Lakefront Homes … yes, even in the Arizona desert!
There are 4 natural lakes that are less than 1 hour away from downtown Phoenix (Lake Pleasant, Lake Saguaro, Canyon Lake and Lake Roosevelt) but you can’t purchase property on them! In this state 18% of the land is available for people like you and I to own, 26% belongs to the Native American population and the remainder belongs to the government. If you like camping, boating, fishing, hiking, etc. you will love the lake side attractions Arizona has to offer.
Lake Pleasant
Lake Pleasant is a large outdoors recreation area straddling the Maricopa and Yavapai county border in Arizona. The park is located within the municipal boundaries of Peoria and serves as a major recreation hub for the northwest Phoenix metropolitan area.Contact me for a really good map of the area – it shows where all the new highways are going and how the grid system works in Arizona.
Man-Made Lakes
All the lakefront properties on man-made lakes usually dye the water blue/green using an algicide (I call it smurf water-I am one of the lunatics that paid extra for it!) We use bottom feeding fish to control the algae, bubblers for air circulation and algicides to keep our “lakes” clean. Gilbert has a water-ski community where homes range $1M+/- and these are the only lakes where you can use gas powered boats. If you own waterfront property on the man-made lakes, you must use people power or electric motors so that you do not upset the equilibrium. If you prefer gas powered boats then you are better off visiting the real lakes.
Lake Front Real Estate
Lake front real estate is as rare as mountainside property in Arizona. Building lots are very difficult to find. There are some lake communities in the planning stages at this moment, properties will be available soon. There are a few lots in Arizona City that are for sale under the land portion of our MLS. Existing homes in Scottsdale start at $1M+ on the water, but that’s only if you can find one on the market.
The West Side
The West Side currently has the least amount of lakes (Avondale, Glendale, Surprise, Buckeye, Laveen), but that will change over the next 5 years. The West Side area will soon have the largest number of new building permits issued annually.
The Southeast Valley
The Southeast Valley is where many people decide to live after researching the waterfront communities. Gilbert, Chandler, Ahwatukee, Tempe, Mesa, offer quality schools, close proximity to the airport and job centers in addition to the water. The lakes are plentiful and some resale homes have premiums as little as $30,000 due to being built several years ago when land values were as high.
Newer homes with waterfront views now range from the low $400’s in Avondale and Arizona City to $1.8M+ in Scottsdale. In the Southeast Valley the largest percentage of water front properties sell for between $360K and $3M.
