Gilbert AZ Real Estate

Located in Maricopa County within the Phoenix, metropolitan area, Gilbert, Arizona encompasses some 76 square miles. The city has been rated as the 28th out of the top hundred best and safest places to live in America. If that is not enough to rest on one’s laurels, so to speak, Gilbert is also currently recognized as the fourth fastest-growing municipality in the nation with one of the highest-ranking K-12 education systems in the state.

According to Gilbert AZ real estate figures, the average listing price for a home in the area for the week ending July 28, 2010, was $283,000. Gilbert Arizona real estate data indicates that the median sales price for a home was $190,000, which represents a decrease of 4.5% or $9,000 when compared to the same period one year ago. The average price per square foot was $97.

Over the course of the two decades, the population in Gilbert has grown by some 276%, rising from 5,717 residents in 1980 to 217,521 as of July of 2009. These figures speak for themselves and clearly reflect the city’s rapid transformation from a basically agrarian community to an economically diverse suburban center. The community of Gilbert has also evolved, becoming a highly educated and affluent enclave offering high paying jobs in science and health services, technology, sustainable energy, and corporate and regional offices in advanced business services.

The history of Gilbert, Arizona dates back to the turn of the last century when in 1902, William “Bobby” Gilbert constructed a railway line between Phoenix and Florence, Arizona. Incorporated in 1920, the area was primarily agrarian, and Gilbert was known as the “hay capitol of the world” from 1911 until well into the late 1920s. Farming produce found a prosperous outlet and increased dramatically with the introduction of the railway, the Eastern and Consolidated Canals and the construction of the Roosevelt Dam.

Modernization of Gilbert began in the 1970s. At this time, despite a meager population of less than 2,000, the Town Council, in a far-sighted civic decision, annexed a strip of county land that covered 53 square miles. Town leaders believed correctly that Gilbert would grow and maybe even outshine its neighbors in Tempe, Mesa and Chandler.

This year Gilbert, Arizona celebrates its 90th year as an incorporated community, and every major event of the year will reflect this joyous occasion. The leaders of the town are always thinking ahead and continually planning for the future to meet the dynamic needs of its residents tomorrow. This is no less evident in several new civic projects that have either been recently completed or are currently under construction. These include: the Polar Ice Skating facility, Big League Dream baseball facility and the development of the Heritage District.

The town leaders of Gilbert AZ are determined to make the world a better place by uniting people in friendship through the Gilbert Sister Cities Program. Started in 1995, the purpose of this local effort was to better cultural and economic relationships with cities in Europe and Asia.