[Don B.]

People in $300k houses pretty much expect high ceilings.

If the house is built well, a modern home with 12' ceilings throughout will be much more energy efficient than almost all of the houses built in Phoenix before 1980 or 1990.

As an example (this is based on two homes I've lived in personally here), comparing summer electric bills:

2004 house in northeast Scottsdale, 4,000 square feet, 12' ceilings = $350 per month AC
1909 house in central Phoenix, 1,100 square feet, 10' ceilings = $300 per month AC

The difference? Insulation, triple paned windows, low-E glass, better construction, etc.

As for the floor plan above, most people are not going to be using the Arizona room on level 4 while someone is sleeping in bedroom #2 on level 3. Now for myself, I'd rather have a bathroom on level 4 in lieu of the super tall 20'+ ceiling in bedroom #2, and then you could use the Arizona Room as a fantastic master bedroom retreat. But that's just me...LOL.

--don