AZ family buckeye

AZ Family


Our country's housing slump is affecting communities of all kinds, including those once considered up and coming.

Not long ago, Buckeye was considered one of the fastest growing communities in the state.

Just a few years ago, housing permits were going through the roof and many speculated that Buckeye could soon pass up Mesa when it came to the number of homes.

Well, a lot of those homes in Buckeye were built, but that doesn't mean people are living in them.

Ricardo Galindo has seen a lot of his Buckeye neighbors come and go in the past few years.

"This one has been for sale three times already and the one next door and the one over there twice," Galindo said.

But the ones for sale on Galindo's block just aren't selling and as lifelong resident and Buckeye Realtor Brenda Bruehl will tell you, many of the homes are vacant.

"There's a lot of investors that bought and couldn't get them rented out so it's been sitting vacant," Bruehl.

According to the Arizona Multiple Listing Service, also known as MLS, there are 708 houses for sale in Buckeye and 241 of those are sitting vacant. That's more than a third.

"I remember when there was only 500 homes in Buckeye," Bruehl said. "Seven hundred and eight active is a lot."

According to data compiled by the research group that tracks foreclosures in Maricopa County, there were 453 foreclosure filings alone in the town of Buckeye this year.

That means Buckeye makes up 10 percent of foreclosures right now compared to the rest of Maricopa County.

For Bruehl, who grew up and makes her living in Buckeye, those numbers are disturbing but not discouraging.

"I think we're going to be OK," she said. "We're going to ride it out."

And as for Galindo and his neighborhood, that number could mean those for sale signs will stay up a little longer.

I don't want folks to think I'm picking on Buckeye. I'm not. But it does give you an idea how all of these foreclosures are affecting communities here in the Valley and Buckeye is just an example of the big picture.