k) or kind of run down and over priced. So, I’ve turned to the west valley in search of properties. Seems like you can get a nicer home on that side of town with my budget. Problem is, I don’t know much about the west side. Can anyone living on the west side give me any insight to areas that I should consider based on my budget? I lived in Mesa from 2000 to 2007 and upon returning, it’s like a whole different place than I remember. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[beez74]

Originally Posted by WallyHaskel

Hi,

I’ve spent the last month looking for homes in the east valley. Nice homes are either out of my price range ($350k) or kind of run down and over priced. So, I’ve turned to the west valley in search of properties. Seems like you can get a nicer home on that side of town with my budget. Problem is, I don’t know much about the west side. Can anyone living on the west side give me any insight to areas that I should consider based on my budget? I lived in Mesa from 2000 to 2007 and upon returning, it’s like a whole different place than I remember. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

That price range its gonna be West side of Buckeye away from amenities and a few older homes in Goodyear, Surprise and Avondale in decent areas . The home prices decline as you move East towards Avondale. The area declines the more you go east of the 101 a bit past Westgate. Good luck! daughter in-law has the same goal and price range and every home so far found has been sold within 1 day or has tons of offers well above asking price, all new builds looked at she was entered into lotteries with about 35 other buyers for about 5 spots.

[grmi66]

Used to live in Avondale and if you need to commute east, it's a bear. Not uncommon in afternoon rush hour to take almost an hour of staring into the sun to get from downtown to Avondale Blvd.

The other issue was that many of the subdivisions were built within a stone's throw of some of the original migrant farm neighborhoods. Our subdivision surrounded one of them on three sides. So the low income inhabitants viewed our neighborhood as a good place for petty crimes like vehicle break ins and burglary. On the surface our neighborhood looked great, it was newer, kept up and had a couple of nice parks for the kids. But at night it was a different story.

[dasdamo4]

Beez74 is right. West of Buckeye it's cheaper but then again there's less out there at this point in time until it develops. Goodyear has and continues to develop into a strong economic foothold of the west valley -- becoming more "tech". Higher income and higher cost of living are starting to become more pronounced however, you may still be able to fit in comfortably with your budget. Check out zillow and you'll see some good option in Goodyear. Overall, it's very safe, excellent school systems, and is expected to reach a population of 100k by the end of 2020 indicating strong economic growth and development for the future. Glendale is older and more established however has some shady areas. It tends to be more cost friendly but. Peoria has very nice developments and is well-established as well. East of these locales you have Avondale, Tolleson, Laveen. They are cheaper for a reason. You will be invest in a larger house for the low to mid 300k range. Keep in mind the school systems are not the best and the crime rates in these areas are higher. They have nice looking housing divisions in the newer neighborhoods, but they border the so-called "bad" ones as well. I would suggest, Goodyear, Buckeye (Verrado area), or Peoria.

[WallyHaskel]

Thanks for the replies. A broker I spoke with suggested Buckeye as an up and coming area. I kind of worry about the air quality down there being even worse because of the power plant being so close.

I’ve noticed how quickly homes went under contract here, but I didn’t realize the bidding wars were also occurring on the west side. I sold my old home in the Midwest and moved out here a couple of weeks before the word “covid” became commonplace. Been living in RV, playing it super safe. I’m about to get my second vaccination and am hoping to find a home before the next round of this pandemic rears its ugly head. The news about bidding wars of 35 people is disheartening to hear.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by WallyHaskel

Thanks for the replies. A broker I spoke with suggested Buckeye as an up and coming area. I kind of worry about the air quality down there being even worse because of the power plant being so close.

I’ve noticed how quickly homes went under contract here, but I didn’t realize the bidding wars were also occurring on the west side. I sold my old home in the Midwest and moved out here a couple of weeks before the word “covid” became commonplace. Been living in RV, playing it super safe. I’m about to get my second vaccination and am hoping to find a home before the next round of this pandemic rears its ugly head. The news about bidding wars of 35 people is disheartening to hear.

The 35 people bidding wars only happen when the house is underpriced. So when someone is looking online 24-7 for the perfect deal decides to POUNCE on it, that's when the 35 others think the same thing. To illustrate my point, we sold in one of the hottest neighborhoods in our town. We had 5 offers inside of a week. My neighbors said "it's too low" (no it wasn't). I barely got my asking price. Now if I wanted to price it $20K lower, there would have been a bidding war. That doesn't mean it would have sold more than what I was asking. It could have been "bid up" (probably?) even less than I got. At the end of the day, it sold at a price that was accurate.

Try this approach in a hot market. Look for overpriced homes. When someone overprices their home, often, it will sit. After x amount of time, it gains a reputation that "something must be wrong with it". That's when you contact them. Overpricing a home often costs you more than pricing it right. Then educate the overpriced seller what your realistic price is and you will be the only one bidding. After a while, even people "who don't have to sell" panic. In my case, I specifically went to the selling agent. That way, I had a greedy RE person on my side (the listing agent gets to double-dip on the commission). It worked as I was closer to the sales process and was able to get in the head of the seller. Mind you, the seller had 3 homes. He didn't "have to sell". But he wanted to sell.

In the end, we bought a place for UNDER $100K than they paid for it new three years earlier. If they would have priced it correctly from the beginning, they would have sold it right away for more money. Remember: pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. Personally and currently, I'd also be chasing the hogs. And if you had boots on the ground, I'd be knocking on those doors (or calling them by looking them up on the country website) and working to cut out the agent who doesn't know how to sell. YMMV.

[WallyHaskel]

The Phoenix market is suffering from a shortage of homes which is causing all the homes to be inflated. If there are any homes that are over priced and sitting, those would be in the luxury 7 figure end of the market.

[grmi66]

Still some deals if willing to be patient and do your homework. We found a house that was in a divorce situation and offered a clean, quick close. This was the fourth offer on the house, but the young people bidding on the house previously would get squirrelly at the last minute and back out. They wanted a starter house to be in perfect working order, probably from watching too many shows on HGTV. The bad paint job, lack of repairs and capitalizing on a domestic quarrel all worked in my favor. In a month I've already gained $10,000 of appreciation just from a little elbow grease and a few cans of paint.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by WallyHaskel

The Phoenix market is suffering from a shortage of homes which is causing all the homes to be inflated..

Well OF COURSE!

Originally Posted by WallyHaskel

If there are any homes that are overpriced and sitting, those would be in the luxury 7 figure end of the market.

Some homes are on their 2nd listing which doesn't easily show up as days on market. Sort for homes that are on the market for 90 days or more. They are out there. Furthermore, 7 figure homes that are properly priced are selling fast.

Do as you please. I bought it for about $100K under market and it wasn't a 7 figure home. Maybe I just got lucky? Or maybe I used the right approach. Now the home i just bought is worth another $100K more since I bought it (or up to $200K total). The home I sold/moved out of is already up $50K. And STILL, not what the original buyers paid for it back in 2006 (I paid $52 a square foot in 2011; sold it for $119 a square foot). In 2011, that was a different game. Maybe I got lucky twice? Or maybe I studied the topic with intensity and I'm not guessing.

Whatever you do, realize cash is king! On the 5 offers that I received, I would only accept or discuss with non-contingent buyers.

[WK91]

I don’t really care for Buckeye except Verrado. Peoria and Goodyear are good choices to start looking. I’d also add Surprise (Marley Park) and Litchfield Park to your search.

Verrado is the best neighborhood on the west side, in my opinion. The problem is that prices are accelerating quickly there.

Also, have you thought about way north like Deer Valley?