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Eastmark in Mesa: Why This Master Planned Community Continues to Lead East Valley Sales For most of the past decade, Eastmark was the name buyers heard when they asked where the East Valley’s new homes were selling fastest. The master-planned community in southeast Mesa opened June 1, 2013, went on to sell more than 6,000 homes, and earned a place on national best-selling lists. One important fact has changed, though. The developer now reports that the final new home in Eastmark has been sold, so the community has moved from a builder-driven market to a resale market. Developed by DMB Associates with Brookfield Residential, Eastmark spans about 3,200 acres near Ray and Ellsworth roads in Mesa’s 85212 ZIP code, close to Mesa Gateway Airport. The developer reports more than 6,000 homes sold representing over $2.3 billion in residential sales and more than 18,000 residents at its most recent published figures, built out by about 14 builders across roughly 35 neighborhoods, including Ashton Woods, Richmond American, Shea, Meritage, Woodside, and David Weekley. The community’s sales record wasn’t an accident: it combined a location at the center of growth near Mesa Gateway, SR-24, and employers like Apple, Meta, Intel, and Fujifilm, a design built around the Eastmark Great Park, a wide variety of builders and price points, and the track record of a developer that also built DC Ranch and Verrado. According to the developer’s figures, Eastmark was Arizona’s top-selling master-planned community in RCLCO’s rankings starting in 2015 and placed in the national top ten several years starting then too, including 2018, when it sold more than 900 homes. Now, with the final new home sold, the developer points buyers to its next community, Blossom Rock, a Brookfield Residential project, and some sources report plans for an $80 million luxury apartment community within Eastmark. For buyers, that means builder incentives, design center upgrades, and new-home rate buydowns are no longer available inside Eastmark, and any purchase today is a resale from an existing owner. Most homes date from 2013 through the early 2020s, so many remain in good condition, and Eastmark now competes for buyers with newer new-construction communities nearby like Cadence at Gateway and Hawes Crossing. The resale market looks healthy. A July 2026 report put the 2026 year-to-date median sold price at about $620,000, up roughly 1.6 percent from a year earlier, at about $279 per square foot, with a median 40 days to sell, sold prices running about 99 percent of list (96 percent of original list), 162 closed sales year to date, and about 2.9 months of supply, up about 16 percent, which the report calls a seller’s market. Closed sales surged about 30 percent over the trailing three months while median days on market fell about 31 percent year over year. Monthly numbers swing a lot on thin sales, though: April’s median hit about $715,000 on 35 sales, while July’s was about $537,000 on only two sales. Individual sales ranged from a four-bedroom home of about 2,420 square feet that sold for $535,000 (about 3 percent below list, with $150 monthly HOA dues) to a remodeled single-level home that sold for $780,000. For comparison, Mesa’s citywide single-family median runs roughly $475,000 to $485,000. HOA dues run about $140 to $150 a month, with one guide citing separate community facilities district assessments of roughly $400 to $1,500 a year, so confirm both before you buy. The signature amenity is the Eastmark Great Park, a city-owned public park with a splash pad, play structure, lake with stream, event pavilion, open fields, and trails, planned to reach 96 acres, plus multiple pools, recreation facilities, and the community center known as The Mark at Ray Road. Buyers should also verify the assigned schools for the exact address since sources differ, check airport overflight maps given the proximity to Mesa Gateway, and look into solar equipment status, warranties, and any transferable builder coverage. Eastmark compares with other East Valley master plans like Harvest in Queen Creek (a multi-builder community with a 1.5-acre lake and HOA dues around $115 a month, still actively building), Cadence at Gateway and Hawes Crossing in Mesa (newer active-builder communities competing for the same buyers), and Morrison Ranch and Agritopia in Gilbert (established resale communities with their own mix of parks and price levels). With mortgage rates near 7.4 percent as of October 8, 2026, get a full payment estimate from your lender that includes taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and any district assessments, and compare sales of the same floor plan and neighborhood rather than the community-wide median, since lot, upgrades, and solar ownership can swing price by tens of thousands of dollars. Dawn Forkenbrock, Mesa Realtor w/ Real Broker

Chandler Unified School District Boundaries: How School Choice Impacts Home Values For many Chandler buyers, the address comes down to a single question: which school will my child attend? Chandler Unified School District answers that two ways. Every home has an assigned boundary school, and the district also runs one of the Valley’s most active open enrollment programs, letting families apply to attend schools outside their boundary. Together, those two systems shape where families want to live and what they’re willing to pay. Chandler Unified serves most of Chandler and parts of neighboring areas, including part of Gilbert, where Perry High School sits. Every address gets an assigned elementary, junior high, and high school, and living inside the boundary guarantees that seat without an open enrollment application. The district runs five traditional high schools, Chandler, Hamilton, Basha, Perry, and Casteel, plus Arizona College Prep, Chandler Early College, and Chandler Online Academy. Perry opened in 2007 as the fourth high school and Casteel in 2015 as the fifth. For 2023-24 enrollment, Hamilton High School led with about 3,675 students and has won the A+ School of Excellence award in 2005, 2009, and 2013; Casteel followed with about 2,971; Basha with about 2,826, including a career and technical education building and a Chandler Public Library branch; and Perry with about 2,601, with district transportation to EVIT and Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Chandler High School, with capacity for 3,306 students, accepts open enrollment applications in all four grades, though not for special education services. Chandler Unified calls itself a district of choice. Open enrollment lets Arizona students attend public schools outside their attendance area tuition-free, but it comes with real limits. Each school sets its own open enrollment capacity, such as 456 students at Basha Elementary and 358 at Basha Accelerated Middle, and some schools don’t accept certain special education services. Administrators review a student’s attendance, discipline, and grades before approving an application, approved transfers don’t carry over from school to school so families reapply at each level change, students are expected to stay the full year once enrolled, and returning to the boundary school mid-year needs district approval. Registration for the 2027-28 school year opens November 4, 2026, with K-12 open enrollment starting at 7:30 a.m. and boundary registration at 9 a.m., alongside a School Choice Fair. The bottom line: a boundary seat is guaranteed, an open enrollment seat isn’t, so a transfer should be treated as a bonus rather than the plan behind a purchase. What does research say about schools and prices? A well-known study by Sandra Black compared homes on opposite sides of Massachusetts attendance boundaries and found a 5 percent increase in test scores associated with roughly a 2 to 2.5 percent higher home price, and later reviews generally confirm buyers pay a premium for homes near higher-scoring schools, though the size varies. Open enrollment complicates that picture. Studies elsewhere on inter- and intra-district choice find that when access depends less on address, prices tend to rise in areas with lower-rated schools and soften where schools are higher-rated, with one analysis suggesting that premium could erode over time, though the effect is limited once popular schools hit capacity. No Chandler-specific study exists yet, so treat these as general evidence, not a neighborhood prediction. A boundary address still matters because that seat is guaranteed while open enrollment must be renewed at every school level and depends on capacity and approval, and because the next buyer can’t rely on a transfer either, which keeps boundaries relevant at resale. At the same time, choice softens the link since families outside a popular boundary can sometimes gain access, programs like Arizona College Prep and Elite Performance Academy are open district-wide, and most buyers weigh commute, lot, condition, and amenities alongside schools anyway, with mortgage rates and the broader market often outweighing school effects. If a specific school matters to you, verify the exact address assignment with the district, check that school’s open enrollment capacity before counting on a transfer, mark the November 4, 2026 registration date, plan separately for each school level since transfers don’t carry over, and compare recent sales on both sides of any boundary you care about. Dawn Forkenbrock, Chandler Realtor w/ Real Broker

Wondering what living in San Tan Valley, AZ actually looks like? Take a quick walk through this stunning San Tan Valley home! This the perfect example of the homes you can find in the community of San Tan Heights. Located at the base of the San Tan Mountains in San Tan Heights, this master planned community offers amenities like the community center and resort style pool to scenic hiking trails, parks, and quick access to Queen Creek shopping and dining. Dreaming of moving to San Tan Valley? Comment “SAN TAN” below and I'll send you a list of homes for sale in San Tan Heights. Dawn Forkenbrock, San Tan Valley Realtor w/ Real Broker SanTanHeights #SanTanValley #SanTanValleyAZ #ArizonaRealEstate #AZRealtor #HomeTour #MoveToArizona #SanTanValleyHomes #QueenCreekAZ