Whether you are looking for a seasonal winter escape from the north’s lake-effect snows, or you have the fortitude to withstand the desert southwest heat of June, the state of Arizona is your ticket to great real estate finds.
Sure, the greater Phoenix area, often called The Valley of the Sun, hangs high among fastest growing metropolitan areas in America, at over five million. However, Tucson has lower temperatures, lower taxes, much less traffic, and all the services you expect of a metropolitan area. This makes the Tucson area, affectionately known as The Old Pueblo, quite the treasure in the real estate game, and the realtors of the area’s Northwest towns of Oro Valley, Marana, and Catalina reap the benefits of this colorful housing marketplace, while other Tucson area markets quickly fill the many real estate options, as well. Flagstaff gets occasional snow, for those who must have four seasons, so there is something for everyone in the Arizona real estate market.
Additionally, Arizona newcomers quickly discover the state has it’s own, unique real estate language. All across America, free real estate booklet racks stand at every gas station. Start perusing Arizona real estate advertisements, however, and you’ll find jargon not found in many parts of the United States, such as: kiva, beehive, Arizona room, golf cart garage, and car port.
Some of the real estate language is fairly easy to discern, thanks to recent home decorative trends. Historically, a kiva is a general term for the Native American men’s ceremonial room built around a fire pit, with a smoke hole in the top, center of the ceiling. The modern kiva generally refers to a corner fireplace, built in a beehive-like shape, it is often also called a beehive fireplace. The design arrived in the Southwest during the Colonial Spanish occupation.
A golf cart garage is fairly self-explanatory. It is just like a regular garage, except smaller, and most often is just wide enough for one cart. The Tucson Basin is known for its wonderful golf courses, so many homes have golf cart garages, in addition to their regular vehicle garages, or car ports. The weather is generally so mild in Tucson, home buyers often prefer the lower cost of a car port over a full garage, but golfers tend to splurge on a golf cart garage. A car port differs from a garage, in that it has open sides all around, with a roof supported by sturdy support beams. A garage is totally enclosed and usually has locking door access.
So, what’s so special about an Arizona room? Well, to those accustomed to the terms sun room or enclosed porch, then you already know! If not, suffice to say that it’s a room that brings the outdoors inside, without the temperature changes or weather concerns. In other parts of the country, mosquitoes can be more than a little inconvenience, but in Southern Arizona mosquito season is short. If an Arizona realtor attempts to sell you on a house with an Arizona room “to keep the bugs off you,” run away very fast! Compared to most of the United States, Arizona’s mosquito problem is merely a single flea. To keep mosquitoes off of you is really not the reason to buy a home with an Arizona room. However, if your reason is to have an additional living space with roof, walls, windows, and maybe even a beehive fireplace in the corner, then spend the extra money and enjoy! An Arizona room can be light and airy and fun, but if having one means breaking your realty buying budget, you won’t miss out when you buy a home without one.
Real estate is booming in Arizona. Being savvy in the area’s unique real estate terminology goes a long way toward making sound decisions and recommendations in buying or selling real estate in the American Southwest.
