Warming up in the Valley of the Sun
Major league sports, top golf courses and a temperate desert climate draw new fans to Phoenix
When Scottsdale, Ariz.- based realtor Diane Olson drives around the tony neighbourhoods in suburban Phoenix, she gets a daily reminder of her time spent in Winnipeg. And no, it’s not a biting north wind at Portage and Main, but the familiar blue and white sign of BMO Bank.
“BMO changed all of the signage and interiors when they acquired M& I Bank,” she said. “There are quite a few of them around.”
And, Olson might have added, there are quite a few Canadians, as well.
With ever- shifting sunlight dappling layered sandstone mountains, stately boulevards of palm trees, and — thanks to irrigation — emerald- green golf courses — Greater Phoenix is the buckle of the Sunbelt, a paradise where Olson has helped hundreds of Canadians fulfil their second- home desires.
Greater Phoenix — also known as the Valley of the Sun — is America’s fifth- largest urban area and, economically, the third- fastest growing.
Phoenix is a major- league city, with pro sports teams in the NHL ( the Arizona Coyotes play west of Phoenix in Glendale), the NBA ( Victoria’s Steve Nash played for the Suns), the NFL ( Arizona Cardinals) and Major League Baseball ( Arizona Diamondbacks). In February, Phoenix will host Super Bowl XLIX at the University of Phoenix Stadium, which also hosts the annual Fiesta Bowl, one of the big four college football games of the year.
“Phoenix and Scottsdale started showing up on Canadians’ radar when air access improved around 2001,” said dual citizen Glenn Williamson, CEO of the Arizona Canada Business Council. The council is a non- profit Arizona corporation aimed at increasing trade and investment between the state and Canada. The Grand Canyon State’s temperate desert climate welcomes over 16 million visitors annually and Canadians make up the over 75 per cent of the international arrivals at Sky Harbor International Airport — outnumbering even Mexicans to the south. Williamson says that “on a weekly basis, there are 175 non- stop flights between Canadian airports and Sky Harbor and Scottsdale.”
But the extent to which western Canadians influence the Phoenix housing market has not been measured until recently. Last month, a study commissioned by the Maricopa Association of Governments showed nearly one- third ( 31 per cent) of the 1.2 million residential properties in Maricopa County are vacation homes or investments. Canadians make up an eye- popping 93 per cent of foreign property owners, with over $ 5 billion in investment. Three- quarters of these properties are owned by residents in B. C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“Everybody was surprised at the extent to which Canadians have shown interest in Arizona,” Williamson said. “Even more surprising is the fact that Canadians contribute to over 90 per cent of commercial real estate investment.”
There’s far more to Phoenix than just 300 days of sunshine a year, however. Perennially top- rated golf courses and spa resorts such as the Boulders Waldorf Astoria and the Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North take golfing and pampering to an entirely new level. Hundreds of kilometres of hiking and mountain biking trails wind through the scenic Superstition Mountains north of town. Art galleries abound in the historic downtown, which showcases the city’s Spanish and native American roots. In Scottsdale, Frank Lloyd Wright’s dazzling Taliesen West residence is a must- see for aficionados of desert modernist architecture.
Given the number of luxury resorts which dot the region, there’s no shortage of superb restaurants, though it’s worth noting that Pizzeria Bianco has a reputation as the best pizza resto in the United States. More upscale tastes will be satiated at the Frank Lloyd Wright- themed Wright’s in the aristocratic Arizona Biltmore hotel.
Olson has a good handle on what her Canadian buyers are looking at. “Most of them are
Everybody was surprised at the extent to which Canadians have shown interest in Arizona. GLENN WILLIAMSON CEO OF THE ARIZONA CANADA BUSINESS COUNCIL
in their early 50s and are looking at using their place once, and possibly twice, per year,” she said. “Price is pretty much their main concern, but they want nice amenities as well — the backyard pool, proximity to golf courses and recreation, and shopping and services.”
As for neighbourhoods, there are plenty of what Olson calls “mini- Canadas” springing up throughout the region. “Usually, it starts with one or two people buying in neighbourhood,” she said, “and telling their friends and relatives, and then they buy, and so on.”
There’s still plenty of selection, with over 25,000 homes for sale in the Greater Phoenix market, according to Olson.
“Some investors have sold because the Canadian dollar has gone down,” she said, “and they’re making money from the change in currency as well as the appreciation in prices. But then there are people who were attracted to Arizona because of the deals, now they like living here, and are trading up.”