PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Rising home prices and investment-driven development are displacing families from established communities across the Valley, leaving longtime residents worried that the sounds of children playing in neighborhood yards may become a distant memory.
From Scottsdale to north Phoenix, real estate investors are buying up family single-family homes, replacing them with luxury builds and driving prices to unprecedented levels. The ripple effect is stark: fewer families can afford homes in these areas, forcing them to relocate to distant suburbs.
The Sound of Change
Construction noise is constant in parts of north Phoenix, but longtime residents say the transformation comes at a steep cost.
Jon Altman has lived in his north Phoenix neighborhood for decades. He is one of the few residents who inherited his home from his father, the original owner. However, he says it’s not the community it once was.
“People come in, they may extensively remodel the houses, or option B, bulldoze it down and build a whole new one,” Altman said.
Homes once affordable for families are now being purchased solely for the land. Altman points to a nearby property as an example: a three-bedroom, one-and-three-quarter-bath home on a full acre with horse privileges that sold for $890,000 — then was bulldozed three weeks later.
“So essentially, I guess the lot is worth $890,000,” Altman said.
Schools Feel the Impact
Rising prices are pushing families out, and the impact is visible in local schools. North Phoenix school districts have confirmed closures tied to declining enrollment — a trend residents say mirrors what’s happening on their streets.
“It was very affordable. Practically everybody had one or two kids and moved in,” Altman said of the neighborhood’s earlier days. “Then you see schools closing and all the other challenges and your neighborhood begins to look like Sun City or Sun City West.”
The Same Pressure in Scottsdale
The same affordability crisis is being felt farther south in Scottsdale, where demand continues to outpace what many families can afford.
Lara Palles, a Scottsdale real estate specialist, often hears this concern, especially among families trying to move up to larger homes.
“A growing family that moved here six years ago in Scottsdale, let’s say, and they could afford their house, but they plan to move up and get a bigger home. They’re locked in,” Palles said. “So that affects inventory.”
Palles recently addressed the issue on social media, discussing clients who feel priced out of the communities they once thought they could stay in long-term.
“There’s kind of this old idea that your first home needs to be a big single-family home,” Palles said. “That’s the expectation that probably needs to change based on median household incomes.”
A Neighborhood in Transition
Back in North Phoenix, Altman watches as another luxury home near his rises. He says homes marketed at $4.6 million won’t bring families to the neighborhood.
“You’re getting somebody whose joint income has to be in the mid-6 figures,” Altman said. “And that’s the other challenge.”
For Altman, the concern goes beyond affordability. It’s about the future of entire neighborhoods.
“You need young families here,” he said. “Your school system gives you kids that graduate and come back, and it supports Phoenix.”
Residents worry that without policy changes to slow investor-driven buying, these neighborhoods will continue to lose families. However, real estate professionals caution that young families need to be flexible and open-minded if they want to enter these communities today.
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