Queen Creek Real Estate and Community Information

The East Valley Tribune is reporting

“Salt River Project is planning a 20-mile, 230-kilovolt transmission line that will likely cut through parts of Queen Creek and the surrounding area of unincorporated Pinal County to the south and east of town.”

The proposed project called the Abel-Moody Project will connect three substations in the Gilbert and Queen Creek areas.

“A project newsletter from SRP says the open houses Aug. 25-27 will allow the utility to narrow the route alternatives using the public input already gathered.”

Queen Creek continues to grow and the power lines are needed to help keep up with the growth in Queen Creek and Pinal County.

For more information about the project, call (866) 537-7704 or visit www.azpower.org

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Located in the heart of Queen Creek, The Villages at Queen Creek is located just east of Ellsworth and South of Ocotillo.  A master planned community designed around the Las Colinas Golf Course.

The community features approx 1589 homes, with new homes still available from Richmond American.

The homes in the Villages range from just over 1000 sqft up to just over 4000 sqft.
Community amenities include flowing green belts, tot lots, and community pool. Just minutes from 2 new shopping areas- Queen Creek Market Place and and Ocotillo Trails Market Place.  The every popular Serrano’s Mexican restaurant and the historic Queen Creek Cafe are less than 5 min from the Villages at Queen Creek.

The new San Tan Village Shopping center located at Greenfield and the San Tan 202 is just a 15 min drive - you can catch a movie at the Harkins Theater or shop at Costco, Sam’s Club, Dillard’s and many specialty stores.

For the gold enthusiast- Las Colinas is just a putt away.  With beautiful views of the San Tan Mountains this course is great for beginners and pros alike.  Designed by Mike Asmundson the course features mature trees and native landscape. The Club House includes a pro shop and restaurant/snack bar.

Schools: Queen Creek School District

Elementary -Frances-Brandon Pickett-22076 E. Village Loop  Queen Creek AZ, 85242

Phone:480-987-7420
Fax 480-987-7439

Middle: Queen Creek Middle School: 20435 S. Ellsworth Rd
Queen Creek, AZ 85242
(480) 987-5940

High School: Queen Creek High School: 22149 E. Ocotillo Road Queen Creek, AZ 85242

Phone: (480) 987 5973
Fax: (480) 882 1276
Attendance: (480) 987 5967

Queen Creek Real Estate- July Market Conditions for the Villages at Queen Creek

Active Listings: 59

Pending Sales:  22

Sold Homes : 10

Average Sales Price for July: $167,400

Average Days on Market: 91

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The Queen Creek Town Council voted Wednesday to start the program this fall at the new Queen Creek Library.  The first event is planned for the morning of Nov. 15 with similar events in April, May and June.  The market will feature agriculture, craft, food and art vendors. Here is a picture of a pumpkin from my own garden.  I certainly will not have enough to sell at a farmer’s market- but I do enjoy my little garden! 

I love Farmer’s Markets, it is a great way to meet you local farmers and neighbors and get some very fresh fruits and veggies and see some local artists.

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Currently there are 1868 active listings showing an slight increase in inventory from last June 2008.  The current absorption rate or supply of homes in Queen Creek is 4.8 months.

For the month of July 2008

New Listings: 602

Pending Sales: 454

Sold Homes: 383

Queen Creek Real Estate- Listing Status July 2008

The average sales price for homes in Queen Creek decrease in the month of June from $174k to 167k.

Foreclosures and Short Sales in Queen Creek

The number of homes for sale in Queen Creek continue to be dominated by foreclosures and short sales.  From a quick glance a the statistics in MLS, of the 1868 active listings, 740 are bank owned or short sales, however as I suspected, when looking at listings that were not tagged as SS or REO, I noticed several that should be classified as such.  The data is only as good as the agent that enters it in the system, so I suspect the percentage of homes for sale in Queen Creek that are foreclosures or short sales is much higher.

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The newest of the Banner hospitals broke ground on June 5th. The much needed, much anticipated 24 bed facility is finally going to be real! Many times out here in Queen Creek we are told one thing, promised this building, told that retail giant is coming to the area…with nothing! The closest hospitals are MILES away….in Gilbert and Chandler. With the influx of people in this area, we are in desperate need of a hospital with an emergency facility.

The hospital is designed to have an emergency department and 19 private treatment areas. Specialties at the hospital will include primary care, general surgery and orthopedics.
The hospital is planned to be 220,000-square-feet and will be located at Combs and Gantzel roads.
Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit hospital network in the country, with 22 medical facilities in seven states.

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Thinking About Buying a home in Queen Creek?

Keep these critical considerations in mind:

1. How long you plan to live in the home. If you purchase a home and get a job transfer or decide to move after only a short time, you may end up paying money in order to sell it. The value of your home may not have appreciated enough to cover the costs that you paid to buy the home and the costs that it would take you to sell your home. The length of time that it will take to cover those costs depends on various economic factors in the area of the home.

Most parts of the country have an average of 5% appreciation per year in a normal market. The Queen Creek Real Estate market is now

decreasing in value, not unlike most Real Estate Markets. In this case, you should plan to stay in your home at least 3-4 years to cover buying and selling costs. If the area you buy your home in experiences an economic up turn, the length of the time to cover these costs could be shortened, and the opposite is also true.

2. What features do you require in a home to satisfy your lifestyle now? How long the home will meet your needs. Five years from now? Depending on how long you plan to stay in your home, you’ll need to ensure that the home has the amenities that you’ll need. For example, a two-bedroom dwelling may be perfect for a young couple with no children. However, if they start a family, they could quickly outgrow the space. Therefore, they should consider a home with room to grow. Could the basement be turned into a den and extra bedrooms? Could the attic be turned into a master suite? Having an idea of what you’ll need will help you find a home that will satisfy you for years to come.

3.Your financial health-Home much home can you afford - your credit and home affordability. Is now the right time financially for you to buy a home in Queen Creek? Would you rate your financial picture as healthy? Is your credit good? While you can always find a lender to lend you money, solid lenders are more skeptical if your credit history is not good. Generally, a couple of blemishes on a credit report will make you a good credit risk and could qualify you for the lowest interest rates. If you have more than a couple of blemishes on your report. Some say that you should refrain from borrowing as much as you qualify for because it is wiser not to stretch your financial boundaries. The other school of thought says you should stretch to buy as much home as you can afford, because with regular pay raises and increased earning potential, the big payment today will seem like less of a payment tomorrow. This is a decision only you can make. Are you in a position where you expect to make more money soon? Would you rather be conservative and fairly certain that you can make your payment without stretching financially? Make sure that whatever you do, it’s within your comfort zone. To determine how much home you can afford, talk to a lender or go online and use a “home affordability” calculator. Good calculators will give you a range of what you may qualify for. Then call a lender. While some may say that the “28/36″ rule applies, in today’s home mortgage market, lenders are making loans customized to a particular person’s situation. The “28/36″ rule means that your monthly housing costs can’t exceed 28 percent of your income and your total debt load can’t exceed 36 percent of your total monthly income. Depending on your assets, credit history, job potential and other factors, lenders can push the ratios up to 40-60% or higher. While we’re not advocating you purchase a home utilizing the higher ratios, its important for you to know your options. Where the money for the transaction will come from. Typically Queen Creek homebuyers will need some money for a down payment and closing costs. However, with today’s broad range of loan options, having a lot of money saved for a down payment is not always necessary - if you can prove that you are a good financial risk to a lender. If your credit isn’t stellar but you have managed to save 10-20% for a down payment, you will still appear to be a very good financial risk to a lender. Queen Creek also qualifies for

4. The ongoing costs of home ownership. Maintenance, improvements, taxes and insurance are all costs that are added to a monthly house payment. If you buy a condominium, townhouse or in certain communities, a monthly homeowner’s association fee might be required. If these additional costs are a concern, you can make choices to lower or avoid these fees. Be sure to make your Realtor and your lender aware of your desire to limit these costs. If you are still unsure if you should buy a home after making these considerations, you may want to consult with an accountant or financial planner to help you assess how a home purchase fits into your overall financial goals. Additionally, home buyers in Queen Creek, may qualify for 100% Maricopa/Pinal County Rural Program.

If you are ready to buy a home in Queen Creek feel free to search all available homes in Queen Creek AZ

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If you do there may be good news- if you are facing foreclosure.  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that IndyMac, the 8th largest lender, is freezing all foreclosure proceedings.  Here is the full story.

“Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, who has been one of the most outspoken officials calling for banks to ease up on struggling homeowners, said that the agency is “really focused” on keeping borrowers in their homes for both their sakes and to maximize IndyMac’s value for taxpayers. “We will very aggressively pursue loan-modification strategies for unaffordable loans to make them affordable on a long-term, sustainable basis,” Ms. Bair said in an interview Monday”

She goes on to say “We can’t make any promises,” Ms. Bair said. “We’re going to look at each one before we are going to let them continue on to foreclosure, and when we find people who want to stay in their homes, we are going to try to work with them to see if we can modify their loan.”

Sounds like there is a lot of work to be done, but let’s up they can keep some families, that want to stay, in their homes at payments they can afford.

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If you have traveled down Riggs off of Ellsworth lately you will have noticed the HUGE structure looming in the distance. No, this is not a new Home Depot or another strip mall. This building is the covered arena!
This brand new addition to the parks of Queen Creek started this spring and is set to open in December of 2008.
The first phase of construction will include the covered arena, barn, maintenance and business office, restroom and meeting room. It will also include a community arena for use by Queen Creek residents only. A second phase will include trails.
It took a while for the construction to begin as the developers were waiting for the Queen Creek Landfill to close. Yes, that is correct, this new park is being built where the landfill used to be. This park near Riggs and Hawes roads is expected to cost $17.5 million.
The residents are quite excited to have this center in the future. Many residents and people in the area are horse owners and it will be wonderful to have a place to ride so close. Many people are hoping that this beautiful arena will attract horse shoes, rodeos and maybe even polo matches. You can bet they are planning a huge celebration for the grand opening.

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Queen Creek Real Estate- Market Statistics for June 2008

Currently there are 1826 active listings showing an 7% increase in inventory from last May.  The current absorbtion rate or supply of homes in Queen Creek is 5.24 months.

For the month of June

New Lisings: 576

Pending Sales: 397

Sold Homes: 348

Queen Creek Real Estate- Listing Status June 2008

The average sales price for homes in Queen Creek actually increased in the month of June from $168k to 174k.

The next 2 charts show New Listings vs Sold Homes and List Price vs Sales Price.  There is a small difference between list price vs sale price, which means homes are being priced to sell in Queen Creek. A larger percentage of homes in Queen Creek are short sales or REO (bank owned) homes that are being aggessivley priced to sell quickly and many are getting multiple offers.

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