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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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personally...
1) I would not intentionally 'over pay' for a house (even if I THOUGHT I might die there (unlikely I will die in my personal residence, or live a long life in one retirement location)
2) Housing in the US West is pretty steep (Californication - inflow of capital = outflow of lifelong residents who can no longer afford property taxes / often seniors (no Prop 13 OUTSIDE CA))
3) Scottsdale is a saturated market (but I have 2 friends still doing OK flipping higher end homes there, they buy from distressed sellers)
4) 3500 homes on the market ought to give you plenty of bargaining power
5) I only buy 'unique' homes / intrinsic value (View / on a Park / excellent location / in the way of commercial development)
6) If you buy a cookie cutter / standard house... you will have 1000's of others just like it For Sale when you need to unload
7) YOU may never need to unload (if you die there). (Hope your heirs like Scottsdale)
8) A good friend LEFT Scottsdale for another Californicated state (Colorado)... they were native Coloradoan and were not welcome back by the new immigrants (Californians), nor could they deal with the significant decline of QoL in Colorado... so... they are back in Scottsdale.
9) If it is a retirement home... you may be into it very cheap, so appreciation is no longer a wealth building need or strategy.
I suggest looking in the valley west of Scottsdale. There are a wide range of homes in the area. The Sun Cities are the most widely known, but there are many others both upscale and less expensive.
Congrats, fluffythewondercat, on seeking another retirement home.
I live a short distance to the north of you in San Mateo County. When I was looking for a second home, appreciation never entered the equation, as previous properties did. However, I did purchase in the best neighborhood that I could afford.
As far as I can tell, pretty much all of North Scottsdale consists of great neighborhoods. There's nothing like San Bruno here. There may be subtle differences that would be impossible for outsiders like us to discern. I hope our agent will tell us, if that is the case.
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I trust you purchase what suits you. May you have a fantastic retirement journey.
Thank you. It's a nice place, San Mateo County, and some people do retire there if they are financially able and feel they can weather the tax increases that lie ahead.
I suggest looking in the valley west of Scottsdale. There are a wide range of homes in the area. The Sun Cities are the most widely known, but there are many others both upscale and less expensive.
We are actually more familiar with the West Valley than the East, from all our trips here. It's not what we're looking for. But the 101 loop gets us there quickly when necessary.
For those who don't know Phoenix: The freeways are fantastic. Smooth, free of litter and debris, and the walls are artfully decorated with images of Arizona wildlife. Plus somebody at ADOT has a sense of humor. The safety message boards are hilarious. No Speeding in the 7 Levels of the Candy Cane Forest, indeed.
I understand where you are coming from. A home is still a large investment and it's only natural to want returns on your investment. You should be able to still look for the more desirable homes out of the lot, the ones on the golf course or with a view or end units etc. I'm sure there's still locations that are considered more desirable and within those locations, maybe the cul-de-sac house, etc. I'm sure if you really hone in you can start finding houses and locations that are more appealing.
We’ve been shopping for a second, “retirement” home in Scottsdale, Arizona. The area was chosen for livability and for similarity in terms of services offered to where we currently live in Silicon Valley.
There are currently 3500 homes listed for sale here. Worse, Scottsdale is not completely built out with SFHs the way our area is. If you look at historical prices paid on a variety of properties, it seems that few will make any money when they sell. Some take a loss.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I’ve never bought a property without a reasonable expectation of gain in the long run. I don’t expect the crazy price increases we get at home, where there’s a shortage of houses. But we both like the area and the house styles.
What would you do? Would you just decide you won’t care if the new house never appreciates in value?
If one can afford it, it makes sense to buy a pre-retirement home where one plans to retire.
With only a few exceptions, real estate has always been a mainstay of the American economy and houses have almost always appreciated in value over the years. Scottsdale and other areas of Arizona have long been leading retirement destinations, which has further served to hold property values and appreciation up. Therefore, buying a pre-retirement home, even if one rents it out, never lives in it as a retirement home or decides to live there, serves as a value-holder that keeps pace with one's desired RE market.
Further, assuming one's primary residence also appreciates in value, one has taken real steps to reduce one's post-retirement mortgage debt (to zero if possible).
I would not buy a house I thought would never appreciate, or worse yet depreciate.
I know nothing of Scottsdate AZ, but a cursory review seems to indicate it is something of a boom town and there are lots of areas where the houses would appreciate.
We’ve been shopping for a second, “retirement” home in Scottsdale, Arizona. The area was chosen for livability and for similarity in terms of services offered to where we currently live in Silicon Valley.
There are currently 3500 homes listed for sale here. Worse, Scottsdale is not completely built out with SFHs the way our area is. If you look at historical prices paid on a variety of properties, it seems that few will make any money when they sell. Some take a loss.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I’ve never bought a property without a reasonable expectation of gain in the long run. I don’t expect the crazy price increases we get at home, where there’s a shortage of houses. But we both like the area and the house styles.
What would you do? Would you just decide you won’t care if the new house never appreciates in value?
I'm thinking about buying a second home or condo in Scottsdale. The prices are still a bargain and haven't reached their 2006 peak yet. My guess is that you will get better price appreciation % in Scottsdale than your Silicon Valley property if you measure both at current value. The outrageous property appreciation that SV has gotten over decades is not normal and it's anyone's guess as to whether that will continue.
Now what I wouldn't do is take your SV sale price and buy a similar prices property in Scottsdale, you can get an outstanding house for a reasonable price.
personally...
1) I would not intentionally 'over pay' for a house (even if I THOUGHT I might die there (unlikely I will die in my personal residence, or live a long life in one retirement location)
2) Housing in the US West is pretty steep (Californication - inflow of capital = outflow of lifelong residents who can no longer afford property taxes / often seniors (no Prop 13 OUTSIDE CA))
3) Scottsdale is a saturated market (but I have 2 friends still doing OK flipping higher end homes there, they buy from distressed sellers)
4) 3500 homes on the market ought to give you plenty of bargaining power
5) I only buy 'unique' homes / intrinsic value (View / on a Park / excellent location / in the way of commercial development)
6) If you buy a cookie cutter / standard house... you will have 1000's of others just like it For Sale when you need to unload
7) YOU may never need to unload (if you die there). (Hope your heirs like Scottsdale)
8) A good friend LEFT Scottsdale for another Californicated state (Colorado)... they were native Coloradoan and were not welcome back by the new immigrants (Californians), nor could they deal with the significant decline of QoL in Colorado... so... they are back in Scottsdale.
9) If it is a retirement home... you may be into it very cheap, so appreciation is no longer a wealth building need or strategy.
Great information and insight Stealth. Even though I wouldn't be buying for appreciation, I wonder if the Scottsdale housing market will ever heat back up to cause serious appreciation which I think depends on whether Scottsdale keep or expands its status as the high end place in Arizona. I also wonder if Phoenix itself might steal a bit of Scottsdale thunder especially for millenials.
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(Hope your heirs like Scottsdale)
