Ever wish you could check out what’s happening in Sun City Festival here in Buckeye, Arizona? Now you can, all you have to do is click this link newsletter link and you’ll be taken to the newsletter. For residents of Sun City Festival this is delivered directly to them so they always know what’s happening in their community.

You might especially like seeing all the chartered clubs Sun City Festival offers but remember there are just as many non-chartered clubs throughout the community. If you’d like more information about this community visit www.RetiringToAz.com and don’t forget to download your free copy of our 33 page guide to buying an active adult home!

Often I'm asked about hospitals and how close they are to the different active adult communities. Most of my clients are of the younger retiree age but they still have enough forethought to make sure as they age they will have access to good health care.

Here's a couple of questions I've been asked and is included in our 33 page guide to buying an over 55 home-

Q:  Are there hospitals nearby? Are they any good?
A: As you can imagine with the advanced age of most of the residents, doctors and hospitals are close by. In fact Sun City West and Sun City both have the hospitals and doctors in the community. From just about any community you are no more than 20 minutes to a hospital and some are much closer.
The two nearby hospitals (Del Webb and Boswell) are both highly regarded hospitals and offer a high level of service. I can tell you from personal experience they are some of the best I’ve seen. You also have several other choices nearby and of course the Mayo Clinic is in Scottsdale.

Q:  How far is the VA hospital? Are there any VA clinics nearby?
A: Our local VA hospital is located downtown in Phoenix but they do have several clinics in the west valley that you can go to. The clinics are located within 10-15 minutes of most communities.

Having easy access to health care is just one of the reasons people choose the west valley of Phoenix over other areas like Tucson or Casa Grande. To learn more about buying a home in our area please visit www.RetiringToAz.com and request your free guide to buying a home in an active adult community.

OK I just heard the housing market is down 16% throughout the country so I thought it would be a good time to update you on the Phoenix market. One thing I always struggle with is the difference between the active adult and family markets. The active adult market is so different from the rest of the valley housing that the numbers I can show you are actually better in the retirement communities but nobody tracks those numbers separately.

If you would like a copy of the March updates (on this chart Red is bad and Green is good) I used click here- Download March updates

• Total number of active listings- 38,721. The lowest in over 4 years
• Pending homes- 13,366. The highest number since 2008
• Sales per month- 8,229. The highest number since 2008
• Days on the market- 115. In line with the last 3 years.
• Days of inventory- 154. Lowest since 2008
• Monthly sales $ per sq ft- $82.46. Higher than Jan, slightly lower than Dec and much lower than the last couple of years.
• Listing success %- 66.1%. Much higher than the last 4 years.
• Median Price- $110,250. Higher than Feb, lower than Dec and much lower than the last couple of years.

So now that we have these numbers what does it mean? Looking at this we could say the Phoenix Arizona market has improved but in my opinion it’s too early to get excited. Having the number of homes for sale down and the number of homes selling being better than expected we could say we see some light at the end of tunnel but there’s a long way to go.

If you have specific questions about local communities like Trilogy at Vistancia, Sun City Festival or other active adult communities feel free to contact us and we’d love to break down that area for you. Or to search real estate for sale in our retirement communities you can simply visit Search for homes

Also remember to download your free 33 page guide to buying an active adult home in Arizona!

I found this interesting article about what the National Home Builders Association thinks will help kick start the housing recovery and it’s our kids! They have been on the fence waiting to see what will happen with housing and at some point soon will make the jump.

That’s great news for my clients that have a home to sell before they can purchase their active adult home here in Arizona. So many of my clients have postponed buying their over 55 home here in the Phoenix area and if this article is correct, we could finally be seeing the game change.

Here’s a portion of what they wrote-

RISMEDIA, March 21, 2011—Generation X—young families and adults ages 31 to 45—are likely to lead the home-buying recovery as it gets underway, according to real estate experts who spoke at an educational webinar produced by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in partnership with Builder magazine.

These potential home buyers are most likely to think it’s a good time to get off the fence—and have strong opinions about the design features their new homes will include.

At 32% of the population of home-buying age—generally defined as those who are at least 30 years old, the Gen X population cohort isn’t the largest, but it’s the most mobile, said presenter Mollie Carmichael, principal of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif. “They are in full force with their careers and they need to accommodate growing families,” she said.

In sharp contrast, even though they constitute 41% of prospective home buyers, Baby Boomers continue to wait for the market to improve, and their decisions to delay retirement also delay their decisions to downsize into a smaller home, Carmichael said.

Most of the 10,000 buyers and potential buyers in 27 metro areas that the consulting company surveyed were optimistic about a new home purchase, with between 85% and 89% saying that it was a good time to buy a home. Only 13% said they thought home prices would continue to fall, further evidence that it’s “not all about price,” she said. “They want something compelling, from a design or personalization standpoint,” said Carmichael.

For more information, visit www.nahb.org.

For more information about buying or selling a home in the metro Phoenix area check out our informational website at www.RetiringToAz.com or just give us a call at 623.271.4234.

Today Trilogy had several hot air balloons that were launched right behind the Kiva Club and took to flight over the desert. I’m sure there were a couple of surprised golfers as they went off. Just one example of the things we do at Trilogy at Vistancia here in Peoria, Arizona.

Hot Air balloon launch

For more information about Trilogy at Vistancia and the great amenities they offer visit our resource website by clicking here!

I wanted to share the new menu that the Verde Grill just released today. The restaurant is located at Trilogy at Vistancia here in Peoria, Arizona and offers great lunches and dinners along with a OK menu of breakfast items, mainly for the golfers.

To download your menu please click here- Verde Grill at Trilogy

For more information on Trilogy at Vistancia or other great retirement communities please check out our community page!

Q:   How do I know what each community’s price ranges are?
A:  Of course this one changes all the time so I can’t give you the numbers in this guide but you can find this out by visiting our resource website or simply give me a call and I can help. Of course the older the community, the lower the pricing tends to be. There’s a big difference between Trilogy at Vistancia & Sun City Festival and older communities like Sun City & Sundance.

Q:   How many people are “Snow Birds” in these communities?
A:  This is another one that nobody tracks so everyone has a guess. My guess is most communities have about 15-25% that leaves for the summer with another 10-20% that take off for at least a month during the summer.
This is actually one the best parts of living in Phoenix because it allows you to have the fantastic weather during 8-9 months of the year and visit family or friends during the hot months.

Q:   I see a lot of golf carts driving on the streets, is that normal?
A:  Yes you’ll see a lot of golf carts in the active adult communities. The state of Arizona allows licensed golf carts to travel on the roads marked 35 mile an hour or less. The city’s of Sun City and Sun City West are great for golf carts because they have everything you could ever need (hospitals, dining, grocery stores, etc.) right inside the community, in fact you’ll find special parking for golf carts at the front of the store.

Q:   How much do golf carts cost? How do you make them street ready?
A:  Well that depends on what you buy. You can find a used golf cart for about $1500, a well equipped golf cart for $2,000-4000 and the “mack-daddy” starts about $6,000.
It’s better to check with the state so you have most recent information on this but I know you need turn signals, brake lights and a minimum speed of 35 to drive a cart on the street. You’ll actually license them just like a car with the state; you even get a small license plate for it.

Here’s a couple of common questions we receive from clients looking at homes in communities like Trilogy at Vistancia or Sun City Festival. These are just a couple of the questions covered in our 33 page Guide to buying an active adult home near Phoenix. If you would like your free copy of this guide please visit Guide to buying a retirement home!

Q:  What’s the difference between the HOA fee and a Recreation fee?
A:  The HOA fee is meant to cover maintenance of the house and yard.  The Community Recreation fee pays for the costs of operating the community centers and maintaining the land and streets.

Q:   I’ve heard the Community/HOA’s are really restrictive? How bad are they?
A:  That depends if you live in a community with an HOA right now. Most people that are used to HOA’s find ours to be very fair and really looking out for the betterment of the community. Some of the things that might surprise you in the more restrictive (usually newer communities) are yard art to your front yard; you may need to get permission to do this. The good news is your neighbor will not be putting pink flamingos in his front yard for you to look at.
Now can you find some rules you don’t agree with? Of course but that can be taken to the HOA and if the people of the community agree with you it can be changed.

Q:  What if I have a problem with a neighbor does the Community/HOA get involved?
A:  You’ll find the Communities very responsive to complaints, etc. from residents. Their goal is to ensure the integrity of the community and ensure people follow the rules. Things like excessive weeds are handled very quickly!

Remember this is just part of a comprehensive guide that answers the hundreds of questions our clients have asked over the years. This guide covers questions about Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Pebble Creek and many more! Get yours free!