Prescott, Arizona has the prestige of being the first capital of Arizona. It was established back in 1863 in what was then the Arizona Territory. Though the current capital and largest city of Arizona is Phoenix, the Prescott, Arizona real estate market is still an attractive place in which to invest

Visitors with a taste for history may like to wander around the Prescott, Arizona because of the aging buildings that still stand and have made it to the National Register of Historic Places. In this Arizona real estate market alone, Prescott is home to 525 structures that are listed on the National Register. Aside from the fact that many examples of Victorian architecture still exist here, the Prescott, Arizona real estate market is still remarkable because it is said to be the Southwest City with the most Midwestern appearance.

The area around Prescott, known as the “Quad Cities,” consists of Prescott, Prescott Valley, Dewey and Chino Valley, AZ. This area is among the fastest growing areas in the state. This is largely due to the favorable climate in the area. It’s not nearly as hot as Phoenix and the rest of the central and southern part of the state. And you won’t experience the extreme winters as you’ll find up north in Flagstaff and Williams. It’s a very nice and comfortable medium.

Yavapai County is the second fastest growing county in Arizona. The City of Prescott is the largest urban area within the county. The city’s growth has been steady at about 4 per cent per year for the past decade and is expected to continue at that rate. More than 100,000 people reside in the Quad-City area.

With local primary employers like Yavapai County, ACE Distribution, Lockheed Martin, Wal-Mart, and Yavapai Regional Medical Center and the Prescott Unified School District, the Prescott area has established a solid industry base. It is a mild four-season climate and faces few natural disasters making it ideal for companies in the IT area.

If you are considering a move within the Prescott, Arizona real estate market, your kids will recieve a quality education, because Prescott is home to many fine educational institutions. For instance, the charter school Tri-City College Prep High School was placed under the “Excelling” category by the Department of Education. Certain schools in the Prescott Unified School District also garnered “Excelling” status, namely, Washington Traditional School, Taylor Hicks Elementary, Prescott High School, Granite Mountain Middle School, and Abia Judd Elementary. The Yavapai College has various campuses in Prescott and is a popular choice for college among many students because at least 9,000 students are enrolled here each semester per year.

A sampling of the national recognition Prescott receives …

•August 2006 Money Magazine calls Prescott one of the Top 5 towns in the article titled, “Best Places to Retire”.

•June 2006 MSN Real Estate names Prescott one of 8 places people want to live in the U.S. for its strong economy, colleges and low crime rate.

•May 2006 INC magazine, Prescott was identified in the list of 25 Hottest Small Cities with an employment base of less than 150,000.

•April 2006, Prescott was chosen as one of the Dozen Distinctive Destinations in the United States by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Prescott was selected from 93 destinations in 39 states that were nominated for this award.

•March 2006 Bottom Line listed Prescott one of the 7 Great Places to Live.

•February 2006 Milken Institute gave Prescott an overall ranking of 3 in the 2005 Best Performing Cities.

•January 2006, Prescott was listed in True West magazine, as one of the top ten Western Towns.

•January 2006 The Business Journal. Prescott may be better known for its fragrant pines and historical Whiskey Row saloons, but it ranked an impressive 5th (population 100,000 – 500,000) on the survey conducted by the American City Business Journals, well ahead of Phoenix.

•July 2004 issue of Business Week lists Prescott the top 5 ‘Recreation Havens’ in the United States.

•2004 Boom Town USA: The 7 ½ Keys to Big Success in Small Towns” mentions Prescott as one of the top small cities in the country. Prescott was listed in The Golden Eagles, the crème de la crème, category of small towns in America.

•2004 Cities Ranked & Rated shows Prescott as #6 in the Emerging City category.

With its quality of life, blended with a near perfect four-season climate and small-town atmosphere, Prescott, AZ has become a highly desired place to live and work. Prescott residents enjoy the benefits of small town living, while taking advantage of many positive amenities of larger metropolitan areas. As a result, the area’s commercial real estate market continues to be strong, even in light of the slowdown in the US economy. Arizona Commercial Real Estate, located in Prescott, has a finger on the pulse of the Quad-City market.