Arizona MLS and Phoenix MLS

Phoenix is home to seven major Fortune 1000 companies: Allied Waste (waste management), Avnet Apollo Group (electronics), Freeport McMoRan (mining), PetSmart (pet retail), Pinnacle West (energy), CSK Auto (retail) and Honeywell (aerospace). Additionally, Intel employs 10,000 workers and other big headquarters located amid Phoenix real estate include American Express, US Airways Group, Insight Enterprises, U-Haul and Best Western. Google, eBay, AOL, GoDaddy.com and IPowerWeb nested here too, bringing high-tech Internet jobs to the city.

Since 2002, the employment base has expanded 23% and projections show the region growing 70% by 2030. Expansion Management Magazine and the National Policy Research Council named Phoenix the "Best Place for Recruitment and Attraction." Job growth has slowed (from 55,000 to 18,000 new jobs) in 2008 but there are still ample opportunities. In 2005, Entrepreneur Magazine said Phoenix was the "Best City in the Country for Starting a New Business."

Retirees searching Phoenix MLS real estate listings will be pleased to know that jobs aren't the only redeeming quality of this Arizona MLS sister market. In June 2006, Cottage Living Magazine ranked the Willo Neighborhood as "one of the Top Ten Cottage Communities in America," following interviews with architects, preservation groups, newspaper editors, city officials and neighborhood associations. Phoenix MLS offers real estate within close proximity to more than 200 golf courses, as Arizona is the "Golf Capital of the US." Phoenix also hosts the world's largest municipal park - South Mountain Park - which spans 16,500 acres and 58 miles of mountainous hiking, cycling and horseback riding trails. Given the less than 30 rainy days and the 85% sunshine rate, Phoenix is the #5 "Best City for the Outdoors," according to Forbes Magazine. Because of all the enjoyable time spent outdoors, the Valley is ranked #11 for "Fittest Metro Areas."

Many home buyers also choose to look through Arizona MLS because they want a multitude of entertainment / arts options. In November 2005, Fast Company Magazine dubbed Phoenix one of the "Top 15 Up-and-Coming Cities for Creative People to Live, Work and Play." Thanks to the Artlink program, the metro area has seen leaps and bounds in the independent music and theatre department. The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is world-renowned for its 130,000 square foot center recognizing Navajo and Native culture, attracting 250,000 visitors each year. In addition to museums and theatre, Phoenix also houses symphony, opera, ballet and music venues.

Phoenix is often viewed as a hub because it's 5 hours from the East Coast by plane and a stone's throw from the Midwest, as well as California and Las Vegas. With affordable real estate rates, quality builders, thriving communities and reasonable taxes, Arizona MLS seems to have it all.