The Arizona Republic had a nice piece on the real estate market in Maricopa, Arizona.
Two or three years ago, Maricopa got a ton of press, even national press, about being ground zero for the real estate bust. There was an article in the New York Times, a feature on ABC’s “Nightline,” and tons of other media attention. Long before the housing bust hit many areas of the Valley, Maricopa had already become the symbol of the real estate bust in Arizona.
The people of the Town of Maricopa have been through a gut-wrenching fall in housing prices that, no doubt, has scarred many families. I’m sure the real estate bust will be the low point of many people’s lives.
Now, however, the people of Maricopa are almost optimistic!
Many feel, with good reason, that Maricopa home prices can’t go any lower - that there is nowhere else to go but up from here. And I think they’re right.
Maricopa AZ 85239 - Average home price per square foot
CLICK GRAPH
Homes are selling for less than the cost of construction. The average sale price is $99,633.
Armed with low-interest mortgages and an $8,000 federal tax incentive, people are buying foreclosures and starter homes.
Nearly 1,000 homes sold in Maricopa in the first quarter of 2009, the highest first-quarter sales total since 2006. Combined resales and new-home sales for last year were higher than in 2007. Maricopa officials are hoping that the pace continues picking up this year.
“If you’re interested in a house in Maricopa, this is the ideal time,” said Mike Orr, real-estate analyst with the Cromford Report, which tracks the residential resale market in greater Phoenix.
I completely agree with Mike Orr, if you are want to live in Maricopa, Arizona or have a winter home there, this is an ideal time to buy.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Whizzer 06.30.09 at 10:48 am
I also understand there are some good values in CA. In fact, I
understand that soon the state will be passing out IOU’s.
TBD: Whether retail stores will take them, and
is Arizona next.
azrob 06.30.09 at 1:34 pm
“Many feel, with good reason, that Maricopa home prices can’t go any lower - that there is nowhere else to go but up from here. And I think they’re right” - well, maybe, but once again this shows pretty poor logic…
1. Maricopa is not much of a ’second home’ or ‘retirement’ area, it is a long commute to work town, had very limited services for anybody, and really is a young family area.
2. Competition. If/when mesa/chandler/gilbert settle out to $100K, then why would anybody live 25 miles further out???
3. gas prices. $4 a gallon gas and the average worker in maricopa will be paying more for gas + (higher than most areas) home taxes than rent would be for a home in mesa… Az homebuyers clearly aren’t too good at math, but they will eventually figure this out.
4. end of the $8k subsidy. there are still sufficient foreclosures/ upside down by 50% mortgages, job losses, etc to drive supply for maricopa into the sunset. Are you sure, that without a stimulus, there are enough buyers to mop this up forever? Inventory is down today, but are you sure it will last? this is spring, we have climbing foreclosures, job losses, and delinquincies on mortgages…
5. rent in maricopa. Many homes are being bought by investors, and there are a gosh darn ton for rent already. look on the mls for rent, and there is a never ending supply. A smarter move than buying in maricopa, would be lowballing the first 20 rentals that you like. If you can rent for $800 or $900, why buy? tax, insurance, new carpet every few years, and an AC every 10 or so would cost more than the rent, right now, even if you got the home for free!
John Wake 06.30.09 at 2:03 pm
Whizzer, I think historically the Arizona legislature has been less fiscally irresponsible than the California legislature so we may get out of this alive. And bad economic news in California often causes more Californians to move here, unfortunately, they are having trouble selling their California homes which limits the impact.
John Wake 06.30.09 at 2:06 pm
azrob, I sold a home on a golf course in Maricopa to a Canadian family and they LOVE their vacation home!
Whizzer 06.30.09 at 3:11 pm
Right now, I’m not so impressed with either. I think both states show
the disfunction of being overly controlled by one political party. Coming
from - not a top - but a state that values education, I’ve yet to fully
grasp the attitude down here, though to be fair the university level has
made great strides.