Hi Dave, I transplanted from DuPage County (Glen Ellyn) way back in 1971. I've seen lots of changes here in the valley. The growth has been tremendous and people are still coming in droves. Queen Creek for the most part is new with lots of homes being built in the last boom. The farther you get away from Phoenix, the more home prices drop. There are a lot of foreclosures in the outlying areas of the valley. Investors were allowed to buy new homes. This area became over-built and the investors could no longer flip or rent the house they bought. In turn, they decided to walk away which caused prices to begin dropping. Then the downward spiral began. The more foreclosures....the more prices dropped....the more prices dropped....the more foreclosures. The good news is that there are lots of bargains out there where you don't have to live in the outskirts of town. Give me a call sometime and I'd be happy to discuss the prospects with you.

Hi Dave. Lots of opinions out there and you know what they say about opinions. I've lived in Johnson Ranch which is in Queen Creek on the Pinal County side. The biggest downside is the commute if you have to travel at peak times, allow lots of time. I have the luxury of working an alternate schedule, and it's no problem to get thru to the freeway. They are expanding the roads and bringing alot of services out here. You'll have no problem with shopping and finding the day-to-day basics. Johnson Ranch has a great golf course that everyone loves. My home sits on the 2nd hole and my bedroom looks out over the course and the San Tan Mountains. It's one of the last places to have affordable living next to the mountains. Everywhere else in Phoenix offers extremely expensive mountain living. If you buy soon, you will get a tremendous deal and if you plan to stay for more than 2 years you will see a tremendous amount of appreciation. I'm currently getting ready to put my home on the market so that I can move back to Colorado. I have a 2400 sf home, on the golf course, 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, 3-car garage and gated RV parking. The house has alot of upgrades. I removed as much builder-grade stuff as I could. This house will probably list somewhere between $200k - $235k. I bought smart, and am happy with the level of appreciation in only 6 years. I don't have kids, but there are at least 2 schools in the Johnson Ranch Community that are just around the corner from my house. I hope this information is helpful, good luck in your move. Sandra

You can buy property there cheap right now. It will come back eventually....

I live in Queen Creek and have several clients that live in the Johnson Ranch are that are very happy with their homes and plan to stay for a very long time. There are some great deals in the area, since it is considered one of the out lying areas in Phoenix. There are beautiful golf courses, hiking trails, parks and a lot of community events. I have a blog/web site devoted to the area you can check out - it includes some of the local happenings, info on schools, new shopping and such. Best of luck with your move

As expected, opinions vary from love to hate.....usually based on personal experiences. I'm still playing with this idea of a move out West, and the buyer's market in Arizona is compelling.

If you are looking at the Queen Creek area (where I live....on the Maricopa County side) you may also want to consider Florence. It is just outside of the Pinal County part of Queen Creek, and there is a new master planned community called Anthem at Merrill Ranch. It truly is an amazing place for a growing family....from it's very own waterpark to a community center over an acre in size, an 18 hole championship golf course and a 60 acre park.....a family has everything they need virtually in their own backyard. Queen Creek is a great place to live, but if I had it to do all over again today, I would seriously consider Anthem. Did I mention the prices are fantastic??

Do you know where you will be working if/when you relocate? I would think this would be an important consideration when deciding which town you want to focus on.

By the way, at Anthem there is a brand new K-8 school onsite, though I am a big fan of Charter & private schools....not so much into the mainstream public school systems.

Check out my website for details and pictures on Anthem and other communities, http://www.buyanewhomeinaz.com.

If schools are your number one priority, the Queen Creek school district (Maricopa), rank high on most school reporting sites. The Kyrene and most Chandler schools seem to rank the highest. Check out http://www.greatschools.net for more detailed statistics.

hi-
We have a home in Power Ranch, just on the Gilbert/QC border (on Gilbert side). I believe someone else also mentioned the Power Rd. - Queen Creek Rd intersection.

Power Ranch is a beautiful community- our home is in a cul-de-sac, on a greenbelt (four houses from Mrs. Power) and very close to the elementary school and community center & lake. Lots of little ones on our street- it's lovely. The schools here are excellent, and to disagree with one writer, it is Very community-oriented. There are tons of programs for residents, classes, events at the lake, etc. It's quite idyllic. If we were going to have children we'd certainly be staying. (We've decided we want to invest more in our business and move into Phoenix where our studio and most of our work is.)

Our home has been on the market for about 18 months now (or longer?) We don't know why- it's a great location, aprox 3000 sq ft and a nice sized lot. We've made sure the house is the best deal in Power Ranch, but we can't seem to give this house away. Why prices are so cheap: the greed of lenders and the subprime disaster, coupled with homebuilders who've been cranking out new homes (most of them zero-lot-lines) despite fewer buyers; it's oversupply and drastically reduced demand. We've barely had anyone even come in to look at the house all this time.

Good luck with your move! This is definitely the best time to get a great deal here.

Example:
Disclaimer, all names have been changed to protect...ME

New housing development name: "Put `m up" Ranch.

Phase One, of Two. January 2005 of phase one will consist of 500 homes. mostly two story homes on very small lots.

Congratulations Mr. buyer you have won the right to buy this brand new home for 150K, and if you use the builders loan officer, it will cost you next to nothing for the next two years. How much do you make? Don`t worry we are not going to check.

Speaking of check look at all the instant equity you have, your home is worth 250K in only 6 months.

Hey I have an idea Mr. buyer, says the builder. Lets take that 100K in equity and buy another bigger home in phase two. It will only cost 350K and be ready in the spring of 06. You can sell your first home and move into the bigger one, or just sell the bigger one and make all that money.

Spring of 06, hey look you own two homes with "time-bomb" adjustable rate " pre penalty payment" train wrecks.
Yep the market is a little quite right now, just wait it out.

Summer 06 Hey Mr. Buyer we are starting Phase Three right across the street, You should check it out there are some great deals.

Phase Three?

Mr. Buyer is inexperienced in real estate, and Mr. Greed has moved into "Put`m up" Ranch.
Mr. Buyer is confused and does not understand that the value of his second home is beginning to fall?

January 07 Mr. Buyers first mortgage ARM, has reset.
His second on the first is also up a few hundred a month. Considering the Fed adjusted rates higher 8 times in 2006
Considering that it is 35.3 miles (47 minute) ride from Power rd & Hunt HWY, in Queen creek, to Sky Harbor, and in January of 07 a gallon of gas cost $3.15.
Mr. Buyer is having a cash crisis.

Mr. Buyer comes to terms in the spring of 07 with the first sub prime crash
If he were lucky to sell both homes, at his asking price he would still owe the bank money. On the first, second, and first.

Summer 07 record foreclosure begin, the death blow happens in August with the credit markets.

January 08. The Mortgage on Mr. Buyers second home has adjusted. He has no savings, he can`t sell his homes.
He is in foreclosure.

The "X" factor was hidden in the loan doc.

Today in a handful of neighborhoods, there are more active Short sales and REO`s than there are Re sale homes.
Queen Creek is a great area of Master planned communities, at some time in the future it will be a great investment. In about a year or two after they sell off the REO`s
It is good to hear Supergirl say something positive about their schools, Scott is correct someday we will look back. Someday.

Who were the primary banks financing this project? It's hard for me to believe that they would finance all this with no infrastucture and allow people to spent 85k in improvements in a declining market. I have the strange feeling that there is an "x" factor I'm missing here. We have communities in the Chicago suburbs that are certainly more than "25 minutes" inconvenient that haven't seen that kind of depreciation. I notice some of the homes are built by Pulte, which I am not fond of (I have a Pulte house now). It also looks like the interiors of these homes have very basic amenities (white appliances, beige carpet, etc...)....also, with such low taxes, on the surface being a good thing...usually leads to sub par schools.

We live in QC in the Pinal County area. I agree with others about the traffic issues, but if you don't mind a commute, can work off peak hours, or work from home, it's great. The homes are here. The retail development is coming...some opening next month and more in the next year.

As for schools, a year ago, I would have said run like heck! But, the new superintendent in Florence Unified School District is leading the district and making great improvements. The focus is on the kids, which is where it always should have been. The expectations are much higher for teachers and students this year than last year. The district did a lot of house cleaning and are working hard to equalize the educational opportunities to all schools in the district. Yes, there is room to improve, but they are on the road to improvement and I don't hesitate to send my children and work there.

I have not heard positive things about Coolidge School District, Queen Creek Unified District and JO Combs districts. This comes from teachers who work in those districts so I don't know how the view is from a parent standpoint.

We have found people to be very friendly. Because development is new, most people are new to the area and eager to make friends. Our neighborhood is great and the neighbors know each other, kids play together and people hang out on porches visiting. It reminds me of growing up as a kid. Unfortunately, there aren't many structured activities for kids before and after school, so it's up to the parents to be creative and keep the kids busy. If your kids are young, then it's easier. I imagine there will be plenty in the area to keep our kids busy when they get older...we have a few years.

Check out santanevents.com or ourqueencreek.com for message boards from locals. Good luck with your decision!

On the lighter side, I didn't know Elvis sold real estate. LOL that's awesome! You should come down and do a show at the casino!!!

I guess if you need the status of living it "Sossoman Estates" then by all means move there. If you want to be around down to earth people move to the icky Pinal County side.
When Pinal County does get their act together this area will get even better. SRP is already in the works in opening a new call center out here, with more jobs to follow with all the shopping centers that will be opening. You all will be wishing that you had got in when the gettin' in was good.

Faby lives in one of the best two Queen Creek neighborhoods there is, relative to location and pricing in the current market. They are literally right across the street from (Gilbert) Power Ranch and my team and I always bring people looking to Cortina and Sossoman Estates. They might be the best bang for the buck in the area. I keep hoping that Gilbert will work a deal and expand its borders to include these two neighborhoods. They all attend the same schools anyways.

Please note that I am not saying anything bad about any other Queen Creek neighborhood. It is what it is... Every community has the right home at the right price for somebody.

We went under contract in 2005 and closed on the house in 4/06. Our house was one of the last ones being built in our community (so we paid much more than all our neighbors). It has one of the largest lots on a greenbelt with mountain views. We were planning on staying in this house for a long time so we put in every possible upgrade including an 85K pool. We were counting on the market to continue to appreciate. Yes we over improved our house...

Now almost 2 years later we find ourselves in a situation where we have to move. Very expensive and painful lesson learned "NEVER OVERIMPROVE YOUR HOME".....

What is going on in Arizona? 300k less than you put into it?? In a year??

Hi, I am not snobby at all. We bought our house in 2006 when the boom was going on now we are forced to sell it We have it listed for oer $300K less than what we put into it. We are forced to move and it really hurts to see all your hard earned savings go down the drain. This is a difficult market for everyone to say the least. But my home is not in Pinal county. Pinal was not planned properly (roads, shopping, employment). My home is on Power Rd and Q.C. Rd. (ACROSS THE STREET FROM GILBERT) I have friends that live in Pinal and they hate it!!

We are 5 minutes from the new 202 (Santan Frwy). We do not have the traffic headaches that Pinal has. We are very close to great shopping & restaurants. PS : compare the shools in Pinal to the ones in Q.C. maricopa...the end

"I am so upset that everyone compares our neighborhood with the Q.C. in Pinal!!"
Would ya like some more cheese with that whine? What makes your neighborhood so much better? I don't know Dave, they sound kind of snobby to me.

How much are you asking for the home?

We have a beautiful 4600 sf home with an awesome backyard for sale in Quenn Creek (Maricopa County) across the street from Gilbert (Power Rd & Q.C. Rd). We have great shopping & restaurants close by (New Santan Mall) http://www.shopsantanvillage.com
I am so upset that everyone compares our neighborhood with the Q.C. in Pinal!! We are far from Q.C. in Pinal. Q.C. in Pinal has traffic issues and very little shopping/restaurants

It is a very small world isn't it? : )

Once you leave that east coast you'll never want to go back. We have been out here for 11 years and the quality of life is unmatched.

Whether it being in AZ or CA ( Also lived in Mesa for a while too)

I know it very well...I went to Rutgers! I worked in East Brunswick (on Route 18) for years...

Originally from Central Jersey, (east brunswick).

Taxes are higher in Pinal County but they make up for it with poor infrastructure - roads, et al. The main reason the homes are inexpensive is it's on the fringes of the Valley. 45 minutes to the airport is a bit optimistic. But ultimately, if you want the most home for your money, it's one of the better bets.

Thanks for all the great insight.
Where in NJ were you from?

Hey Dave,

My sister lives in Queen Creek because it is horse country, and the houses are affordable.

She has no children though, so I cant tell you about the schools. Not sure if they are up to speed as of yet.

I know that she was also recently looking to move to Buckeye, which is 25 miles West I believe of Phoenix. There is a wonderful community called Verrado there, check it out okay. http://www.verradorealty.com

Very nice family environment.

Best Wishes, i am from NJ too. : )

Another quick point about the super affordable homes in "Queen Creek". Those homes are not in Queen Creek, they are in Pinal County. It is unincorporated, and they just use a Queen Creek mailing address.
There are still some fabulous deals in the "town" of Queen Creek too. Infrastructure is not governed by a town/city which is why it's taking longer to get pushed on the other hand property and sales tax are still fairly low because we are not in a city. Property taxes avg about $1400 - $1700 per year. When I was in Connecticut they were close to $10,000 a year. So from my perspective I'm extremely happy here with the weather and lower taxes.

Three additional words of advice:

"Consider Maricopa also"

Hi Dave,
I'm from Waukegan...don't miss those winters!
I was just showing property in Queen Creek last weekend. As is stated multiple times below, it's a bit of a drive out to Queen Creek. You can get a lot of home for the money out there but there's not much to do unless you consider a trip to Walmart an excursion. It will eventually develop but the infrastructure just isn't there yet. The commute will be a little different than from Naperville to Chicago. The main issue is the roads coming in from Queen Creek (Johnson Ranch area) are 2 lane. Some inventive commuters have taken to driving through farmer's fields to bypass some of the traffic.

If all of that sounds ok to you...then I would definitely check it out!

Good luck and let me know if I can be of assistance~

Certainly...just looking for some opinions to narrow the search

All I can say is, take a trip and check out all your options before buying anything.

My motive is the most house for the lowest price. Isn't everyone's? If it's a safe community that looks to be $50,000 less than 20 minutes away....it's something I am interested in.

It really depends what your motive is Dave. If low price is it, Queen Creek has tons of selection but having a job that starts in the late morning/afternoon would be your best bet. If a higher price range is within your means I would suggest looking closer into the Phoenix Metro Area. Quuen Creek is about 45 minutes to an hour from Sky Harbor Airport. Chandler & Gilbert about 15-20 Minutes

Lots of good answers and have to agree with Patrick the most. If it were my money, I would only consider the Gilbert side of Queen Creek, like the part within a stones throw of Gilbert. Even if you are used to a commute, it is not necessary here, so why do it? Also, it might be a different long commute, like too much stop and go traffic.

Real traffic infrastructure is a long way off.

Just a view from a Gilbert resident whose mother in law live in Queen Creek. While it is far, it is not far enough.

Dave, I agree with Ms. Poka's answer below. Queen Creek home prices have been affected by several factors:
1) It is located quite a ways from the downtown Phoenix area and most of the major shopping and dining areas.
2) At the time the development began land prices in Queen Creek were much lower than most other parts of the valley therefore the home prices were lowered.
3) Lots of foreclosures and short sales in the area putting downward pressure on home prices. Plus, builders are still building more homes with prices lower than a couple years ago.

I hope this information is helpful. By the way, I am originally from Danville, IL, and have lived here nine years. This is a great place.

Rick Dobbles

I live in Naperville right now (about the same distance to Chicago as Queen Creek is to Phoenix). Needless to say, I am used to traffic...I was originally from New Jersey. I am a realtor here as well for Weichert. I must say....I have never seen such low prices so close to a metro as I see in Queen Creek....if the highways and infrastructure improve will it be a comparable market to Gilbert or Chandler?

Queen Creek is a bedroom community. Commuting can be a hassle if you have to go into Phoenix for work. In fact, it can be down right miserable. My hubby works in Gilbert, so it's not bad for him. If you work from home it's not a bad community and is pretty affordable. I live here, I work here, so it's perfect for me. My kids go to a charter school called Eduprize which is top notch. Some of the public schools here don't get high marks, but there are a few different districts so do your research. (try greatschools.net) As of now, there isn't much shopping, but check out this link and see what's coming: http://www.barclaygroup.net/opencms/opencms/sites/default/sh…
It is super cheap right now because our market is saturated with foreclosures. (people can't afford their ARM loans and such)
Like I said, I live here, I work here, and I'm very knowledgable about our market. If your interested in buying a foreclosures in Queen Creek, read this article: http://activerain.com/blogsview/378067/Queen-Creek-Foreclosures
Communities here: http://www.Johnsonranch.com
http://www.santanheightshoa.org/outside_home.asp http://www.encanterra.com
and so many more. Please don't hesitate to drop me line.

Where in Chicago Dave?
I am originally from the Northside, Belmont and Central.

Why are they so cheap?
Because it was over built?
Because there are so many Foreclosures?
Supply and Demand.
It looks close to Phoenix, however it is not.

Gilbert School District 41 is where you want to be.

4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1800 SQ FT, 20 years old, with a pool 225K and up. Key: in dist 41.

Just wait and see what you get for your Tax dollar out here.
Besides a great school system, Great Police, fire, and public parks.

Average 4 bed 2 bath property taxes, ( in Gilbert dist 41 ) are about ( on the high end ) $2,400 a year.

I don`t want to bad mouth Q. C. Bottom line, there is about 50K and a world of difference between the two.

You will get use to the heat, Wait until you go to Chase field.

Good Luck,
Patrick

Also greatschools.net is a great place to check out school information

Ilona

Queen Creek is a great area taking a few things into consideration. Right now there is a lot of development going on in Queen Creek right now as no one expected the 'housing boom' to effect Queen Creek the way it did. Certain areas of Queen Creek have a lot of traffic and if you are traveling during rush hour your commute can be 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
There are also a lot of Short Sales, Lender Owned Homes, Foreclosures on the market as well. I have some great news articles on my website Ilona's News Picks as well as an Area Development page & Valley Freeways.
Please let me know if I can be of assitance.

Good Luck! BTW,it's been in the 70s here...
Ilona Poka