by Paul Giblin | The Republic | azcentral.com
A region in north Peoria has the second hottest housing market in the Valley, just behind and ahead of the Phoenix-metro area's two most well-known luxury communities.
Homebuyers in the 85383 ZIP code in north Peoria recorded a combined $766 million in total sales last year, according to Street Scout Home Values, an annual analysis of metro Phoenix’s housing market done with the Information Market.
In comparison, buyers in north Scottsdale spent $983 million in total sales value, while buyers in Paradise Valley spent $693 million.
Three other factors stand out in the north Peoria housing boom:
- Home sales increased by 22.1 percent in 2015 compared with sales in 2014.
- The median home price was $317,000, less than half of the median price in north Scottsdale at $675,000 and less than a third of the median price in Paradise Valley at nearly $1.28 million.
- The median price in north Peoria rose 2.4 percent from 2014 to 2015.
Although north Peoria led, home sales in three other West Valley ZIP codes cracked the Valley's hottest 20 ZIP codes in total sales value.
- Buyers in the 85338 ZIP code in the Estrella area of Goodyear, where the median home price was $214,000, recorded a combined $359 million in sales value. That ranked 13th highest across metropolitan Phoenix.
- Buyers in 85308 in north Glendale, where the median price was $241,000, notched a total of $339 million in sales. That ranked 16th.
- Buyers in 85395 in the PebbleCreek area of Goodyear, where the median price was $307,000, reached a combined $311 million in sales. That was 20th.
Vistancia a top-selling community
In north Peoria, a driving force to the booming home market is high-end attractions, such as master-planned communities, mountain views and gated neighborhoods, at a variety of price points, said Mark Hammons, vice president and general manager of Vistancia, a master-planned development in the region.
The area offers access to several major employers and emerging employment centers, such as financial-services firm USAA, HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center and Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, he said.Loop 303 also has eased the commute for residents who work in other parts of metropolitan Phoenix, particularly along the Interstate 17 corridor, Hammons said.
Vistancia alone reported 466 home sales in 2015, a 107 percent increase from 2014, according to the company. The development is north of Loop 303 and features views of the White Peak, Twin Buttes and the Bradshaw Mountains.
Two leading real-estate-advisory firms ranked Vistancia among the top-selling master-planned communities nationwide last year. RCLCO, based in Bethesda, Maryland, placed Vistancia 12th, while John Burns Real Estate Consulting, based in Irvine, California, ranked it 13th.
"It just goes to show you that Peoria — the north part of the city — is on the map," Hammons said. "It's a great place to live. Peoria provides a great quality of life."
The landscape in the region sells it.
"There is just a lot of natural open space, and there are foothills that kind of remind you of north Scottsdale a little but, you know what? It's much more affordable," Hammons said.
New homes start in the low $200,000s and top out at around $800,000. Custom homes push price points north of $1 million.
Homes also are developed for niche markets, such as active senior living, the country-club set and family neighborhoods.
Although Californian and Canadian transplants have found the region in recent years, about 85 percent of new-home buyers in north Peoria are from other regions in the West Valley or elsewhere in Arizona, Hammons said.
Among the exceptions are Jeff and Dana Molden, former residents of Aurora, Colorado, who moved into a two-story, four-bedroom house in Vistancia in February.
"It was just a lifestyle change," Dana said. "We wanted to escape the winters, the snow that we'd had all our lives."
They narrowed their search to the West Valley and settled on the 85383 ZIP code.Dana, 50, is a retired teacher, and Jeff, 51, works remotely in the insurance-claims sector, so they weren't tied to any area geographically. The empty-nest parents of three adult children briefly considered moving to California, but found better home values in Arizona.
"Getting up north just a little bit, you get beautiful views of the city and of mountains and so forth," Dana said.
The development also features hiking trails, pools and a recreation center with basketball and tennis courts.
Their house has a home office and an open-living concept that blends the living room, dining room and kitchen.
"I like that so that when the family comes together, you can fit everybody in one room," Jeff said.
It opens to the backyard patio, fire pit and pool with a waterfall and hot tub.
Hammons said the region also is attractive for homebuyers because of the Peoria Unified School District, which is anchored by Liberty High School, and municipal-infrastructure improvements.
In addition, north Peoria allows for quick access to a network of trails and to Lake Pleasant Regional Park, which is popular for water sports, fishing, camping and hiking.
