What Does a Million Dollars Get You in Arizona?

From a 1,200 square foot condo in San Francisco to a 7,000 square foot home in El Paso it's hard to say what a million dollars will get you in the US nowadays. The market in Arizona is unfortunately no exception. So how do you know how to navigate our market and where to place that million dollars?

Location, location, location. First identify your own personal amenities and know that if and when you choose to sell you'll most likely be appealing to those same strengths. For example if you travel often, work downtown or simply opt for less of a maintenance space; condos and townhouses will most likely be your primary market. Phoenix has a shortage of luxury condos so you can expect a larger margin of equity gain in comparison to other areas of the valley. Although they have started breaking ground to build more since the demand is growing. Scottsdale is and probably always will be one of Arizona's hottest cities. The condo market there is no exception featuring developments like the Optima's to the Scottsdale Waterfront - both mixed use developments with condos priced as high as $3.9 million. One of the most under-rated cities for condos is Tempe. With multiple high rises currently being built they also have units selling for up over $2 million located on Tempe Town Lake which also has views of Camelback and surrounding Papago mountains. As more companies continue to relocate to Tempe we can certainly expect these prices to continue to climb.

If you're hoping for your million dollars to go a little further you may consider looking in the surrounding cities such as Chandler, Gilbert, Buckeye, Mesa and Queen Creek. In our outlier cities you can get a 7,000 sq ft home for under $2 million. If you're looking for more than 3,000 sq ft but still want to be centrally located than you still have options but they may need updating. In fact one of the fix and flip markets we are seeing have a lot of movement is the $1.5 million and under range - many investors are taking these outdated homes and renovating them to relist at well over $2 million or keep as a luxury vacation rental for our busy winter season.

Overall Arizona has a very diverse market so depending on what your current and long term goals are is how I would structure my real estate portfolio. If you'd like more help or education on diversifying your portfolio contact me today.