W. Valley housing boom won't stop
Demand, prices will push people west, experts say

Maura J. Halpern
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 13, 2006 12:00 AM

The West Valley housing boom should continue well into 2006, according to local housing analysts and real estate brokers.

Increasing demand, more upscale master-planned communities and shrinking vacant land in the East Valley will raise west-side home prices and send residents looking for affordable housing farther from the Valley's core.

"People used to come to the West Valley to find the cheapest houses, but those days have passed," housing analyst R.L. Brown said.

In 2000, the median resale price in Glendale stood at $118,000. Last year, it exceeded $247,200, with new home prices averaging $327,550.

A typical home in Peoria cost $122,000 five years ago and last year reached $280,000, according to data from the Arizona Real Estate Center at Arizona State University East.

Glendale real estate broker Tom Traw said demand this year will stay strong but probably will cool off a bit from last year's housing frenzy.

In mid-2005, a house in Glendale stayed on the market for two or three days, said Traw, who estimates West Valley home prices have jumped 50 percent in the past few years. Now it could take two or three months.

"This is probably due to a supply increase as more houses are built," he said.

New master-planned communities such as Vistancia in north Peoria and Verrado in Buckeye contribute to this increase as thousands of upscale homes sprout up in the West Valley. Homes in these developments, which snuggle up to Lake Pleasant and the White Tank Mountains, respectively, can run from the low $300,000s to the mid-$700,000s.

These communities also raise median prices, in addition to Glendale's new sports stadiums and the neighboring Westgate development, which have buoyed resale-home prices and new-home construction costs in the surrounding areas.

"There's no such thing as cheap dirt anymore," Traw said. "It's unbelievable."

Brown and other housing analysts predict the West Valley and Pinal County to the southeast will dominate the greater Phoenix market into the next decade.

Despite the steady increase, West Valley cities are still more affordable than the pricey East Valley, where the median price of a Scottsdale home has climbed to $550,000.

"You still get more for your money in the West Valley," Traw said. "But prospective homeowners will have to search harder for the affordable homes."