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If Paradise Valley is the bejeweled queen of quality community zoning, then Scottsdale, “The West’s Most Western Town,” is her hip, livelier twin. In Scottsdale, commercial development is allowed, but closely monitored for aesthetic considerations and, well, classiness. Just try to find a fast-food sign obstructing the view of Camelback Mountain’s beloved Praying Monk.
Scottsdale shares many of its sibling’s most desirable characteristics—beautiful mountain vistas; homes for sale that were built with elbow room and respect for the natural landscape; primo recreation and schools. Plus shopping and a night life that draw visitors in jets from both coasts, and a business center that’s the end of the rainbow for thousands of thriving residents.
Scottsdale Airpark, in the northwest corner of town, is a well-placed collection of a few hundred businesses that ably forms the area’s economic backbone. It surrounds Scottsdale’s executive airport, one of the busiest single-runway airports in the nation. About 10,000 non-commercial passengers a year fly through Scottsdale in everything from single-engine leisure planes to corporate jets—on business, vacation, or to attend banner events such as the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction or the FBR Open PGA Golf Tournament.
The median household income in Scottsdale is $65, 841—compare that to $46,851 for Arizona and $45,937 nationwide.
The Scottsdale Unified School District consistently brings in top grades from the Arizona Department of Education, and its students compete exceedingly well with national test scores. Residents may also choose from a number of private schools with pedigrees as robust as their names:
- Rancho Solano Private Schools (pre-K–middle school)
- Camelback Desert Schools (3 years–8th grade)
- El Dorado Private School (primary grades–middle school)
- International School of Arizona (2 years–5th grade)
- Notre Dame Preparatory High School;
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School (K–8th grade)
- King David School (1st–8th grade)
Scottsdale is shaped a lot like an upper case “P” with a top hat on its head. Its long, narrow body extends from the Cave Creek/Carefree area to Curry Road in Tempe. The western border is Scottsdale Road itself, with the exception of several small forays jutting out a few blocks to the west here and there. The bowl of the P reaches roughly 136th Street, with a southern border at about Doubletree Ranch Road (level with Phoenix’s Dunlap Avenue). The Loop 101 runs parallel to the body and up through the lower bowl of the P near the airport, making it easy to reach the Valley’s freeway system from anywhere in the lower, business-oriented areas of the Scottsdale city limits.
South Scottsdale has plenty to offer its residents — well-maintained neighborhoods in a slightly more affordable market, and easy access to places like Phoenix International Airport and ASU.
But for a truly unique living experience within Scottsdale real estate, head north. Aside from its clean, well-planned look and feel, North Scottsdale is one of the easiest places to see for yourself why some people call Phoenix the golf capital of the world. There are too many excellent, pristine courses to name—check out Golf Link’s list of Arizona’s top 25.
Styles are wide open—family ranch homes built in the 60s and 70s, Modern mixes of comfort and the avant-garde, adobe-styled mansions you could get lost in. Spanish haciendas with exquisite detail. Tuscan treasures that welcome you home.
If you’re looking for great homes for sale in Scottsdale, here are just a few of the more magnificent hoods in this best-of-all-worlds, “Most Livable City,” the “Beverly Hills of the Desert”:
Hidden Hills
These truly hidden, off-the-grid hills wend their way through a canyon in the southern part of the glorious McDowell Mountains of northeast Scottsdale, where it is not unusual to spot a deer, javelina, or coyote on your morning or evening hike. Roughly, the boundaries start at about 136th Street and East Coyote Road, curving around to the north along 144th Way and ending at East Sweetwater Avenue.
The peaceful, earth-loving community of Hidden Hills is ecologically years ahead of its time. As an International Dark-Sky Community, it contributes to the mission of the International Dark-Sky Association to “preserve and protect” our dark, star-filled skies through outdoor lighting practices that curb light pollution. The IDA has about 5,000 members in 70 countries (a bit of trivia—Flagstaff, Arizona, was the very first one!).
Few places will give you such a complete retreat from the city while retaining quick access to it. A skip and a jump gets you to Shea Boulevard; then it’s just a few minutes to Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and downtown Scottsdale, or the Loop 101 and access to the rest of the Valley. And though it’s not an official residential golf community, Hidden Hills is surrounded by some of the finest golf courses you’ll find anywhere—dozens of them within very easy reach.
Hidden Hills has some spectacular custom and semi-custom homes for sale, most in gated neighborhoods. The semi-custom home builder, Golden Heritage, is listed as one of the top valley builders by Phoenix Business Journal, bringing a variety of modern Southwest styles that utilize the natural look of stone, wood, stucco and tile. The semi-custom homes were built around 12 different floorplans between 2001 and 2006; prices range from the $600,000s for 3-bedroom homes in the 2,000 square-foot range to $2 million for a 5-bedroom, 5,000+ square-foot home with a 3-car garage. Custom-home building continues, with finished homes for sale topping $2 and even $3 million.
DC Ranch
Another beautiful, peaceful neighborhood tucked into the McDowell Mountains is DC Ranch, a private golf and residential community integrated (gently and respectfully) into its western foothills. With miles of landscaped paths, staffed community centers, neighborhood parks, chic dining and shopping, and two world-class golf courses, DC Ranch residents enjoy the best Scottsdale real estate has to offer. The homes of this fairly new community surround the DC Ranch Country Club, an exclusive golf club with something for the whole family—pools, a fitness center, tennis courts and, of course, fine dining in one of the most luxuriously beautiful spots anywhere on earth.
DC Ranch is located near the center of Scottsdale, about three miles north of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, between Pima and the north/west line of East Thompson Peak Parkway. The northern DC Ranch edge is at East Deer Valley Road (which doesn’t go through it, but provides a general border marker), and the southern border is Bell Road. (There’s a rectangle missing from the middle of DC Ranch—the tiny communities of Pima Acres and Ironwood.)
The gorgeous DC Ranch homes for sale include Spanish, Craftsman, Contemporary and everything in between, with something to suit a large variety of family and budget sizes. Single-family homes range from around 1,800 to over 7,000 square feet and, according to MLS, 87 DC Ranch home sales in 2007 sold for $582,000 to $4,150,000.
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Entrance to Scottsdale's McCormick Ranch area 
Scottsdale's DC Ranch golf community
McCormick Ranch
In the mid-1940s, Anne and Fowler McCormick, an old-money, east-coast couple who owned several other residences (he was related to John D. Rockefeller), were looking for a summer home. They found, fell in love with, and bought the 160-acre Chaney ranch, the largest ranch left in Scottsdale at the time. While living and working there, Anne brought both Arabian horses and Angus cattle ranching to Scottsdale. In the 1970s, after she died, most of the land was sold to Kaiser-Aetna at about 5 cents a square foot (just over 12 million dollars). And the development of one of Arizona’s largest planned residential communities—certainly one of the best in Scottsdale real estate—began.
Now over 20,000 people live in more than 60 subdivision communities throughout McCormick Ranch. Of the existing 3,116 acres (about 7 square miles), 1,771 are residential, 542 commercial (the McCormick Ranch Shopping Center offers an auto center, medical offices and grocery markets), 120 are lakes (7 lakes provide waterfront property with boat docks), and 303 are golf facilities. The two resort golf courses include some of the best practice facilities anywhere. The putting green is one of the largest in the southwest, and “America’s Luxury Golf School,” The Advantage Golf School for one-to-one training with pros, is located on the back green. Other activities include 25 miles of bike paths, tennis courts, and lakes for sailing and fishing.
The northern border of McCormick Ranch is East Doubletree Ranch Road, which turns into East Via De Ventura as it moves east; the southern border is East Indian Bend Road. East to west, McCormick Ranch reaches from North Hayden to North Scottsdale Road.
Homes for sale in McCormick Ranch vary from Tuscan to Territorial, Spanish Colonial to Ranch, with prices ranging from $500,000 for a 2500 square foot ranch to $4,000,000 for a remodeled Santa Barbara style of 6,000 square feet. It’s a place that was meant for quality of life, and no matter the style of architecture, the amenities abound. Fireplaces, fountain courtyards, spas, grilling ramadas with mountain views: you name it—if you’re looking for it, you’ll probably find it here.
Troon
Troon Village and Troon North are well-planned communities in North Scottsdale that sit on either side of Pinnacle Peak Park, 150 acres of dazzling desert mountain preserve. The 3,170-foot peak makes a gorgeous centerpiece, something the builders of these neighborhoods kept in mind at all times. The desert flora and fauna thrive happily, and the views of both mountain and city are more than just another feature: they’re like additional rooms.
Homes for sale include custom and semi-custom, development, and townhouses. They tend to be updated interpretations of Southwest-style homes: large Tuscan masterpieces with stone facades and tiled roofs; Modern adobes with expansive living areas and huge windows; Ranch/Mediterranean mixes with arched doorways and columned patios. Pools and spas are extremely popular, and many subdivisions are gated. Most homes tend to have at least four bedrooms and three or four bathrooms, and at just over 3,000 square feet go for just over $1 million. Five-bedroom homes with five or six bathrooms, and over 5,000 square feet, can reach into the $3 and $4 million range. In addition to the amenities that come with living in a golf community, residents enjoy parks, hiking trails, swimming pools, and athletic courts and fields.
Troon Village surrounds the Troon Golf Course and 50,000-square-foot Country Club, a private club that is member-owned, and does not require residency for membership. The course has been ranked among the top 100 courses in the world consistently since opening in 1986. The rankings emphasize not only the design of the course itself, providing enjoyable and challenging play, but the unique and beautiful surroundings as well.
The northern border of Troon Village is East Rio Verde Drive, and the western border is North Alma School Road. The McDowell Mountain Regional Park makes up its eastern and part of its southern edge.
Troon North’s golf club has two courses, Monument and Pinnacle. Full golf memberships are available to Troon North homeowners, but guests may also play on a daily fee basis. Like their cousin in Troon Village, these courses are hailed as some of the most amazing places in the world to play or just to visit. The Grille at Troon North, also open to the public, overlooks the 18th hold of the Monument golf course for excellent dining with a breathtaking view.
The western and northern borders of Troon North are tucked into the mountain preserve below East Lone Mountain Road and west of North Pima Road. The eastern border is North Alma School Road and the southern border is East Dynamite Boulevard, with a few neighborhoods jutting down to East Pinnacle Peak Parkway between Estancia and Troon Village.
To learn more about living in Scottsdale, call me at 602.620.6267 or email me.
Joe Janus, real estate agent and REALTOR® specializing in Homes with Exceptional Style in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, Arizona
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