Jay Martinez Realtor©

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Scottsdale Real Estate Guide

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If you’re considering buying any type of property in Scottsdale then you’ll want to keep reading.

Unless you’ve lived here a long time, it’s useful to begin this Scottsdale real estate guide with a map of Scottsdale–this way you can get the lay of the land. Below you’ll find a map that shows loosely how Scottsdale is divided from North to South. You can find a clickable version of this map with links to active Scottsdale real estate listings here.

Scottsdale Real Estate Guide Map

Here are the main Scottsdale divisions by area–you can click each link to view a map and active listings:

As a general rule of thumb, real estate is most affordable in South Scottsdale and gets progressively more expensive as you move North– though there are many neighborhoods that are not far North which lie outside this general rule–Silverleaf in DC Ranch and Paradise Valley Farms just to name a few–Silverleaf is one of the most expensive communities in the state and the homes in Paradise Valley Farms (which is South of Shea BLVD) start around the $3M mark.

Geography caveat

Let’s quickly discuss the geography–there are many that would consider Shea BLVD as central Scottsdale; however, if you look at the length of Scottsdale (31 miles), it’s easy to determine that from Shea BLVD and a bit North is actual central Scottsdale–ask most realtors though and they’ll tell you that central Scottsdale is more around the Camelback area.

In any event, the above map should give you a good starting point. Now, let’s dig deeper into my Scottsdale real estate guide.

Type of property you’re looking for?

As with most decent size cities, there are endless housing options–you can find lofts in Old Town Scottsdale, mid-priced homes in McCormick Ranch or palatial mansions in North Scottsdale. Scottsdale has horse properties (though they are disappearing), beautiful condominium developments, new construction opportunities and everything in between. No guide to Scottsdale real estate would be complete without a list of the most talked about communities.

I’ve compiled a short list of the most popular master-planned communities and neighborhoods in Scottsdale:

  • DC Ranch
  • Windgate Ranch
  • Desert Mountain
  • McCormick Ranch
  • Scottsdale Ranch
  • Scottsdale Mountain
  • McDowell Mountain Ranch
  • Gainey Ranch
  • Kierland Lofts
  • Optima Camelview Village
  • Scottsdale Waterfront
  • Troon

The above is certainly not an exhaustive list–there are literally hundreds of communities in Scottsdale. Over the past three decades, these are the areas I am asked about most. If you come from a different part of the country and have never heard of a master-planned community, here is a quick definition: It’s a large scale residential development–often made up of many smaller communities–contained within the boundaries are many commercial amenities–things like parks, restaurants, schools and shopping opportunities.

Scottsdale property taxes

I will write a more lengthy article about Scottsdale property taxes, but for now let me provide you with a brief summary.

Property taxes are levied based upon assessed value–For Scottsdale, the assessed value is 10% of the Full-Cash Value or FCV. What’s confusing is that the FCV on the tax statement is often times much less than the price you paid for the home. If you don’t mind looking up the info, it’s quick and easy to find the most recent taxes paid for any Scottsdale property–you can find info and answers to your property tax questions at the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office. Without looking up the exact tax amount, you can quickly estimate taxes by taking a range of 50-70% of 1% of the purchase price–for example, taxes on a $500,000 home should be around $2500 to $3000 per year–not bad compared to California or New York!

Scottsdale schools

Okay–let me give you a quick speech about schools.

Where many of my contemporaries might feel comfortable telling you that “Scottsdale schools are great” (and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong), my guess is that they have not researched many, if any schools, but are rather going off average test scores. While test scores may be important to some, as a parent I feel it’s critical to visit school campuses–talk to teachers–chat with other parents who have kids in the school in question—-sit in on a class or two. Test scores simply don’t tell the whole story.

So, if you ever ask me “how are Scottsdale schools”, I will likely paraphrase the above. What I can do is provide you with some helpful links so that you can do additional research:

If you have younger children and would like to hear about our Scottsdale school experience, ring me up anytime–happy to share what we’ve learned.

Scottsdale home loan financing

There are so many outstanding lenders in Scottsdale, but I have worked with a few that earn high marks from me and my clients

Here are three top home lenders:

Scottsdale Crime Stats

We all know that crime occurs everywhere and Scottsdale is no exception. If you’re concerned, be sure to pay a visit to City of Scottsdale Crime Stats.

McDowell Mountains of Scottsdale, Arizona

What else would you like to know?

Making sure that you feel well informed is very important to me. I hope that you found this Scottsdale real estate guide helpful. If you have questions or comments, please reach out anytime. By the way, you might also like this article on Scottsdale luxury real estate.