Holy House prices in Goodyear! (Phoenix, Glendale: foreclosures, crime rates, mortgage)

[need_some_sun]

Hi there! My husband and I are researching the possibility of moving to the Phoenix area. We are looking online and researching, although we will be coming down there in March. My question is, how in the heck can a 2600-3000 sq foot house go for 120-140k in Goodyear? Why is this area so cheap? How far from Glendale is Goodyear? What is the catch? Is this a good area? From what I read it is, especially Estrella and Canyon Trails, I believe? I know jobs are the hardest thing, so my husband is going to see if he can transfer and there are a lot of mortgage corporations as far as my business as a loan processor. His job would be in Phoenix close to Glendale. Are there any other things I am missing? Yes, I am full aware of the heat, and coming from the depths of the freezing cold tundra in Minneapolis!

Thanks!!

Jen

[LBTRS]

Goodyear is very nice, I live in the Canyon Trails area and we are very happy here. The nice (new) areas are Estrella Mountain Ranch, Palm Valley and Canyon Trails. Prices are down all over the valley and more so in the outlying areas that had a bunch of new homes built during the boom. Now there are more homes due to foreclosures and being overbuilt then there are people to fill them.

Pick a good neighborhood in Goodyear and you can't go wrong. The area is growing nicely. Goodyear is close to Glendale depending on the part you're trying to get to. There are parts of Glendale that border Goodyear (around Luke AFB).

[Nellieand3]

I live in Goodyear and 120k for that size house may be in a cheaper neighborhood. My preference is stay north of I-10 in Goodyear because the school districts are better rated N. Estrella has good schools, but it is a haul to get anywhere from there.

[azriverfan.]

The West Side has improved considerably in the past 10 years but it still has more crime, offers less amenities and has less industry. That isn't to say the West Side doesn't possess some really nice areas and I would be more than happy to live in several areas in the West Side. That being said, it's cheaper for a reason. Goodyear like all cities in the West Side has less demand relatively speaking. That doesn't mean Goodyear is not a nice community. I really like Estrella Mountain Ranch and would buy a home there. The Valley has gotten to the point that I can honestly see myself living in any part of it provided it's in a great neighborhood. There are great upscale neighborhoods all over the Valley.

[Ritchie_az]

In Goodyear, north of the I-10 or south of the I-10 but west of Bullard are all very nice neighborhoods. That price for that size home seems a little on the low side. It may either be in a somewhat "lesser" neighborhood or may need repair work after a foreclosure.
Goodyear is a nice suburb with a bright future. The town won both the "All-American City" and "Most Liveable City" awards in 2008 (only time a city has won both in the same year).
The drive to Glendale will depend on from where in Goodyear to where in Glendale. Anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes probably.
Good luck!

[Ritchie_az]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

The West Side has improved considerably in the past 10 years but it still has more crime, offers less amenities and has less industry. That isn't to say the West Side doesn't possess some really nice areas and I would be more than happy to live in several areas in the West Side. That being said, it's cheaper for a reason. Goodyear like all cities in the West Side has less demand relatively speaking. That doesn't mean Goodyear is not a nice community. I really like Estrella Mountain Ranch and would buy a home there. The Valley has gotten to the point that I can honestly see myself living in any part of it provided it's in a great neighborhood. There are great upscale neighborhoods all over the Valley.

The "more crime, less amenities" comment should be taken with a grain of salt. For 90% of those living on the west side and east side, the crime rates are not significantly different and the amenities are not significantly different. There are areas on the both the west and east side that have some higher crime rates, and, if you are into the ultra-rich stores, Scottsdale has more of those than anywhere else. However, for most people living day-to-day life, there is no significant difference between the two sides of town.

[observer53]

Be very careful about what you see online in terms of pictures of homes that look to be in great shape and may not be. I went to take a look at a home for a poster here and discovered that the pictures of the lovely back yard had to have been of an entirely different house. The actual "yard" was a mess.

That said, Goodyear is a nice place overall.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

The West Side has improved considerably in the past 10 years but it still has more crime, offers less amenities

I've lived here for 2.5 years and have not HAD to go to the East Valley one time since moving here (made a couple trips to see what was over there). However, all my East Valley friends come to the West Valley all the time for concerts, spring training baseball, Cardinals Football, NASCAR, Hockey, Las Vegas, SoCal, etc. Which amenities are you referring to so I know what I've been missing in the East Valley? Part of the reason we like it in Goodyear is that we are so close the EVERYTHING including downtown. I laughed the other day when my buddy who lives in Gilbert was talking about the 6 hours it takes him to get to Las Vegas from his home as it doesn't take me anywhere near that long when I go to Vegas several times a year.

As far as the crime goes...before we moved here we heard that the West Valley has more crime, however, since moving here we have noticed that when there is a shooting or murder in the valley that is on the news it's an east valley address more than west valley. I always listen to the news expecting them to say such and such Ave due to everyone saying the west valley has all the crime, however, more often than not I'm surprised when they say an east valley address. I don't think the "more crime" argument is valid as I think crime is dispersed all over the valley. As an example, while writing this post I opened azcentral and the only valley crime story on the front page is "Tempe police arrest men for business killings". Not saying crime is worse in the east valley, just saying I don't think people like you that say it is worse in the west valley know what you're talking about and just repeating what you heard someone else say.

[Finger Laker]

the EV vs WV is for the most part a relic that is way overblown .... ritchie did a good job with his breakdown

90% of the communities and people have the same basic amenities whevere you go .......... i live in good year and within a few miles of my house there is about any store that I would need for day to day living and then some (a couple walmarts, a couple targets, a couple frys grocery stores, a safeway, a bashas, an albertsons, etc) as well as your general service stores

crime in goodyear is not bad and it's mainly of the property variety (like most of the suburban metro)

home prices are beat up all over the metro - the SW valley never cost as much as even through the boom it was still lagging by a few years in development

most of the infrastructure has caught up while home prices have started to even out a little

what really hurt the SW valley is that it started to boom at the same time the market got hot .... this led to a lot of investment purchases and speculative home building .... when the market turned the investors all foreclosed and the speculative buildings were left vacant

basically between the investors vacating and the homebuilders overbuilding there is just a tremendous inventory

I don't think the demand lags anywhere else .... there is just an incredible supply

i'd expect prices to remain low for a while with more foreclosures to come as people have changes in life circumstance etc.

The home I'm in is valued less than what it was built for in 2001 by some $40-$50k.

We had friends who bought their dream home in palm valley - close to 3,000 feet with a nice pool, greenbelt, extra large lot, etc ........... the home sold for over $400k during the peak .... right now they'd be lucky to get $190k if something happened where they had to sell

[homlish560]

The low House prices are the result of the plummeting Market - it's not just in Goodyear or the W. valley.

Just 3 years ago you couldn't get a 1200 sq.ft. House for less than $150k - unless it was on fire or something.

You know the rule - buy low and sell high. Get in the Market now while it's low because prices will go up sooner or later!!!!!!!