Areas of Tempe to focus on and aviod

[David Rutledge]

Hi all,

I am looking to purchase an investment property in the Tempe area. I am looking for either a small multi or a sfr with a guest house as I am looking to set it up as a short term rental.

I have lived in Tucson and spent some time in Tempe but do not know the specific areas well. I was hoping some experienced investors and/or agents in the area may be able to give me an idea of specific areas of Tempe I may want to focus on and if there are any areas with higher crime, poverty that may not be as attractive as an investment or str?

The appeal of ASU is the major thing that draws me to the area but as I research more it seems areas closer to the university may be less desirable than perhaps newer areas in the south of Tempe? and staying in the middle of the city instead of far east or west may be best as far as I can tell from reading other posts.

What about the area north of the lake?

Any type of guidance and/or suggestions would be highly appreciated as I try to focus in on a particular area of Tempe to buy in.

Thanks in advance everyone.

David 

[David Rutledge]

Quote from @Bob Okenwa:

@David Rutledge

Tempe as a whole is a pretty good area IMO. I lived there for a decade and went to ASU. Worked across the street in the area where Tempe Marketplace is now and can remember when it was literally hundreds of acres of empty desert, now it's one of the main entertainment areas of the entire city.

I'd focus on staying close to ASU if you can. Families come visit college students and go to ASU football games so having a property in that area would be more beneficial as it's also close to the aforementioned entertainment complex, as well as Tempe Town Lake. 

The Arizona Coyotes are moving to Tempe and are trying to get a new multi-purpose $2B sports and entertainment complex built not far from ASU. 

The newer homes will be in south Tempe and may be a little more quiet and family friendly if that is what you're looking for as it has more of a suburban feel the further south you go and cross into Chandler.

North Tempe/South Scottsdale has seen a lot of construction along the river/town lake area as companies have built headquarters there (south of the river) and new luxury apartments line the north side of the river right by the 202 freeway.

You'll pay a premium the further north you get since all of the new construction is in that area. Can't say exactly how much has been spent developing downtown Tempe and the surrounding areas, but you can tell it has to be billions. ASU alone has built so many new buildings since I left a decade ago. Multifamilies are harder to come by in the area and tend to be run down or overpriced so be aware of that.

 This is incredibly helpful Bob. Thank you so much!!