I chose to live and work in the Chandler area after moving to Arizona 7 years ago after researching all valley locations.  I found a quality of life in Chandler that was a perfect fit for me, and obviously for 250,000 others who currently call Chandler, Arizona home.

When I moved here there were still dairy farms every mile or two which added to the rural charm.  Sadly, most of the dairy farms are gone (don’t miss that smell though).  Except for a handful of holdouts, they’ve been replaced by corporate buildings (including Intel which is Chandler’s largest employer with over 10,000 employees..one of which is my very own daughter) and newly built residential communities.

Nevertheless, Chandler is a perfect fit for anyone looking to get some bang for their buck without sacrificing superb amenities including entertainment, shopping and restaurants for every budget. 

Home to several lake and golf course communities as well as dozens of condo-conversion communities with prices starting in the low $100,000’s.  Many, if not most, of these communities offer swimming pools, workout facilities, & clubhouses.  Hundreds of beautiful single family homes with room to breath are also delighting today’s buyers.

One of the most desirable factors for relocating to Chandler, Arizona is the ease of commuting.  Easy access to Interstate 10, US 60 and Loops 101 & the newest addition, Loop 202.

Home to Chandler Fashion Center . dining run the gamut, from NYPD Pizza & Famous Daves BBQ and just about any other well-known family friendly establishment, to the newest additions at Promenade at Fulton Ranch and the Fulton Ranch Town Center, Cork & Sau’tee.

Downtown Chandler’s growing historic district includes some of the Valley’s most unique shops and eateries in a walkable setting.  Like Wine?  You’ll love 98 South Wine Bar located in Downtown Chandler

There are 2329 active listings in Chandler today in the Arizona Regional MLS.  Prices range from $69,900 for a mobile home to just under $4,000,000 for a 9668 SF 6 Bedroom, 7 Bath estate. 

Whether you’re a growing family, an empty-nester or a single professional, Chandler is one of the best locales to find just about everything you could be looking for.

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For more Information visit Chandler Arizona Real Estate.  This information was provided by Amy Jones, a multi-million dollar top producing Realtor with RE/MAX Elite.

Amy specializes in residential, vacation homes & cabins, as well as retirement communities in the communities of Ahwatukee, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Maricopa, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Sun Lakes, Tempe and the White Mountains communities of Pinetop/Lakes & Show Low. 

Search the Arizona MLS   Search the White Mountain MLS

Taking a tour of the Phoenix metro area will lead you into neighborhoods vastly different from one another.  So, this begins a series of some of my favorite neighborhoods in the Valley of the Sun and the reasons why I think they are so special.

First let’s start with Downtown Tempe~ Zip Code 85281, Population in all of Tempe 170,000; Size of downtown about 3 square miles. Home to Arizona State University and consequently a very high college student population.  But, with college towns come a bounty of trendy eateries and hangouts.  Of course there are plenty of traditional college residences in the form of condos, townhomes, converted apartments and rental homes but Tempe is also in the state of transition which is attracting a new homeowner. 

Urbanites can now choose from a variety of cool and “skywardly’ built residences.  Tempe Town Lake (which I still find funny that this canal is called a lake…after growing-up on the shores of Lake Michigan in Illinois…but I digress) is becoming the central figure as a host of condos, penthouses and brownstones are being built on it’s shores. 

Waterfront condos include the Hayden Ferry Lakeside development which includes the larger 104-unit, 12-story tower Bridgeview at Hayden Ferry and Edgewater at Hayden Ferry with 40 units in an 8-story tower, both overlooking the “lake”.

Other exclusive properties include The Lofts at Orchid House, concrete & brick loft units where contemporary meets brownstone, Centerpoint Condominiums with spectacular penthouse views, or The Brownstones at Tempe (the name says it all) where you’ll feel like you slipped through some speedy travel machine and were just dropped on a classic street in New York.

The smaller loft units in Downtown Tempe start around $300,000 with the sky-rise penthouses selling for over $1 Million.

But, as I mentioned…Dinner and drinks are just a stroll away down lively Mill Avenue.  Have dinner at RA Sushi or historic Monti’s La Casa Vieja .  Enjoy a meal overlooking the hustle and bustle of Mill Avenue at Gordon Biersch Restaurant or try one of the newest Chic spots I Am the Center Cafe.

There are currently about 188 properties for sale in the downtown Tempe area with prices ranging from $109,000 for a 595 SF 1 bedroom condo to $3,300,000 for a 3217 SF, 2 bedroom, 7th floor penthouse overlooking Tempe Town Lake.

Next stop Chandler, Arizona to find out why it’s teaching other cities a thing or two about living life to the fullest.

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For more Information visit Chandler Arizona Real Estate.  This information was provided by Amy Jones, a multi-million dollar top producing Realtor with RE/MAX Elite.

Amy specializes in residential, vacation homes & cabins, as well as retirement communities in the communities of Ahwatukee, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Maricopa, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Sun Lakes, Tempe and the White Mountains communities of Pinetop/Lakes & Show Low. 

Search the Arizona MLS  Search the White Mountain MLS

I was showing property to another couple from Canada over the weekend.  Their target price was a home under $250,000 in Chandler. 

72 listings came up that matched their search criteria.  It was interesting to note however, that of those 72 listings, over 60 of them were either short sale or lender owned!

A short sale can take up to 3 months for a decision to be made by the lending institution if preliminary work on the short sale has not yet been completed by the seller. For that reason, my buyers had already decided they would not be interested in a Short Sale property as they needed to know while they were in town whether or not their offer had been accepted. 

They decided to check out some of the lender owned, which can sometimes take awhile for contract acceptance, but as they are in town for 2 weeks, they wanted to investigate this option. 

The outcome of this investigation was not good.  Most of the lender owned property needed considerable work.  Most had missing appliances…ie.  all the built-in appliances had been removed.  Some properties were even missing the light fixtures and ceiling fans and open wires hung from the places where those fixtures had been removed.

My buyers decided lender owned properties were not going to work for them either.

What did this mean?  We had less than 12 properties that would even make the short list to be viable for consideration.  Which homes made the short list?  Those that were the nicest and the best priced.

 So, the question of the day is…how many homes are TRULY on the market for an average out of town buyer (which, I might add, are many of today’s buyers).  It’s obviously not as many as the media would have you believe.  Granted, there are more short sale and lender owned homes in the lower price ranges as this is the price range many of the investors bought into a few years back.  But there are plenty of homes listed as short sale and lender owned in price ranges up to $500,000.

If you are average Joe Seller, have a beautiful home and are willing to price it to sell (and I don’t mean give it away…just listen to your Realtor’s advice), the opportunity is still great especially at this time of year.  3 of my listings went under contract this week.  2 of them had been on the market less than 2 weeks.  Homes ARE still selling.  Your’s will too.

For more Information visit Chandler Arizona Real Estate.  This information was provided by Amy Jones, a multi-million dollar top producing Realtor with RE/MAX Elite. Amy specializes in residential, vacation homes & cabins, as well as retirement communities in the communities of Ahwatukee, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Maricopa, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Sun Lakes, Tempe and the White Mountainscommunities of Pinetop/Lakes & Show Low.  Search the Arizona MLS.

Chandler hit a benchmark 250,000 residents this month.  The 6 largest Arizona cities (population-wise that is) are Phoenix #1, Tucson #2, Mesa #3, Chandler #4, Glendale #5, Scottsdale #6. 

Chandler is now about as populated as St. Petersburg, Florida & Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Hip Hip Hooray! But wait…where’s the parade?  Where are the balloons?  Hmmm…  is this not good news?  At first I thought, no…not good news. I don’t really want to live in a “big city”.  But when I look around me and see all the great restaurants, shopping and entertainment venues, I realize I wouldn’t have these great amenities living in a town of 1000. 

 So Yippee!  We are the 4th largest city in Arizona!  Yes, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.