Mesa, up close.

West Mesa and East Mesa behave like two different markets. West Mesa, closer to downtown and the Tempe border, has mostly older housing in neighborhoods like Dobson Ranch and around downtown, and generally sells at lower prices. East Mesa's newer master-planned communities, like Las Sendas and Eastmark, generally sell for more. That gap reflects the age and type of the housing more than anything else, so a citywide median isn't very useful without knowing which part of the city you're looking at. If you're comparing homes, look at recent sales close to the address rather than the whole city, and ask me for a quick comparison for any neighborhood you're considering.

Eastmark is a 3,200-acre master-planned community built on the site of the former GM Desert Proving Grounds, right next to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. It mixes new homes with employment, education, recreation and shopping, and it's surrounded by three major freeways, which makes it easy to get around the East Valley. That combination of jobs, an airport and freeway access is a big reason East Mesa's residential growth keeps outpacing the rest of the city. Newer East Mesa communities like Eastmark generally sell for more than West Mesa's older neighborhoods, so look at recent sales in the specific neighborhood, not a citywide average, before you compare prices or decide what to offer.

Mesa is served by more than one school district. Mesa Public Schools covers the largest share of the city, but parts of southeast Mesa fall under other districts, such as Gilbert Public Schools, Higley Unified or Queen Creek Unified instead. Two homes a few streets apart can be assigned to different districts, so confirm the exact assignment with the district for any address you're considering, and keep it in mind when comparing a listing's price with nearby sales. Ask me to check the district for any address before you tour, and confirm it with the district before you make an offer, since boundaries can change.

Mesa generally sits in the middle on price: its median sale price usually runs below Gilbert's and Chandler's and close to Tempe's (current Redfin figures are at the top of each city's page). Mesa is also the largest of the four, with the widest range of housing, from older homes and condos near downtown to newer master-planned communities in the east, so buyers comparing across the East Valley often find more options here within a given budget. Inventory changes month to month, so check current active listings before deciding how much room there is to negotiate. I'm happy to pull recent sales for any specific neighborhood, and current prices and days on market are at the top of this page.