Southern Arizona Active Retirement Communities and Active Lifestyles

Southern Arizona is a favorite destination for family vacations and those seeking idyllic affordable retirement venues. Visitors come thousands of miles to enjoy our pleasant climate, spectacular scenery, world class bird watching, great golf, world-famous attractions, hiking trails and laid-back lifestyle. Everything that makes Southern Arizona a great place to visit makes it an even better place to live, full time or part time. Southern Arizona offers wonders of nature, colorful desert flowers, starlit skies, and snow covered mountains. Highlights of the southern Arizona lifestyle include:

• Outdoor activities

• 12 Recreational centers

• Affordable Golf Courses

• Artist colonies

• S.O.A .medical facilities

• Cultural centers

• World class universities

• Wonders of nature

• Moderate climate and sunny weather

• Affordable housing

This area provides world-class natural attractions like the Sonoran Desert, Mount Lemmon, Karchner Caverns, the Grand Canyon, the Red Rocks of Sedona, and Oak Creek Canyon. Scenic drives and recreational opportunities abound, including four lakes and Madera Canyon, the “sky island” that ranks as one of the best bird-watching areas in the world. The intriguing desert landscape gives way to majestic mountains in every direction, making it a paradise for anyone who loves the outdoors. Hiking, biking and exploring are favorite activities.  Golfers enjoy some of the finest courses anywhere, from challenging target golf to traditional layouts. And, of course, there is plenty of tennis. Mild, sunny weather keeps the outdoors available 12 months a year. Here, you will also experience the remarkable culture of the Southwest. The flags of four countries have flown above the region: Spain, Mexico, the Confederacy, and the USA. The area has a rich heritage in Spanish missions, American Indian history, fabled frontier folklore, and deserted mining towns. All of these attractions are showcased in our art galleries, cultural centers, and performing arts organizations. If you prefer, you can experience many of these lifestyles via visits to our many artist colonies, mine tours, ghost towns, and dude ranches.  Southern Arizona's culture is a unique blend of Western, Mexican and Native American influences. It offers everything from symphonies to rodeos, modern art to Wild West shootouts. The dining is diverse and delicious, with restaurants ranging from world-renowned gourmet to some of the best Mexican food this side of the border.  

Green Valley and the Surrounding Area

Located at an elevation of 2,900 feet, at the foot of the spectacular Santa Rita Mountain Range, Green Valley and the surrounding area are blessed with sunshine more than 300 days a year, making it ideal for those with an active lifestyle who love to be outside. With nine golf courses, shopping plazas, dozens of clubs and volunteer organizations, medical facilities, places of worship and recreation centers, Green Valley is a destination for anyone seeking an active lifestyle.  Located 23 miles south of Tucson, and 145 miles south of Phoenix, Green Valley, Arizona, is much more than a booming Arizona retirement community. Its proximity to metropolitan areas provides the desirable amenities of city life, without sacrificing the laid back, stress-free small town qualities that Green Valley residents hold dear.  Residents hail from the mid-west, California, Washington, Oregon, and Florida. While most of Green Valley is age-restricted, there are also non-age-restricted communities where families with children live. Just north and east of Green Valley is the growing town of Sahuarita where non-age restricted housing is plentiful along with excellent schools and parks.  The Green Valley area includes Amado, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Tumacacori, Tubac & Rio Rico. The area boasts:

• Twelve recreational centers

• More than nine golf courses

• Over 470 galleries & shops

• Over 450 service companies including banks, real estate professionals, accounting, legal and title services, doctors, and dentists

• Excellent museums, including the Desert Museum in Tucson and the Heard Museum in Phoenix

• Continuing education opportunities at the University of Arizona and Pima County Community College

Recreation

Golfers love the availability and affordability that comes with nine golf courses within a ten mile radius of Green Valley.  If golf is not your passion, there are 12 recreation centers, 23 heated swimming pools, and shuffleboard, tennis, bocce and racquetball courts.   Green Valley recreation offers cultural events, arts and crafts rooms, sewing rooms, fitness centers, lapidary, ceramics and woodworking facilities, photographic equipment, and billiard rooms, as well as computer instruction.  If you’re still not convinced, how about off-road exploring, bike trails or horseback riding!  Maybe one of the several theater groups is more your style. 

Astronomy Capital

Southern Arizona’s clear night sky and absence of reflected light make it a haven for astronomical observation.  The nearby Fred Lawrence Whipple/Mount Hopkins Observatory is world-renowned, built atop the second highest peak in the Santa Rita Mountains. Kitt Peak Observatory is also close by and contributes to Southern Arizona’s reputation as the “astronomy capital of the world.”  Kitt Peak Observatory houses the world’s largest collection of telescopes. 

Art and Shopping

Lovers of art and history are drawn to historic Tubac, the oldest European settlement in the area and a shopper’s paradise with nearly 100 galleries and shops in addition to its historic park and museum.  About 45 miles south of Green Valley are the twin cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, a favorite of bargain-hunters, attracting visitors from miles around with its hundreds of shops offering goods ranging from leather, pottery, rugs, jewelry, furniture, and decorative accessories to arts and crafts. 

Medical Facilities

Health care facilities include nearly two dozen adult care homes, two nursing homes, four assisted living centers, a facility for those with memory disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, an oncology center, several medical clinics, dental clinics and ambulances with trained Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics. Nearby Tucson offers nearly a dozen hospitals and numerous clinics with their own specialties.

WEATHER

Residential Real Estate Market

The greater Green Valley residential real estate market has something for everyone: small townhomes, luxury townhomes, freestanding tract homes, and custom homes.  Properties vary from one-bedroom townhomes (priced in the mid-eighties) to large custom-built homes (million plus dollars).  Styles vary from Southwestern to Spanish Colonial to Contemporary. Settings include mountains, arroyos, golf courses, and the high desert.   The community is made-up of approximately 75 neighborhoods. These subdivisions range in age from 40 years old to newly built. The neighborhoods vary in their levels of social activities and unit density. Several have their own swimming pools and clubhouses. All neighborhoods are well maintained thanks to the Homeowners Associations’ Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs). Many neighborhoods are age-restricted, and some are gated. 

Local Resale Market Trends

The average resale price has increased 19% per year for the past five years.  In 2002 it was $120,000.  Over the past two years, the average sales price has increased 49%.  2005 was an extraordinary year (as it was in most markets).   The number of residential resales jumped from a five-year average of about 1,300 units to over 2,400 units.  About one in four of those was purchased by investors. Many of the investment buyers are now seeking renters or have put the property back on the market. In the first nine months of 2006 the average sales price was $242,181 and the days-on-market (DOM) averaged 99.  During the Third Quarter of 2006, 227 properties sold at an average price of $251,872 and required an average DOM of 114.   At the beginning of the Fourth Quarter of 2006, there are 777 active listings (a 10-month supply at the current sales rate).  The local market has definitely slowed.  Prices have started to drop, but some sellers are still in denial.