About Scottsdale and the Scottsdale Lifestyle

SCOTTSDALE AZ REAL ESTATE & LIVING

Scottsdale real estate is some of the most wonderful real estate in the state of Arizona. Scottsdale is a city that can offer any lifestyle you choose – urban or suburban, family-friendly, singles or retired – and the list goes on.

Whatever lifestyle you prefer, you can find it in Scottsdale and its adjoining cities and towns, including Carefree, Paradise Valley and Phoenix. The housing market in Scottsdale offers an enormous variety of choices from condos to multi-million dollar estates. The choice is yours.

Desert Mountain Golf — Golf at Desert Mountain

ABOUT SCOTTSDALE

It’s difficult to describe Scottsdale in just a few words as it has a uniqueness and draws all types of personalities for all types of reasons. In addition to being a vacation spot, the robustness of the economy and the beauty of the city draws new residents on a daily basis. Young and old are moving here – some to work and others to retire or enjoy a second home.

Scottsdale is located in central Arizona in the heart of the lush Sonoran Desert. It enjoys an average of 330 days of sun per year and the median temperature is about 72.6 degrees year-round. Combine this fabulous climate with over 200 golf courses within the greater Phoenix area, including the well-known Troon and TPC courses, and you can understand why it has earned the title of Golfer’s Paradise.

In addition to golf, the city offers healthy outdoor pursuits for everyone. There are over 58 miles of public bike paths and 40 miles of shared hiking, riding and horse trails. These are in addition to the fabulous walking trails and sidewalks that are part of the design of every planned community.

SCOTTSDALE REAL ESTATE PERFORMANCE – NOVEMBER 2024

The average asking price of Scottsdale single-family homes for sale in November was $2,413,531. (Note: There is a $29.5 million dollar listing that is making this figure skew higher.)
The average sales price of a single-family home in Scottsdale in November was $1,420,669.
There were 292 single-family home sales over the course of the month.
The lowest-priced home sold for $450,000 and the highest-priced home sold for $7,850,000.
The number of months of inventory available for sale for single-family homes was 4.3 months. (Note: Around three to four months of inventory typically indicates a balanced market.)
Click to see more data on the Scottsdale AZ Real Estate Market

AN INFORMAL TOUR OF SCOTTSDALE

Old Town Scottsdale/Downtown Scottsdale

The original downtown area, known as “Old Town” has kept the character of the small storefronts, narrow streets, and has embraced the art community. Enjoy the Art Walk on Thursday evenings when the galleries stay open later for your enjoyment. In addition to the art, Old Town is home to many boutiques and some of the best and hottest restaurants in town.

You will also find the Scottsdale Museum of the West, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art as well as the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall, which is home to many cultural and food events throughout the year.

Just over the canal is the famous Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall and the Scottsdale Waterfront neighborhood, which has blossomed over the past decade. Here, you will find spectacular luxury condo developments, like Optima Camelview and the Scottsdale Waterfront Residences, as well as single-family homes in the surrounding area.

Old Town is experiencing plenty of development on the residential side of things. Some new luxury communities are underway and some that launched a few years ago are Envy and Main Street Place.

The Scottsdale Waterfront is a “hot-spot” for dining, entertainment and boutique shopping. Some notable restaurants include Olive & Ivy, Maple & Ash and Culinary Dropout.

Other noteworthy dining on Old Town includes FnB and Virtu Honest Craft.

And if you head west on Camelback, there is an exciting new luxury condo development going in next to the Phonecian called Ascent at the Phoenician.

Central Scottsdale

Continuing north, you enter the Central Scottsdale area. On the southern end, you have many wonderful established communities, like Gainey Ranch and McCormick Ranch, that put Scottsdale on the map. A notable new luxury condo community, The Enclave at the Borgata, has been very popular.

To the east, you have the Scottsdale Ranch community with single family homes, condos and townhomes many of which overlook and have access to Lake Serena.

Going a little further north you will come to the Kierland neighborhood. This area has seen incredible development over the past several years and is a very desirable place to live. Originally anchored by the Kierland Commons Shopping Center and the very popular Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons, another large shopping area called Scottsdale Quarter was developed across the street within easy walking distance. These two shopping and dining destinations have made this a very attractive place to live and work, especially if you are looking for a home where you do not have to rely on a car for most things.

Optima brought a new development to the area called Optima Kierland that features the very unique and distinctive Optima look and lifestyle. It is walking distance to both Kierland Commons and Scottsdale Quarter.

No trip to this part of Scottsdale is complete without visiting Taliesin, the architectural school founded by Frank Lloyd Wright.

North Scottsdale

North Scottsdale has also been a whirl of development over the last several years. New housing communities, golf courses and shopping and dining locales have been springing up. The 101 Freeway provides excellent access to all of the activities Scottsdale has to offer, so it is a great part of town to live in.

This part of town is a little different from the rest of Scottsdale in that it is not quite as developed and you will see more of the desert landscape, especially as you move farther north. However, even though it is not as developed as areas further south, there are still plenty of places to shop, dine and take in entertainment and culture.

North Scottsdale is where you will find the bulk of the luxury private golf communities, like Desert Mountain, Estancia, DC Ranch, Silverleaf, The Boulders and Mirabel. There is also a good mix of single family homes and smaller communities as well.

The Scottsdale Lifestyle

Dining in Scottsdale is unique in that some of the finest restaurants are found in what are typically called “strip malls” as well as shopping centers. Scottsdale restaurants offer a huge variety of food from Southwestern and Mexican in all price ranges to nationally recognized five-star locales. There is something for everyone.

Scottsdale is one of the major golf destinations in the United States and has been called “America’s Best Place to Live for Golf” by Robb Report magazine. In addition to the private golf clubs, there are over 30 public golf courses.

Scottsdale is also nationally known for baseball’s Spring Training and these camps bring visitors from all over to partake in this amazing annual event that features many of the nation’s favorite teams.

Other major events hosted by Scottsdale include the Waste Management Phoenix Open Golf Tournament at TPC Scottsdale and the esteemed Barrett-Jackson car auction. Additionally, nearby Phoenix is home to many professional sports teams including the Arizona Suns, the Phoenix Cardinals, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Arizona Coyotes.