Love seeing what's going on in Phoenix. I'm planning on moving there in a few months to escape the high cost of housing in CA. Looks like there are some new infill projects in the works. Any tips for a new fellow resident?

Phoenix is LA in 1960. understand this and you wont be disappointed.

ick, that sounds horrible. Is Phoenix really that bad?

I guess we have some riots coming up pretty soon.

That's funny...given what I know about Phoenix, I'd tend to agree. Not sure that is entirely a bad thing though.

Early 60's :cheers:

and exhibit A: Glendale or 1960's LA?

http://40.media.tumblr.com/4445668bf...natdo1_500.jpg

That was the California golden age, land was cheap, weather was great and the city was booming. You are getting into California before it gets too big. :tup:

Now it is expensive and overcrowded. It isn't a bad thing but people come to Phoenix thinking "oh its the 5th biggest city in the country"

In real terms we are a metro of 4.5 million 1/5th Los Angeles' size and like 13th place in Metro areas.

that's why its a bit annoying when people say things like "why does Phoenix have a small skyline its so big" its not really though!

When you're ready to look for a part of town to move to, ask here first.

Pre-good luck!

Most of the new infill that's coming in has SoCal prices, but without California wages which are *much* higher than Arizona's.

I'm skeptical this will all get built and fill up. Jefferson at Legacy in Scottsdale has a 6 weeks free rent promo and it just recently opened. A complex in demand wouldn't have to do that.

Thanks for the info! I've lived and SD and LA and think 3-4M is about the right size for a city. I like older, more urban or retro neighborhoods but my wife and I have a newborn, so we're contemplating getting a house as opposed to a condo or townhouse. Don't love the idea of living in suburbia, but it probably best fits our needs for now. Apologize if I hijacked the thread, but it is great to hear what people have to say about the city...good and bad.

I don't know your budget is but the areas you are probably going to want to look at would be immediately north of downtown up central and across to Scottsdale int he east along camelback (very expensive) and areas around central Scottsdale.

There are pockets that can be shitty so make sure you have a good realtor.

But a lot of the suburbs are nice if you can handle suburbia :yes: Chandler and Gilbert both have nice little main-streets to give you some faux density, but enough to be satisfying and a lot of the new neighborhoods out there are clean safe and downright gorgeous.

Yes and no. We sometimes offer free rents over periods of time out of desperation, and sometimes we do it to pad rental rates to increase the CAP for a sale, and sometimes we do it because we are aggressive SOBs who just want a full building at the cost of a little rent that we may or may not need.

As for most of our infill having southern California prices, I have to ask if you've done any price shopping in SD, LA, or the like. Prices in Phoenix, even the high ones, aren't nearly as high as equivalent properties in Southern California cities if we compare like products. Average "all bedroom" rents in the downtown area right now are roughly $1,000 a month, this is a complied average of 1,2, and 3 bedroom units. I am not 100% familiar with the Los Angeles apartment market at this current time and while it's actually cheaper now than the last time I did comparo pricing, it's still quite pricey. I searched apartments under $1,000/mo and everything in an even remotely desirable neighborhood was a studio and in the high $900's. Lots of the inventory I am seeing is centered around MacArthur Park which if you're familiar is not exactly the swankiest part of the city. If you want a 2br you're going to pay $2,500 or so for the same product that costs $1,500 here.

What's going to happen here is in two to three years you'll have a ton of new apartment inventory available. There will be an absolute over-saturation in the market and buildings will have to start competing with each other in ways we have never seen here since the 1970s, you'll see free vacations, free rent, and all sorts of other perks being offered. The density of the central city is about to change dramatically from what we are used to, gone are the days of having a restaurant to yourself and having zero issues finding parking spaces but understand that there's going to be a giant bubble pop in about five years when there simply aren't enough people moving into the city to fill these units at the rate they are expected to pull in.

A "good realtor" better not be steering anyone into or out of a "shitty" area. That's called "steering" and it's a violation of Fair Housing, so a "good realtor" or real estate agent as you should be saying shouldn't be commenting on what they think of an area they are practicing in, what they've heard about an area, or anything other than actual factual information. Even then they better be careful because if you tell someone "this area is known for its great schools" and their idiot kit can't cut it or doesn't get an education the parents think is appropriate, it can come back on the agent... this has actually happened and also many other similar suits.

Sorry for the rant, but that's the kind of thing that gets real estate licenses revoked.

:sly: oh ok, but still I don't want to live in a shitty neighborhood so.... Sorry if its against the fair housing act.:haha:

Ive never been one for following the rules

It's your responsibility to pick where you live, don't try to pin it on an agent who isn't allowed to make that decision for you!

Depending on your budget and your expected income, in or around the Arcadia area in Phoenix (in addition the previously mentioned Central Phoenix area) would fit your description. I live outside that area because I can't afford it but I'm not far away and it puts you close-ish to downtown, uptown, Scottsdale and Tempe while also having it's own collection of shopping and restaurants that people from surrounding areas come to. (Not to be to specific but I live near 36th St and Thomas, so, not arcadia, but get some spill over).

Well .. that's kind of what I was getting at. That's what, eg, Elevation is charging.

Is upper Midtown that good of a neighborhood and are there that many people wanting to live in a studio there for $900+?

But you're comparing one high-end build out to a whole city's low end studio pricing it's not apples to apples, a similar studio to Elevation in DTLA is going to cost $1,500 or more. The $1,000 studios I referenced earlier are not A class properties, maybe low B at best. At any rate the market will adjust and you'll see those prices come down substantially in the next year to 18 months.

As someone that has lived in SD and Orange County, I can attest to the fact that housing is much, much less expensive in PHX (home purchases anyhow) than in California. My wife and I are thrilled with the idea that we can buy a brand new house for less than we'd pay for a beat up condo here in CA. As someone who loves the desert, Phoenix seems like a great place to be.

People don't seem to have a lot of middle ground about it, Either they like Phoenix or they absolutely despise it.

There doesn't seem to be anyone with generic indifference like say, Cincinnati or Tampa.

Just love or pure hate.

I'm kind of in the middle with indifference. There are things I really like, things I really dislike. Overall I could take it or leave it - if my wife or I were to get a lucrative job transfer or offer in another city I'd probably be ok moving.