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Phoenix
Historic Homes for Sale
Historical Homes
for Sale In Phoenix
and Surrounding areas
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Phoenix Buyers
rediscover lure of historic older homes
Historical Phoenix homes districts
are Willo Historic, Roosevelt
Historic Coronado Historic and Encanto-Palmcroft
Historic, Del Norte historical district, North Encanto
Historic District, Garfield Historical District, Pierson
Place historic district, Phoenix Homesteads, East
Evergreen historic district, Encanto Vista historical
district, F.Q. Story, Country Club Park
Historic district, Fairview Place Historical district.
and Cheery Lynn historical homes districts.
One of the hottest trends in real estate has become the
restoration of historical homes. The Phoenix
Historical Districts, with its rich history, has a
wonderfully textured architectural past which allows a
wide variety of historic homes to choose from. Downtown
Historic Phoenix, Midtown Historical Phoenix, Central
Avenue and the Central Corridor, are host to historical
homes that demonstrate the great and ever-changing
architectural trends of the past.
Whether you want to restore a Phoenix historical home,
move into a historic Phoenix home which has already been
restored or some combination thereof, the Phoenix
historical districts and the Phoenix-Metro historical
districts have plenty to choose from in many different
price ranges, styles, cultures and conditions.
Lush lawns. Shady trees. Historic homes and streets
filled with
children at play.
With these amenities defining many of its neighborhoods,
central Phoenix is looking very alluring these days for
home buyers.
Since 1996, median resale home prices in the heart of
the Valley increased more than in any other area,
according to The Arizona Republic's annual survey of
home buying. Although sales of new homes on the
outskirts of the Valley are attracting plenty of buyers,
many people looking for an older home are venturing to
the city's core and paying for the privilege.
Barbara McLoone, who teaches elementary special
education and who lives on Third Avenue north of
Glendale Avenue, watched median home sales in her 85021
ZIP code increase nearly 40 percent during the past five
years. Median home values jumped from $96,000 to
$133,000. The median represents the midpoint of all
sales, meaning half of the homes were priced higher and
half lower.
Homes in McLoone's neighborhood often sell for much more
than $133,000. Prices have increased, some say, due to
the interest not only in the aesthetics of the area, but
also due to what it offers for the family. The
neighborhood falls within the Madison Elementary School
District, considered by many to be a top Valley
district.
It took only one day for McLoone to sell her home last
month. She sold it for about $330,000 to buyers who
instantly took to the charm of the roughly
2,100-square-foot house. The ranch-style house reminded
McLoone of those often found in the Midwest.
McLoone, who lives with her teenage son and young adult
daughter, said they hate to move but need something with
less maintenance. She's planning to buy a townhouse
nearby.
Resale homes in the heart of Phoenix and along the
Central Avenue corridor from Van Buren Street to
Glendale Avenue have jumped in value by at least 50
percent since 1996, according to The Republic's
survey. Resale prices in the 85003 ZIP code, which runs
from Thomas Road south to the Salt River and includes
the Willo and Roosevelt historic neighborhoods,
registered a 75.2 percent median increase, jumping to
$205,000 from $117,000. Even resale prices in more
modest homes like those in the 85009 ZIP code near Van
Buren Street and 35th Avenue increased by 77.8 percent,
with median prices increasing to $80,000 from $45,000
during the past five years.
Central Phoenix also showed one of the strongest changes
in the resale median price from 2000 to 2001, with many
ZIP codes showing 10 to 14.9 percent increases, some of
the highest across the Valley except for the outlying
areas. The standout for central Phoenix was the 85003
ZIP code, where the median resale price increased to
$205,000 from $175,000. The 17.1 percent increase ranked
ninth among 106 ZIP codes.
Central Phoenix, with its designated historic districts,
such as Willo and Roosevelt, will continue to attract
buyers, said Jay Butler, director of Arizona State
University's Real Estate Center.
"One of reasons everybody likes the historical areas is
that the housing is very unique," Butler said.
Some buyers like to snap up something to remodel with
the idea of selling it. The past five years have seen a
wave of such dreams, leaving fixer-uppers harder to
find.
Some buyers looking at central Phoenix hark back to
their childhood, Butler said. There's recognition in
seeing the trees and grass, the bigger kitchens where
family members can pile in.
Tom Bryant, an agent with Realty Executives who
specializes in central Phoenix, expects the
neighborhoods to continue to draw buyers.
"There's still tremendous interest. I've seen people
virtually willing to overpay to be in a certain
neighborhood," he said.
McLoone said central Phoenix has been a magnet for many
families wanting larger lots and the feeling of a
neighborhood that's settled.
"When we moved in 1997, every neighbor came and gave me
their name," McLoone said.
The friendliness of her neighborhood is one reason
Martha Baehr plans to stay put.
She's lived in her home on North Fifth Avenue near
Indian School Road all her life. It was her parents'
home.
Her 1,300-square-foot house is in the 85013 ZIP code,
which since 1996 has seen nearly a 60 percent increase
in resale median home prices, jumping to $132,900 from
$84,000.
Baehr, who lovingly tends a garden of roses, daffodils
and daisies outside her house, said she's always happy
to meet new people who wander by and stop to chat.
"We really like this location near the center of town,"
she said.
When her daughter, Alicia, and her son, Lealand, were
younger, she and her husband, John, used to take them on
bikes and ride down Central Avenue to a downtown event
or over to Encanto Park.
She's glad home buyers are taking note of central
Phoenix.
"You go out to the suburbs and see all new development
and the houses are beautiful, but they have a similar
look. It's more fun to be here."
Connie Cone Sexton
The Arizona Republic
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