Buying a Home Near SR-24? The March 2026 Noise-Wall Rule You Need to Know

Will ADOT build a sound wall behind my new home on SR-24? It depends on when your subdivision was permitted. That detail almost never comes up at the sales office. Here's what buyers near the SR-24 corridor in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley should know before signing.

The Rule

As part of the $350 million SR-24 widening (Loop 202 to Ironwood Drive), ADOT ran a noise study projecting traffic through 2050 and identified where sound walls would be effective and eligible for federal funding.

The catch: ADOT set March 2026 as the project's official "date of public knowledge."

• Residential developments permitted before March 2026 can qualify for federally funded noise mitigation.
• Developments permitted after that date generally don't. Mitigation then falls to the developer or builder, if it happens at all.

What's Planned

• Sound walls up to 16 feet high along the north side of SR-24, from east of Ellsworth Road to 222nd Street, pending residential eligibility and developer coordination.
• Construction is expected to start in early 2027 and last about 2.5 years.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy Near SR-24

1. When was this subdivision permitted? Before or after March 2026?
2. Is a sound wall planned behind this lot? Who is building it, ADOT or the builder?
3. What's the construction schedule near this home? Expect lane shifts and overnight work at times.
4. How far is the lot from the freeway? Backing to the corridor and sitting a few blocks away are very different.
5. Can I visit at rush hour? Hear the traffic noise for yourself.

The Upside

Living near SR-24 means faster access to Loop 202, Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler. The Ironwood Drive interchange is being converted to a partial diverging diamond to move traffic more efficiently. Once construction wraps (around 2029), proximity to SR-24 is likely to be a selling point.

FAQ

Who pays for sound walls on SR-24? ADOT can use federal funding for eligible developments permitted before March 2026. For newer developments, it's typically up to the developer.

When does the SR-24 widening start? Construction is anticipated in early 2027.

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The full guide covers the SR-24 extension, the North-South Corridor and what it all means for buyers and sellers: SR-24 Expansion & Your Commute.

The Kallhoff Team | RE/MAX Premier · 📞 480-275-9566

Based on ADOT information as of September 2026. Verify eligibility for a specific property with ADOT and the builder.

Developing Affordable Housing for Millennials

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015

Cities across the country are having to adapt to the needs of the millennial generation, who make up the largest share of home buyers, according to a generational trends report by NAR. Due to the recent economic climate, millennials don't mind making sacrifices, often choosing compact housing and not owning a car, as long as they can live in a vibrant city with a lot of perks.

Read more: The 8 Fastest-Growing Cities for Millennials

"They [millennials] seem more willing than other cohorts to trade space for access to transit and a walkable, mixed-use lifestyle," says Stockton Williams, executive director of the Urban Land Institute's Terwilliger Center for Housing in Washington, D.C. "It doesn't necessarily mean they're all saying they want to live in downtown central cities. It can be smaller towns or suburban towns that have these features."

To meet the need for affordable housing options, many cities are being proactive. In Austin, Texas, which is a hotspot for young professionals, builders are catering to millennials by offering homes that are much smaller than the national average and close to public transportation and local attractions.

"The demand for the smaller homes was enormous, and millennials bought them," says REALTOR® Scott Turner, owner of Riverside Homes in Austin, Texas and broker-owner of Turner Residential. "Millennials are much more willing to make the location-over-space trade-off than prior generations. They're happy with less space and less stuff. We found that 850 square feet with two bedrooms and one bath is fine if it’s in a good location."

Housing affordability remains a huge issue in Manhattan, and builders are going a step further by offering up micro housing as a solution. Micro housing is loosely defined as an apartment less than 350 square feet with a functioning and accessibility compliant kitchen and bathroom. Micro housing projects are also cropping up near Washington D.C. and Seattle.

"In places like Seattle, more micro housing units are popping up, and that does seem to be a viable option," says says Matt Kelly, a policy analyst and researcher at Florida State University in Tallahassee. "Smaller and smaller square footage seems to be viable for short-term year apartment leases because there needs to be a low-income housing alternative."

In the past, many cities had zoning regulations that banned small housing. New York City, for example, only recently waived a requirement that housing must be larger than 400 square feet. San Francisco recently allowed housing as small as 220 square feet, and two cities on the forefront of the micro housing trend, Seattle and Portland, have no minimum size requirement.

As housing affordability is outpacing income growth for many across the country, it continue to be important for cities to think out of the box and develop accessible and affordable options, not just for millennials, but for everyone.

Source: "Reducing Everyday Costs for Affordable Neighborhoods," On Common Ground (June, 2015)

www.KallhoffTeam.com

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2015/06/18/developing-affordable-housing-for-millennials

Mortgage Rates Stay Near Yearly Lows

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2014

For the third consecutive week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage held steady, with borrowing costs for home buyers and refinancers remaining near its lows for the year.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Sept. 4:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.10 percent, with an average 0.5 point, holding the same as last week. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.57 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.24 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week's 3.25 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.59 percent.
•  5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.97 percent, with an average 0.5 point, holding the same average from last week. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.28 percent.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.40 percent, with an average 0.4 point, rising from last week's 2.39 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.71 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2014/09/05/mortgage-rates-stay-near-yearly-lows

www.RebeccaSellsAZ.com