Mesa AZ Real Estate

Located in Maricopa County some twenty miles east of Phoenix, the suburb of Mesa, Arizona is a community that is home to Arizona State’s University’s Polytechnic campus. After Phoenix and Tucson, Mesa is the third largest in the state with a population of more than 460,000 people, and the 38th largest city in the nation.

According to Mesa AZ real estate data, for the week ending July 28, 2010, the average listing price for a home in the area was $199,250. Between the dates April 10 to June 10, 2010, Mesa Arizona real estate figures indicate that the median sales price of a home, based on more than 3,000 sales, was $129,000. The average price per square foot was $91.00.

The history of Mesa dates back more than 2,000 years to an ancient civilization known as Hohakam, whose name means “The Departed Ones.” These mysterious prehistoric people constructed the original canal system, which was the largest and most sophisticated anywhere in the prehistoric world. Some of the canals were as wide as 90 feet and as deep as 10 feet, extending as far as 16 miles across the arid Sonoran Desert. Many of these ancient structures are still in use today. The Hohokam became extinct and little is known about the area until the arrival of the early settlers in the nineteenth century.

Mormons settled the area and it was named Jonesville, after Daniel Webster Jones, who was an early leader. Another settlement declined Jones’ offer to join them and moved instead to the top of the mesa and that is how the area got its name. In the early 1940s, Falcon Field and Williams Field opened and military personnel began to populate the area. Population and industry exploded, especially the aerospace industry. Agriculture remained an important mainstay until 1960 but it quickly declined in light of Mesa’s suburban growth.

Mesa, Arizona has many amenities to offer both new residents and visitors. More than half a dozen museums provide information and entertainment. Some of these include: Mesa Southwest Museum, Commemorative Air Force Museum, Arizona Museum for Youth, Buckhorn Wildlife Museum, Mesa Historical Museum and the Sirrine House Museum.

The Fiesta Mall, which is located in west Mesa, offers many shopping options, including: Dillard’s, Macy’s, Sears, J.C. Penny, Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Its location near other shopping centers makes it difficult to be bored if shopping is your thing. Currently, an expansion of Fiesta Mall is in the works. East Mesa also has its own shopping mall called Superstition Springs Center, which features an outdoor amphitheater and fountain which converts into a stage.

Mesa Riverview is a newer retail center located in the northwestern section of the city. In addition to Wal-Mart and Home Depot, this mall includes many restaurants and specialty stores.

It would be difficult to be bored in Mesa AZ, which abounds with cultural stimulation. The area offers a healthy, sustainable life-style with much to do for people of all ages.