When Kirsten and David Myers moved from California to Arizona 25 years ago, Kirsten Myers planned on continuing her work as an elementary school teacher while David was on a path to becoming a commercial airline pilot, they said.
The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks derailed David's plans. Kirsten, meanwhile, was disappointed in her earnings potential as a teacher after relocating.
It was Kirsten who first made the pivot to real estate.
"I was pregnant at the time [and looked for a career] that would give me some flexibility and also replace my teacher salary," she said in an interview with Homes.com. "Somebody suggested I would be good at it, so I got my real estate license while I was pregnant, did all the schooling and never looked back."
David soon quit flight school to join Kirsten, and ever since, the duo has worked as a husband-and-wife real estate team.
The RE/MAX Fine Properties duo is based in Phoenix's North Valley, an area near the city's largest emerging employment corridors with Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s expanding $165 billion plant and the $7 billion Halo Vista mixed-use park.
"You have your typical families relocating, upsizing, downsizing, but it does feel a bit more crowded because the commerce is drawing from more locations now," Kirsten Myers said.
TSMC is located in Phoenix's North Gateway neighborhood, where the average value of homes has noticeably jumped nearly $200,000 since October 2020. As of October 2025, the average value comes in around $670,000 and has hovered around that value since early 2023, according to Homes.com data.
The market comprises mostly resale homes, and the team has found a lot of the employees that have come to the neighborhood have been looking to rent as opposed to purchasing a home.
"The semiconductor plant started building around the same time that interest rates started going up," Kirsten Myers said. "A lot of inventory is locked up because sellers have low interest rates, and they're not willing to give up those rates just yet."
This interview with Kirsten has been edited for clarity and brevity
You've been an agent for over 20 years. What has kept you in the business?
Building relationships and personal connections. It took a while to get moving, but we developed a good division of labor. We both have our strengths, and that benefits our clients.
Having been a first-grade teacher, I am much more patient with buyers, while David is much better at the online marketing and the tech, and he knows more about the inner workings of a house than most people.
What does your house look like?
We have been here in Anthem for 11 years, where we raised our three kids, who are now slowly moving out. We're down to two, and we'll be down to one next fall. So, we're actually looking to downsize at some point because this is just too much house for us — we don't need six bedrooms. But we're also one of those families who is locked in at our low interest rate, so the perfect opportunity would have to present itself for us to move.
What is some advice you would give to a first-time homebuyer in the region?
The first thing that you would want to do is kind of narrow down some of the areas you want to look, keeping in mind that your budget isn't necessarily what you qualify for. You might want to purchase a house that is less than what you qualify for. This is so you don't feel house poor, and ensure you have some margin after you pay your mortgage.
You should ask yourself what compromises you're willing — and unwilling — to make.
What do you like to do outside of work?
We do volunteer work at our local church and have sponsored four kids in Colombia, helping pay for clothing, food and education. We have three kids ourselves, so obviously a lot is predicated on working around their schedules. Otherwise, we like to work out on our Peloton to allow ourselves to eat a little more.