Whispering Ranch Information Page

Provided as an informational source by
Joseph D. (Joe) Liberty

In the far West Valley, northwest of Sun City Grand and south of Wickenburg, you'll find plenty of raw desert acreage known as Whispering Ranch. This undeveloped land will become some of the most desirable and sought after property in Maricopa County. It is located about 13 miles west of Grand Avenue on Patton Road, just west of Wittmann and the Hassayampa River. Situated in an Unincorporated area of Maricopa County, to the north and west of the Town of Buckeye, it encompasses approximately 19,000 acres (about 29 +/- square miles). It was originally subdivided in the early 1960's into approximately 3,400 five-acre parcels and 90 twenty-acre parcels. At the southwestern portion of Whispering Ranch you will find the Toyota Technical Testing Area (also known as Toyota Proving Grounds) occupying about 13,000 acres.

Essentially, it is an island of privately owned land surrounded on three sides by government property. It is bordered to the North and West by Federal Land (Bureau of Land Management), to the south by the Toyota Proving Grounds and the new "Teravalis" development, and on the eastern side, civilization is being held back by the Hassayampa River (a dry riverbed most of the year, but it floods occasionally if we get a rainy spell). On the southern border, the master planned Teravalis (click here) development by the Howard Hughes Corporation is scheduled to be the largest planned development in Arizona history, encompassing 100,000 homes, not to mention all of the other shopping, recreation, education and employment development. This community will incorporate all of the latest technology developed to this point.

Major Freeways - as well as the CanaMex Highway (now being called Interstate 11) - will run to the west of this area, as will the Wickenburg ByPass. In 2011, the Maricopa County Department of Transportation completed the study and recommended the north/south alignment for the Hidden Waters Parkway - a four lane divided parkway - running north/south through the area on the east portion of "The Ranch". In the Fall of 2013, the Transportation Department also announced they have completed the planning for another east/west parkway along the current Dove Valley Road alignment. This Parkway will necessitate a bridge over the Hassayampa River on the east side of Whispering Ranch and is planned to run all that way to Wittmann and Grand Avenue to the east. The Town of Wickenburg has requested that the Dove Valley Parkway be extended all the way through Whispering Ranch to intersect with Interstate 11 to the west, but no final decision has been made on that request to this point.

The 110 square mile (70,000 acre) Vulture Mountain Regional Park that borders the north side of Whispering Ranch was announced in January of 2012 by Maricopa County. This area of BLM and Arizona State Trust land parcels will be managed by Maricopa County Parks Department in a situation similar to the White Tank Mountains Regional Park some 20 miles to the south and east. This Regional Park and Preserve area will keep this pristine raw desert area in is natural state complete with camping and recreation areas for future generations to enjoy. Highway74 - which currently stops at Grand Avenue (Hwy. 60) - is planned to run to the west through this preserve area and connect to I-11 in the future.

The twenty mile wide corridor between Wickenburg to the north and Interstate 10 to the south is where analysts predict the fastest growth of Maricopa County in the next few decades. This is primarily because Whispering Ranch is sitting on top of the Hassayampa Aquifer, one of the largest untapped water resources in Maricopa County. The abundance of ground water in this aquifer - and the ease of replacing water usage from the Central Arizona Project Canal - is why there is so much planned growth in this part of the West Valley. Plans are in place for over 250,000 homes and 2 million new residents in this area of the West Valley over the next 30 years. As our economy continues to improve, watch out!! This area is destined to GROW ! !

This pristine desert area is gorgeous, with abundant saguaro cactus and spectacular mountain views in every direction, (Vulture Mountains to the north, Belmont Mountains to the south west, White Tank Mountains to the south east) and as a bonus, some of the best property values in Maricopa County. This peaceful and quiet rural setting, complete with native plants and animals, is a huge plus for people wanting a more tranquil lifestyle or looking for an area that is in the path of future growth. The area lacks infrastructure - most roads are dirt, there is very little electrical service, water is available if you drill a well and basic services are lacking. Most of the acreage in Whispering Ranch is zoned R-190, which allows just one dwelling per five-acre parcel. This allows plenty of elbow room from your neighbors. Prices in today's market start around the $6,000 per acre range meaning you can buy an average parcel for as little as $30,000. And if you want more spectacular parcels, there are properties with power available, near to paved roads or mountainside lots at a higher prices. And there are some parcels that are impacted by floodplain or floodway at lower bargain prices. Just a five or six miles to the east parcels are selling at $30K per acre, so the Whispering Ranch parcels make economic sense for long-term future appreciation. Buy low (today) - Sell high (future).

From an investment standpoint, Whispering Ranch is still in its early appreciation stages and has nowhere to go but up. We witnessed a parcel value increase of 400% in 2005 before the "Real Estate Adjustment" of 2009 hit and prices declined back to the previous reasonable prices. During the "Boom" years of '05 and '06 there was a buying frenzy and it was a crazy period. Things have returned to normal and prices are back where they were before the "Boom" started, so now is the time to buy. Civilization is moving this direction (as evidenced by the forward movement of groundwork at the Teravalis planned community and the continued growth of Del Webb's Sun City Festival) and the current planning for the four-lane divided Hidden Waters Parkway and Dove Valley Parkway, there is little doubt these parcels will be increasing in value in the future. This, of course, will bring more infrastructure (more paved roads, water, electric, etc., which are missing at this point) and then you can imagine what will happen to the values. NOW is definitely an opportune time to get "your piece of Arizona desert"! Parcels in Whispering Ranch are still among the most affordable in Maricopa County, even with the increases we have seen over the last few years. One past client said to me "This looks like what Cave Creek was when I bought there 50 years ago." Hmmm . . . makes you think, doesn't it.

With the recent Real Estate "adjustment", I'm getting a lot of calls from the contacts I have made in the past twenty years - primarily from Buyers who have been thinking about buying a parcel in "The Ranch". The market has softened since the Real Estate frenzy of 2006 - prices stabilized then dropped - but with all of the planned developments in the works, proposed roadway improvements and Buckeye, Surprise and Wickenburg considering annexation plans, it is just a matter of time before this area goes through another "growth spurt". I have read economic articles indicating that the last Quarter 2023 may have been the bottom of the market for our housing market. Sadly, as this relates to the vacant land market, I am just now seeing significant sustained activity to indicate that the market is changing. Most seasoned real estate folks know that investment in raw land is a direct function of consumer confidence. When the consumer is comfortable with their financial situation they will start making this type of investment. Generally, land follows housing recovery by about two years, so we should start seeing more activity any time now.

Maps

I have the latest freeway/roadway maps available from the Maricopa Association of Governments as they become available. These maps indicate where the Towns, Cities, Counties and State Transportation Agencies are planning to put new Freeways, Parkways, Arterial roads and bridges (over the Hassayampa River for example into Whispering Ranch) or improve existing transportation corridors. As part of the planning process, these roadways are constantly going through changes, but what we see is that they all include roadways into the large planned development areas, and into and out of and through Whispering Ranch. This part of the web site also has some research web sites to help you with information on individual parcels and some history on Subdivision Public Reports and how they can impact you as a Buyer or Seller in Arizona. To go into this area where we have some of these area roadway maps and links to the various Maricopa County Web sites, just click here. This is one of the most popular pages on our web site, so don't miss it.

Directions

For a directional map to get to Whispering Ranch click here. This is a large area map, so you may have to scroll or zoom in or out to view it in its entirety. This is a large area, showing the northwest area of Maricopa County, and "The Ranch" is highlighted. You can easily see what roads you'll need to take to get out to "The Ranch", whether you're coming out from Phoenix or Wickenburg. And, there is information on how to get around in the area, since there are really no signs to help you!!

Also, here are two detailed maps of Whispering Ranch that you can print and tape together if you want. It might be a good idea to print out the instructions on how to use the map to help you understand some of the roadway markings once you get out there. These maps will be invaluable in getting around in the area, since there are no street signs, and just plenty of unidentified dirt roads running all directions. That way you can have a copy of a map when you head out. Hopefully you won't get too lost. Make sure you take plenty of cold drinking water, a cell phone, a full tank of gas and a sense of adventure. A snake bite kit and flare gun are optional items.

• The first is Whispering Ranch East
• The second is Whispering Ranch West

Click here for a set of instructions how to use these Whispering Ranch maps, and to coordinate road names with compass points once you are in the subdivision.

I had been specializing in Whispering Ranch since 2003 (when no one else wanted to be out there) and some folks consider me the "Go to Guy" for information. I've handled more than 400 transactions during this time and have researched and prepared the maps and instructions to allow owners and investors to find their way out there. Being in the Real Estate field since 1976, I have the expertise to assist you in most every endeavor of land sale transactions and have acquired many knowledgeable resources along the way. Let me know if I can put this experience to work for you as a consultant on area questions.

I would be most happy to assist you in any way possible - whether it is a personalized tour, additional information, specific research, or other questions you may have about "The Ranch". Please feel free to contact me by E-mail from this site, or you may reach me on my mobile phone (602) 505-7675.

To send me an E-Mail, click here.