Home Builders, Neighbors Offer Stiff Competition

After last year's record 18,749 single-family new home building permits issues by Pinal county and its municipalities, 2006 is on pace to see 16,571 permits issues. Although lower than 2005, it still means more new, single-family homes in a single year than the county saw during some entire decades of the 20th century.

"This is a cooling like it was 113 degrees yesterday , and its 106 today," said Jordan Rose, a development attorney with clients in Pinal County. "It's still burning hot in Pinal County."

But as in other areas of the Valley, builders are now offering incentives to buyers to blow through the existing inventory, and existing homeowners are dropping prices of their homes, offering additional competition for builders.

Pinal County is still the future of the Valley's housing market, Jordan Rose said. It will attract about half of all new home buyers over the next 15 years, she predicted. More...