If you're new to the Valley, or maybe you're a current resident exploring the idea of moving somewhere new, figuring out where to live is harder than picking a house. Every buyer has different priorities, but comparing similar homes across different areas is one of the best ways to get a real feel for what each one actually offers. There are trade-offs everywhere, the trick is figuring out which ones matter to you. Here's an example: same price, same size home, three different zip codes.
This week: three 4-bedroom homes, all around 2,500-2,900 square feet, all on lots just over 8,000 square feet, all priced within $16,000 of each other.
Gilbert (Seville, 85298): 6960 S Forest Ave, $735,000. Built 2005, 2,540 square feet, 8,050-square-foot lot, $103/month HOA. This one's inside Seville Golf and Country Club, a gated community built around a golf course with tennis, pickleball, and multiple community pools. The home itself has its own private pool too, plus a 3-car garage.
Chandler (85249): 788 E Scorpio Pl, $735,000. Built 2002, 2,932 square feet, 8,675-square-foot lot, $132/month HOA. Also gated, also its own private pool (with a waterfall and basketball hoop), a den that converts easily to a 5th bedroom, and recent updates throughout.
Queen Creek (85142): 21064 E Cattle Dr, $719,000. Built 2020, 2,581 square feet, 8,702-square-foot lot, $117/month HOA. This one's the outlier on age, worth being upfront about: Gilbert and Chandler homes at this size and price mostly date to the early 2000s, Queen Creek's inventory here mostly doesn't, because this part of town simply hadn't built out yet. Instead of a pool, this one's got a hot tub, a spacious RV garage, and newer finishes across the board.
So what does the comparison actually show? At almost the identical price, Gilbert and Chandler are near-identical products, older homes in established gated communities, both with private pools. Queen Creek gets you newer construction and a huge RV garage, but you're trading the pool for a hot tub and buying into a part of town that's still filling in. No winner here, just a real tradeoff depending on whether you want an established neighborhood or newer systems.
Which one would you pick? I'll run this again next week with a different price point and a different trio of zip codes.
Source listings: Redfin, current as of 9/11/26.
