Well Prices in Arizona are increasing rapidly. ALthough they are expected to be steady in a few years, we bought our house last May of '04, we paid 225k for a 2050 sq. foot 4 br/2 ba (all bedrooms expect master, which is huge, are really small) with a pool. This year on our street the same house is selling for 320k. If we waited a year later we would not have been able to buy. Unless you find a neighborhood where you can buy it directly from the builder, you cannot get a newer home for less than 150k around here anymore, last year there were tons of them for that price around 1400 sq. feet!
In Phoenix it is even higher, but there is more land so you can still find several areas where you can buy right from builder, which makes it a lot cheaper. So many people are moving to Arizona from Cali that some builders (I know Pulte is) requiring you to live in your house for a year minimum, because a lot of people are buying and selling immediately to recognize a gain.
My dad thought our house was a steal! He is in Houston, where if you live near the Galleria or Bellaire the prices are high. |