Arizona Real Estate

You think Arizona, you think desert. All one hundred thousand and thirteen square miles are prime desert real estate. Arizona literally translates to “desert region,” but that isn’t true, it is only a common misconception of what the real estate land in Arizona is really like.

            Yes, Arizona is by far mostly deserting, but about twenty-seven percent of the real estate in this southwestern state is actually forest. Mountains and plateaus are also present in Arizona. In fact, only fifteen percent of Arizona is privately owned residential and commercial property. A large portion of the remaining Arizona real estate is without houses or businesses and is primarily dedicated to parks and forests. Other regions of Arizona that are not publicly owned are dedicated to Native American reservations. Besides forests and deserts, Arizona real estate also claims one of the seven natural wonders of the world: the Grand Canyon.

            So the privately owned fifteen percent of Arizona is roughly around seventeen thousand square miles of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. It’s not surprising that the largest city in Arizona is Phoenix with one and half million people. The climate in Arizona is predictably hot, but could the heat be responsible for the relatively small percentage of settled real estate in the rest of this state? The average temperatures across Arizona in the summer (including May through September) range from ninety degrees to over one hundred and twenty degrees. Can you imagine the air conditioning bills in those homes? The winter months are more reasonable with averages anywhere from forty to seventy degrees, but because of the desert climate, temperatures are subject to steep swings at night, sometimes dropping fifty degrees. These swings occur year round and subject all those Arizona real estate owners to predictably unpredictable weather.

             It makes you wonder, what kind of homes do the Arizonians own in order to tolerate this volatile environment? Long before the days of a cool air-conditioned home, the Hopi Indians lived in the northern part of Arizona. They constructed their houses out of adobe, a clay and straw brick baked until hard. These houses were usually multiple stories with many apartment components. The adobe material was useful for keeping the home as cool as possible because it worked to slow down the entrance of heat into the building. The Hopis would orient the homes to the south to ensure shade during the hottest part of summer days.  They would also utilize high L-shaped walls to enclose their home and create additional shade. Fountains and luscious greenery also helped to keep the home as cool and comfortable as possible.

            Today architecture styles in Arizona have been influenced by the innovations of the Hopis. Native American is not the only cultural influence; a Spanish presence is clear in the houses as well. The housing style most prevalent in Arizona real estate, both commercial and residential, is of the Mission Revival movement. The Mission Revival style started to flourish in the late nineteenth century and succeeded as a popular movement until around 1920. Determining what architectural style is a good fit for you are what you real estate agent will help you with, so do your research before just hiring anyone.

            The late 1800s are still times before the air conditioner was even invented. Thus the architects building on Arizona real estate needed to create homes and buildings that leaned on Native American wisdom to keep things cool. They maintained many of the house features seen in the Hopi homes. Many Arizona houses still face the south and include surrounding walls to absorb heat and leave behind shade during the summer.

            Furthermore, Native American characteristics of Mission Revival real estate include the continued use of adobe. Nowadays, adobe is often substituted for concrete or other modern materials, but a thin layer of an adobe imitation is used to simulate the look of real adobe. Another direct influence is the deep-shaded porches that are commonly featured in this style of real estate. Usually the entryways are arched and the roof is flat to further create a Native American look.

            The Spanish attributes of the Mission Revival housing movement are seen in the details of the building. The basic structural design of the homes follow the Native American influence, but the decorative touches are what emits the Spanish real estate flavor. Things like red tiles on the roof, or a quatrefoil window come directly from a Spanish house style. Twisted columns or square pillars also commonly decorate the exterior of the residential homes. Square pillars actually come from the Craftsman architectural movement. Craftsman was another architectural real estate style taking place across the United States during the early twentieth century.           The most obvious Spanish feature of these designs is perhaps the parapets, when incorporated. Parapets line the traditionally flat roof. It is a very low wall that extends straight above the cornice of the home. In history, they have been used for defense in castles or similar structures, but in these southwestern homes they are strictly just to beautify the house.

            Though the Mission Revival movement ended in the first half of the twentieth century, the real estate listings for Arizona still advertise a bounty of this artistic housing style. The invention of the air conditioner has definitely made beating the heat less of a consideration when buying a home in this southwest state, but Native American inspiration is still present and appreciated in the current desert culture. The influence from several very different societies, as well as other home styles, definitely makes the Missions Revival movement a unique one. Not many architectural styles can claim to seamlessly have origins from two opposite sides of this planet.

            The real estate market in this area is perfect for anyone seeking a hot place to live in the summer, and a tepid place for the short winter. An appreciation for cacti doesn’t hurt either, given you will probably have quite a few in your home’s back yard. At least any future real estate shoppers in Arizona will know that though there is a lot of desert, the dusty sand and dry, scorching heat isn’t all there is the Arizona wilderness. Be sure to ask your real estate agent adequate questions before you make your final decision, but if you like a good, hot climate, this one is probably for you.