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
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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.