I know a woman who lives in Chandler who bought her house 8 years ago for 89K, with pool, on a lake. Now it's worth 375K
Yes, that kind of price gain is very common around here. My parents bought their house in San Diego in the 1950's for $27K. After they passed away a couple years ago, we fixed it up and sold it for over a million bucks. San Diego home prices are in the stratosphere. I did a calculation and the average annual compound gain on that house was right around 8% during the time my parents owned the house. It's tough to beat coastal southern CA real estate as an investment, but 5% annually is probably more realistic over the next few decades. Arizona will probably beat San Diego in home price gains over the next five years.