Phoenix AZ area housing options -www.phoenixhousehunters.com

Plenty of options to call home

The Phoenix area may be in the Southwest, but it offers a lot more than Southwest-flavored houses and neighborhoods.

While there are many neighborhoods featuring stucco homes with tile roofs, there are also historical houses with mature trees, homes from the post-World War II boom years, homes in desert areas and luxurious mansions.

One of the most exciting developments is the rise of hundreds of new condos in urban settings, particularly in downtown Phoenix, Scottsdale and near a man-made lake in downtown Tempe, home of Arizona State University. The downtown Phoenix and Tempe areas will be linked by a light-rail line beginning in late 2008.

Backyard swimming pools are popular because of the 110-plus-degree summers.

A boom in freeway construction over the past decade has opened up numerous areas for living, especially on the edges of the Phoenix area. Some of these areas are so near the desert you can hear coyotes howling at night.

So choose your lifestyle, your swimming pool and your own oasis, whether that's life in a high-rise condo within walking distance of sporting facilities, restaurants and art museums, mowing a grass lawn or tending to a low-maintenance desert-landscaped home.

Resale homes

Like everywhere else in the country, sales of existing homes have slowed, creating a large selection of about 53,500 homes from which to choose. Prices have been dropping.

Resale residences include homes on the edges of the Phoenix area that may be only a few years old, especially in Surprise, Maricopa and Queen Creek. While the commutes may be longer and the lots smaller, the prices are lower than in more central areas.

Homeowners associations are more commonly associated with newer homes.

Advantages to buying older homes include shorter commutes, larger lots and established neighborhoods. And some areas can make you feel like you're back in the Midwest, California or wherever you are moving from.

Master-planned and gated communities

People like these communities because of the security and because the homeowners associations generally help the homes hold their values. Many are built around golf courses.

Typically, these communities feature several builders, common swimming pools and lush but low-water landscaping and recreation facilities.

Active-adult communities

Retirement communities have been part of Phoenix-area history for almost 50 years. The first retirement community in the country, Sun City, opened in 1960 in the northwest Valley. Now there is a Sun City West near the original Sun City, and far across the eastern side of the Valley, Sun City Anthem in the historic town of Florence.

There is also Sun Lakes, near Chandler, and hundreds of age-restricted communities featuring manufactured and site-built houses around swimming pools, recreation and fitness centers and sometimes golf courses. Mesa is known for dozens of manufactured-home communities that cater to retired visitors.

Custom homes

Luxurious homes are still located mostly in the Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Carefree areas. But there are now also pockets of mansions in east Mesa; the Ocotillo area of south Chandler; Tempe; north Phoenix; and the Ahwatukee Foothills area of Phoenix.

The mansions usually sit on at least three-quarters of an acre and have a swimming pool. They often also offer the refreshing sounds of trickling water.

Condominiums

There has been a boom in condo construction in recent years as more homeowners choose shorter commutes, more culture-oriented lifestyles or nighttime views of thousands of twinkling lights from high-rise windows.

Just about every downtown has condos from which to choose.