Maricopa dreaming?

Perhaps "Maricopa Dreamin" doesn't have quite the same lyrical endurance as the seminal Mama's and Papa's hit, nor does it evoke quite the same imagery of surf and sand and carefree lifestyle, but it does at least roll off the tongue fairly well, and in this day and age does hold some real promise.

With a couple of weeks of the new job under my belt and a better picture of how finances are going to shape up (on hold, slightly, due to Dawn's circumstances but that's another tale) I have been doing a lot more long-term planning for what will come in the months and years immediately following the wedding. We would both, of course, love to own a home in the near future. A couple of years ago I'd have been more worried, what with the housing prices going through the roof, but since the downturn things have looked a little more promising (at least for us - it is too bad that our own fortune in that sense comes at the expense of those who have fallen victim to the dismal housing market).

Working in the East Valley means looking in the East Valley, which has opened up the somewhat unique prospect of looking out in Maricopa. I'd not have considered it before - it is a bit isolated - but Dawn pointed out that the driving distance is virtually equal to the commute I have now. So I decided to take a peek. Boy was I surprised at what I found.

New homes down there were going for $100,000 less than identical floorplans in places like Gilbert, Chandler, Peoria or even Goodyear. That's huge - based on the down I hope to have in a couple of years and likely financing terms, it's a difference in almost $700 a month. To me, $700 a month is well worth an extra 20 minutes of driving. I was also surprised to find that, in some communities, the prices out there for new homes have fallen some 50% since the peak in 2006. Good news for people looking to buy now, but devastating for folks who bought back then. How would you like to know that folks are buying for $125,000 what you paid $250,000 just two years earlier?

I don't like most of the floorplans I've seen, to be honest - but there are some. Dawn and I looked at a few and there was some that we liked. One that we both rather liked is this model at 1,950 square feet, starting at under $130,000. That's pretty impressive. I took a peek at some of the pictures of the model and found that I liked what I saw. I would almost be tempted to drive down there to check out the model and the neighborhood, except that I know it'd only make me more impatient and wish that I were ready to buy today. Unfortunately, it'll take a couple of years for us to save up a decent amount for a down payment, as well as get the credit situation a little better. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things don't go back up before then.

On one last curious note, I realized that I recognized this floorplan - that community is one of them that was selling and we were building back when I worked for YBC, and I processed some starts out there. I was a little surprised to see that the community hadn't sold out in the intervening timespan. It kind of makes sense, though, as the housing crunch has slammed the builders just as badly as the homeowners.

(crossposted to http://banalrealm.blogspot.com/)