By Brian Petersheim | InMaricopa
The average price-per-square-foot of Maricopa homes sold in the summer of 2021 is more than four times the same period a decade earlier. Yet Maricopa is still very affordable compared to other Valley communities.
Although Maricopa was incorporated in 2003, by the year 2006 most of the homes sold were new builds, as most of the resale homes had only been lived in for a few years.
In 2007, the prices began to drop, as those that received subprime mortgages in 2004-2007 were affected by a change in interest rates and were unable to refinance their homes.
Many builders stopped construction since the homes cost more to build than they could sell them for in 2009-2013.
After a five-year building hiatus, the lending community tightened the qualifications and credit scores for a home purchase and removed the subprime loans in hopes a homebuyer having a bigger stake in their own financing would prevent another crash as bad as 2009-2011.
