Some North Dakotans who normally would rent
winter retirement homes in Arizona are deciding to buy instead,
taking advantage of a recession-plagued home market there.
Discounted home prices in cities such as Phoenix are proving
attractive to northerners, including many Minot residents hurt in
last summer's flooding. Realtor Rocky Parra in Gilbert, Ariz says that traffic
from so-called snowbirds is steady.
Minot resident Dan Clementich and his neighbor had considered
retirement homes in Arizona someday. After the flooding, they went
together to buy a modular home so they had a place to live in
Minot, then traveled to Phoenix to buy homes there. Clementich says
he got a five-bedroom house with a swimming pool in a gated
community for an ``astounding'' price.
