Canadians Buy 2nd Homes in Arizona Community

For Canadian retirees, Heritage Highlands in Southern Arizona provides the perfect second home. An active adult golf community, it is nestled in suburban Tucson, Arizona, in the magnificent Sonoran Desert. It provides the perfect balance of a warm dry desert climate and small town feel, world class golf, and a wide variety of cultural entertainment, dining,and sport opportunities. Canadians from Ontario, British Columbia, Calgary, and Alberta currently call Heritage Highlands their winter home.

Located at an elevation of about 3000 feet, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona, northwest of Tucson is a gated, 24/7 controlled-access community. With only 1,297 homes, it is a friendly, low-density community. It is a part of the greater 6,200-acre, scenic, Dove Mountain master planned community, overlooking Tucson and the home of the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Resort. Residents enjoy their own private golf course, lighted tennis courts, salt water pool and spa, 5,500-square-foot fitness center, club house, restaurant and the benefits of the larger Dove Mountain community.

Canadians appreciate the ease of flying directly into Phoenix, Arizona’s Sky Harbor Airport and the short hour and a half car or shuttle ride south to Dove Mountain. Many Canadian homeowners considered buying in metro Phoenix prior to discovering Heritage Highlands. Reasons for their choosing Heritage Highlands over Phoenix include the wonderful golf, relaxed lifestyle, young demographics, and outstanding desert and mountain scenery. Traffic jams don’t exist in Dove Mountain and golf carts are a popular mode of transportation.

The most attractive aspect of the Heritage Highlands country club lifestyle might be the cost. Single family resale homes currently are priced between US$160,000 and US$500,000. Monthly homeowners’ association dues are US$160, and real estate taxes are approximately one percent annually of the sale price of a home. Construction of homes in was completed in 2008, and many resale houses have been “gently” occupied as vacation homes and are re-sold partially or fully furnished. Homes feature low maintenance private yards and patios, and many enjoy mountain and golf course views.

The strong Canadian dollar and the weak Arizona real estate market currently provide Canadians the perfect opportunity to purchase a luxury winter home at a bargain price.