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Our Peoria, AZ real estate website provides a wealth of information for home buyers and home sellers. Below, you will find information on the history and culture of Peoria as well as links to more detailed information such as demographics and schools. You may view a virtual tour, search homes for sale, and access information on different types of properties such as condos, farms, foreclosures, and vacation homes. This website will give you everything you need to buy or sell a home in Peoria, AZ.
Virtual Homes is a full-service residential real estate company dedicated to providing a wealth of real estate and local community information to home buyers and home sellers. Our agents are ready to assist you with all of your real estate needs.
Peoria AZ Community Profile & History
Peoria, Arizona is a major suburb of Phoenix and one of the state's fastest-growing cities. Named after Peoria, Illinois, the city has actually eclipsed its namesake in population. Boasting a number of newly developed parks, museums and recreational facilities, Peoria also serves as the spring training home of the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners, who share the 12,882-seat Peoria Sports Complex.
Peoria sits on flat, gently sloping desert terrain in the Salt River Valley. As in all desert towns, the key to Peoria's settlement was water. Seasonal rainfall and runoff from mountain snowmelt filled the Salt River, at times flooding the valley with too much water and wiping out months of back-breaking labor. In 1868, John W. Swilling organized a group of men to dig the first modern irrigation ditch in the Salt River Valley. Their success enticed more people to settle in the area and reap the benefits of a revitalized irrigation system.
By 1872, there were eight thousand acres of land under cultivation in the valley and a thriving community had been built along the Salt River. Over the years irrigation companies sprang up and in the next three years three canal systems - the Maricopa, Grand, and Salt River Valley - were constructed, each allowing sustaining growth in the Valley.
In 1885 the forty-one-mile Arizona Canal was completed, and head engineer William J. Murphy returned to his home state of Illinois to recruit settlers for a sustainable farming community. Several residents of Peoria, Illinois were enticed by descriptions of the area's climate and agricultural potential and soon purchased 5,000 acres among them. In 1890, two of the settlers acquired four sections of land from the government through the Desert Lands Act. They filed Peoria's plat map with the Maricopa County recorder on May 24, 1897, naming the settlement after their hometown.
Peoria remained a small farming for the next 70 years, though some growth was prompted by the establishment of a railroad depot at the turn of the century and Luke Air Force Base in 1941. A postwar construction boom set the stage for Peoria to become a suburb of Phoenix, providing housing for the capital city as growth moved west. As recently as 1970, the population of Peoria was just 4,792; by the 2000 Census, the city's population was well over 100,000.
Peoria continues to grow successfully. In 1999 most of the land around Lake Pleasant Regional Park was annexed into the city. Peoria has gained a world-class educational and cultural destination, the Challenger Space Center of Arizona. Also in 2007 the city completed the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. A thriving suburban community with a diversified economy, gorgeous natural surroundings, state-of-the-art civic facilities and a central location in the state of Arizona, Peoria remains a wonderful place to live, work and relax.
Peoria Arizona Community Information
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Different financing alternatives are available depending on whether you are purchasing a single family, condo, multi-family, or investment property. Understanding the pros and cons of each may help you decide which option is the best for you. Speak to our buyer agent professionals and mortgage partners to understand and evaluate your options.