Anchorage Real Estate

A four-time All-America City, Anchorage is located in south-central Alaska just west of the Chugach State Park. A major port, the city offers great commercial and economic opportunities at the foot of the country’s most beautiful natural areas. Six mountain ranges can be seen from downtown, including the Kenai Mountains, The Talkeetna Range, and the Alaska Range. A land of opportunity, peace, and beauty, Anchorage is a wonderful place to call home.

Shopping and Dining

Anchorage shopping includes everything from big-name box stores like Wal-Mart and Costco to trendy shops and upscale boutiques. In the summer, residents can find unique Alaskan-made goods and gourmet food from around the world at the downtown Anchorage Saturday Market. Designer clothing and name-brand favorites are available for purchase at the Anchorage 5^th Avenue Mall. The Dimond Center Mall features well-known stores like Best Buy and Gap as well as local specialty vendors like the Indian Arts Emporium and Once in a Blue Moose. The Dimond Mall also is home to the South Anchorage Farmers’ Market.

Anchorage’s dining options are equally diverse. From fresh seafood to Mexican cuisine and fast-food favorites, the eateries in Anchorage fulfill the needs of any palate. Residents can grab a bite, a pint, and a movie at the Bear Tooth Theaterpub or pick up a pizza at Moose’s Tooth. Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Company overlooks Cook Inlet and offers excellent views of Mt. McKinley to go with its hand-crafted beers and delicious entrees. Thai Kitchen on the Eastside is said to have the best Thai food in town. Terra Bella’s organic coffee, Fire Island’s artisan bread, and Sugarspoon’s desserts are also well loved by the locals.

Parks and Recreation

Alaska’s most precious resource is its majestic wilderness, and most recreation in Anchorage centers largely on enjoying it. Backpacking, fishing, ice fishing, hunting, snowshoeing, skiing, sledding, ice climbing, hockey, jogging, bicycling, and exploring are popular activities, depending on the season. Residents of Anchorage also can watch belugas from Turagain Arm, enjoy the sunsets and watch the airplanes take off from the fields in Point Woronzof, or meditate on the spectacular views of Mount Susitna, Cook Inlet, and Fire Island from Kincaid Park. Park-goers also can take advantage of Kincaid’s plentiful amenities, including an 18-hole disc golf course, soccer fields, a motorcross park, and a lake for fishing, boating, and ice fishing. Anchorage also is home to numerous outdoor and indoor ice rinks, toboggan hills, and neighborhood parks, as well as miles of paved trails, including the 11-mile-long Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. In the summer, walkers, joggers, bicyclists, and rollerbladers fill the trails. In the winter, cross country skiers and skijorers are the trails’ primary users. First-class downhill skiing and snowboarding is only 45 minutes away at the Alyeska Resort.

Living

Anchorage real estate offers a nice balance between big-city living and proximity to the state’s expansive natural resources that make living in Alaska a one-of-a-kind experience. A city of approximately 292,000 people, Anchorage real estate includes a variety of architectural styles, prices, and neighborhoods sure to fit anyone’s needs. Government Hill, for example, offers diverse living within walking distance of downtown. South Addition, one of Anchorage’s oldest neighborhoods, is located just south of downtown and offers unparalleled access to the city’s trail system. Median home cost for properties for sale in Anchorage in 2012 was $322,600.

Schools, Health, and Transportation

The Anchorage School District operates numerous public schools inside the city, including several charter schools and schools for special needs children. The Aquarian Charter School and The Northern Lights ABC K-12 School offer two of the district’s most popular alternative programs. There also are several private and parochial schools in the city, including the Anchorage Junior Academy for prekindergarten through 8^th grade and the Atheneum School.

Most of the state’s largest hospitals are located in Anchorage. There are also numerous medical clinics, specialists, treatment centers, and physicians in the city.

Providence Alaska Medical Center, the #1 largest hospital in the state, features a cancer center, a children’s hospital, a heart and vascular center, and a maternity center. It also provides surgical services, emergency treatment, and imaging and laboratory services. Alaska Regional Hospital is known for its family birth center, robotic surgery, and emergency care. North Star Behavioral Health offers therapy, medication management, education, training, and health care services to residents between the ages of 4 and 17.

People Mover’s fifty-two buses serve 14 routes around the city. Buses also go north into Eagle River. Free seasonal shuttles from downtown carry passengers to the Alaska Zoo, the Alaska Heritage Center, and the Ulu Factory in the summer. Valley Mover buses run between Anchorage and Wasilla and Palmer. Residents of Anchorage also can take the train out to Fairbanks.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, give us a call at 907-360-7471 or send us an email to explore your options and to find out when is the best time for you to make a move.