There are numerous active adult areas or sometimes called age restricted areas and/or 55+ areas in Greater Phoenix. They typically offer amenities such as pools, recreational facilities, golf courses and many of them are gated. They are mostly situated throughout suburban fringe parts of the valley in the Greater Phoenix Real Estate area.
The most widely known developers are the Del Webb communities in the various Sun City subdivisions and the Trilogy developments in Peoria & Gilbert. There are numerous other developments which are desirable that I will skim the surface of in this article and can expand on the details of those if you contact us to explore these possibilities or check out further within the pages of this blog.
The average age required for almost all of these areas are that at least one member has to be at least 55 while a spousal partner can be lower and with several requiring that to be at least 40+. There are rules governing how long friends & family that are younger can stay in the household with the average being 90 days. Most new communities also have what is called an 80/20 rule that permits the age of a brand new home purchaser to be 40+ and not 55+ providing that they are within a maximum of 20% of the total population of the area and this would generally be subject to board approval.
The original Sun City was developed in the 1960s & 1970s and is located in the northwest valley adjacent to Peoria. Product types include small attached patio homes currently in the $40000′s and ranging up to the mid-$200000′s with many single family detached choices of under $100000. Sun City West just a little west in the Surprise area came next in the late 1970s and was completely built out in 1998 with over 22000 homes. It has 7 golf courses and numerous recreational facilities and also has patio homes & single family ranging from the $50000′s up to $500000 with an average price of around $170000 that includes choices of small single family homes for under $150000. Corte Bella is a smaller upscale community of 1650 homes that is snuggled in to Sun City West but separated by a wall and is gated that offers more of a smaller upscale feel to it. Sun City Grand is immediately west and was developed next with over 9500 homes, 4 golf courses, 5 pools and 3 recreational facilities. Patio homes & single family homes ranging from $100000 up to $800000 with an average price of $292000 that includes choices of small single family homes for under $200000. About 10 minutes west of Surprise’s western extremity is the beautiful newer community called Sun City Festival and has a golf course, huge recreational facilities complete with pools, fitness center, etc and has new homes ranging from $150000+ with a handful of resale homes from the low $100000′s and up. It is the most remote of the Sun City developments and is about an hour from the airport.
In the NW corner and the southeast corner of the valley there are two wonderful upscale Trilogy communities which have golf courses and an abundance of recreation for the active adult. They are Trilogy at Vistancia and Trilogy at Power Ranch. These are outstanding developments that offer world class amenities, beautiful scenery, lush golf courses and in a gated community environment.
On the western fringe there is a lush Robson Community called Pebble Creek with 2 golf courses and choices from $160000 and up with an average of around $300000. In the southwestern fringe snuggled in to the Estrella Foothills there is a newer area called Canta Mia that is $200000 and up with outstanding recreational facilities. It is within a family neighborhood of 3500+ homes called Estrella that is highly regarded for being a quality master planned community with lakes, trails and a Jack Nicklaus golf course.
The east valley has it’s share of facilities including Leisure World in Mesa developed in the 1970s & 1980s. It has patio homes and single family homes from $80000-400000 averaging about $175000. Not far from Leisure World are many other smaller active adult areas in Mesa. South of Mesa’s east end is the Trilogy at Power Ranch that I mentioned earlier and Encanterra. Fountain Hills, Sun Lakes, Springfield Lakes in Chandler all have wonderful choices!
Satellite communities at the outside edges of Greater Phoenix such as in the town of Maricopa have active adult areas within namely Province, which is in the heart of town and offers a small town feel and yet only 40 minutes from Sky Harbour Airport. Also Gold Canyon and Apache Junction have choices as well. Many of these communities have Canadian Club get togethers or events as there are numerous Canadians scattered throughout the valley within these areas.
In order for Laurie to be able to represent you at new communities, all initial contact must be made by him including first visits and online contact. Some of these communities actually encourage you to stay there for a few days to ‘test drive’ the community which potentially could be a great way for you to decide if an area is right for you. We work closely with these communities and would need to pre-register you at these areas….we’d be delighted to do that.
Laurie Lavine of The Lavine Team will assist you exploring all of your many options and will help you to zero in on the community that would be the best fit for you based on your needs and desires. Just give him a call or send him an email to get started…..