Paradise Valley is attracting a surge of wealthy West Coast home buyers with its warm weather, low taxes, and trophy mansions

Can’t handle the cold, but love the heat? This affluent Arizona suburb, where winters are dry and temperate and summertime temps average over 100 degrees, has become one of the hottest housing markets in the US Sun Belt.

Paradise Valley, the Grand Canyon State’s wealthiest ZIP code, has blown up in recent years with deep-pocketed newcomers relocating from out of state to the exclusive desert and mountain enclave. At the end of 2023, the median sale price in the scenic community clocked in at US$2.8 million, a whopping 14-plus per cent increase from the year prior, according to Realtor.com. “This is a newer area, so it’s not like you have a lot of 1800s and 1900s homes,” Robert Joffe, founder and associate broker of the Joffe Group, told Mansion Global. “There’s a huge allure to this area in Arizona. People are flocking in from all over the country to buy homes here.”

The town of not quite 13,000 residents, which sits in between Phoenix and Scottsdale, has specifically attracted a crop of West Coast transplants, mainly from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Long favoured by politicians like Barry Goldwater and Dan Quayle, Paradise Valley also counts Stevie Nicks, Muhammad Ali, Michael Phelps, and Campbell Soup heir Bennett Dorrance among its most notable past and present residents.

Other than year-round warm weather (some might call it darn-right hot!), favorable taxes, upscale shopping, and thriving golf and restaurant scenes, other factors that make Paradise Valley particularly attractive to deep-pocketed snowbirds and full-time residents alike include its slew of luxury residential properties.

Currently, the most expensive home in Arizona is a 0.93-hectare compound in Paradise Valley’s southwestern corner. Priced at a whopping US$75 million, the abode—dubbed Palo Cristi Estate—is slated for completion in 2027. When all is said and done, the vast residence will comprise 3,066 square metres. The eight-bedroom home’s laundry list of luxuries will include an art gallery, a bowling alley, a shooting range, a recording studio, and a movie theater. Plus, the grounds will feature two swimming pools, a lazy river, and two garages that can store up to 14 vehicles.

Many of the estates in Paradise Valley span 0.4 hectares or more, and many sport stunning mountain view. In the exclusive, guard-gated Clearwater Hills enclave, homes can range from 743 to 1,672 square metres and cost anywhere from US$20 million to US$30 million. One of the enclave’s not-yet-built homes, listed for US$29 million, is Serenity Heights. The not-yet-built mansion, to be completed in 2027, will sit on 4.45 hectares atop the area’s highest view lot. In addition to a 1,486-square-metre, boomerang-shaped main house, the hillside spread will be decked out with a glass-bottom pool that cantilevers over the desert, plus a 10-person hot tub, a 3,000-bottle wine cellar, and a fitness centre.

This story was first published on Robb Report USA