Surprise Overview
Surprise Overview
Surprise’s excellent location is just one of the many unexpected reasons people select the city to be their home. Located, it Surprise is close to the White Tank Mountains in the Northwest Valley. Grand Avenue winds along the city’s eastern edge for easy travel to all other parts of the bountiful Valley of the Sun.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The city of Peoria is to the east and the city of El Mirage to the south with much open desert resting all around. Mountain views and clean air are a way of life in Surprise.
Surprise is set gently against a pristine desert in the thriving Phoenix Valley. Prospective residents can choose from renowned retirement communities and award-winning master-planned family communities. The city addresses the needs of anyone who is looking for a home.
Climate
The climate is typical of the southwest. There is a mild winter that is balanced by a long hot, dry summer. Many have claimed that the dry, hot summer conditions have helped to relieve many of their allergy symptoms.
Summer days are clear and spectacular and the temperatures are truly remarkable. Spring and autumn are mild transitions into the other seasons. There is a brief monsoon season that is truly extraordinary.
It is a well-rounded city where residents enjoy living, working, and playing.
Surprise Properties
Surprise offers a wide range of living styles, from small family subdivisions to secluded ranches and retirement communities. Surprise neighborhoods provide generous parks and walking paths.
Surprise is currently one of the fastest-growing cities in Arizona. Development growth is so explosive that it is calculated a new home is built every four hours.
This dynamic growth comes in so many types and styles that the home seeker is certain to find the home configuration that they are looking for. It is a fact that with so many subdivisions and model homes to view finding the home of your dreams is easy to do.
There are award-winning master planned family communities and world-class resort retirement living all available within the borders of Surprise.
Retirement living is one of the city’s many advantages and a specific area of attention that designers provided for. Sun City Grand, the third of Del Webb’s exclusive retirement communities shows the class and quality that are associated with this developer’s work.
Sun City Grand and Arizona Traditions are other Surprise retirement communities that give gated convenience along with fitness, and recreational facilities.
To find out more about properties available in the city of Surprise, click here.
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The Market
The spectacular amount of market activity in Arizona over the past decade has been well documented. People of all walks of life have been moving to Arizona, and particularly Phoenix, in numbers unmatched in recent memory.
Figures from 2000-2005 show nothing but increased construction, development, unit sales, and unit sales prices in virtually every category of structure offered on the market.
The greatest degree of growth occurred during fiscal 2005, where previous growth statistics, impressive in their own rights, spiked sharply to even higher levels.
Of particular note to the residential home seller/buyer was the record appreciation in new and resale home values. These rates were up for new homes and resales, rentals, and condominium units, the only difference being one of degree.
While it is true that not all Phoenix area real estate markets showed the same amount of increase it is true that the degree of growth for each area was roughly proportional.
Then along came 2006 and equally well documented has been the decline in the rate of growth of some key market indicators. The greater Phoenix resale home market is showing marked decreases in sales figures for comparable periods last year across the valley and across most unit categories.
One interesting exception is the median price for resale units has risen slightly. This rising price accompanied by a decrease in sales seems to be more in keeping with normal market tendencies.
One would expect spectacular growth to lead eventually to a degree of scarcity that would be reflected in higher prices. Could this indicate that the market has reached its peak?
Let’s look at another indicator to see what it may tell us.
Since 1985, the Arizona Real Estate Center has computed what it calls “affordability indexes” for the Greater Phoenix area and several nearby cities.
The index was invented as a guide to predict market activity. When the index value is 100, the typical home buyer (based on the current median resale price and household income) would be able to afford a median-priced home at the stated effective interest rate. A lower index value indicates less availability of affordable single-family homes.
The affordability index for the areas selected for the study shows a significant reduction in the availability of that this type of housing within the means of the ordinary consumer.
Whether this data can be used as a reliable indicator for other groups and other types of housing is arguable, but it does beg the question “how much longer will the market be able to sustain a situation where both sellers and buyers can apparently benefit by getting involved in the market?
The short answer is that these conditions can remain so long as they are supported by the market.
So when we take a long look at the larger picture we must ask ourselves whether we can realistically expect to realize more potential gain or value now or at some time in the future and it is very reasonable to conclude that the best possible time to buy or sell Arizona really is now.
Surprise History
Surprise began in the early ’30s as a small farming community. Then in 1938, the area was subdivided by Homer Ludden, a real estate developer with vision and capital. Ludden divided parcels into affordable housing portions for the area’s lower-middle-class agricultural workers.
It wasn’t until 1960 before Surprise became incorporated. There are conflicting stories as to how the city received its name.
One rumor says that a lot of people said it would be a big ‘surprise’ if anything came of this place formerly inhabited by lowly share-croppers. Another story says that the city’s founder, Homer Ludden was from Surprise, Nebraska.
No matter which story you believe, it is true that this is a great place to call home. And that should come as no surprise!
Surprise! Entertainment
Wherever you turn in this 70 square mile city, there is something going on. It seems that building is going on pell-mell with new churches, restaurants, grocery stores, shops, schools cropping up everywhere. A city is an ideal place for homes and businesses- the perfect place for working, shopping, and for living.
Surprise Outdoor Recreation
Just to the south of the city is Luke Air Force Base. This base is home to the 56th Fighter Wing and is the largest jet training base in the world. Every year the base holds a special event called “Luke Days.” One of the event’s highlights is the amazing air show. It is a world-class event that should not be missed.
One of the biggest bonuses when selecting the city of Surprise to be home is its 130 acre Surprise Recreational Campus. This campus includes a Cactus League Spring Training Facility/Stadium, regional library, aquatic center, community park, and a 35-acre urban fishing lake.
Then there’s Surprise Stadium, which seats over 10,000 people. The facility includes twelve baseball fields and a large multi-purpose complex.
This makes Surprise Stadium an excellent sports training complex; a fact not missed by the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers who call Surprise Stadium home during spring training.
Year-round the stadium is in use, with youth sports programs and special events. The Golden Baseball League and the Surprise Fightin’ Falcons teams also play at the Surprise Stadium.
