Queen Creek's Earth Fissures

The fast growing area of Queen Creek is facing the same problem with earth fissures that Temecula, California experienced in the mid 1980's.

By 1988, there were more than 200 lawsuits alleging more than $25 million in damages filed against developers in the Temecula area. Riverside County initially put a ban on building permits and then passed an ordinance requiring structural and geotechnical evaluations.

Some residents left the area in fear of the fissures, others had difficulty selling their properties. Real estate brokers shunned the area and home values fell.

Can it happen here?

Queen Creek recently took a step toward dealing with earth fissures, commissioning a study that will include determining how the town will develop around fissures. But the problem is identifying where all the fissures are located.

The state has addressed these issues with a House bill that would require regularly updated, digital mapping of earth fissures utilizing GPS technology, which could take up to two years to complete. A Senate bill would mandate increased disclosure of earth fissures by property owners selling five or fewer lots.

The bills have yet to pass, and an appropriation of hundreds of thousands of dollars is needed for the mapping. More...

Property Taxes On The Increase?

More than 1.3 million notices of property values will be hitting Maricopa County mailboxes this week and they will mean higher property taxes with the higher home values that occurred since the last valuations two years ago.

The county's median home value is more than 50 percent higher than two years ago. County Assessor Keith Russell said that the residential increases homeowners will see this week are in some cases breathtaking.

Although higher taxes are likely, a more valuable home doesn't necessarily mean a costlier tax bill.

"As long as the taxing districts don't spend more money than the revenues from new construction, most people's tax bills will stay about the same," said county Treasurer David Schweikert. More...

$9.5 Million Dollar Home In Silverleaf At DC Ranch

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$9.5 Million Dollar Home In Silverleaf At DC Ranch

Learn more about Rio Verde Foothills here.

Million Dollar Homes Across The U.S.

Americans are buying homes that are bigger and contain more luxury features than ever.

By some accounts, the million-dollar plus home market is now the strongest segment of many housing markets. The largest areas of million dollar homes cluster in and around big coastal cities and posh beach and mountain resort communities.

California had the highest percentage of million dollar homes, with 4.1 percent of all California homes worth a million or more at the end of 2003. Other centers of million dollar homes include Connecticut (3.3 percent), District of Columbia (3.2 percent), and Massachusetts (2.2 percent).

What buyers get for a million dollars varies greatly from market to market. In expensive Santa Monica, it might buy a two bedroom teardown on a vest pocket lot. In much more reasonable Dallas, it could buy a 5,000 square foot mini-estate with six bedrooms, five baths, and a pool and spa. More...

In Phoenix Arizona you can get a nice custom home in the 5000+ square foot range! Take a look at these other luxury markets: Denver luxury homes, Santa Clarita luxury homes, San Diego luxury homes, South Jersey luxury homes, Naples luxury homes, Paradise Valley luxury homes, Phoenix luxury homes and North Scottsdale luxury homes.

More Valley Homes For Sale

The number of single-family homes for sale in the Southeast Valley reached 11,521 last month, the highest number in recent years.

The last time the SEV had listings in the 10,000 range was late 2002 and early 2003, according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Realtors and housing analysts believe the number of listings is high because investors have begun dumping houses, home sales are usually slow in the beginning of the year and people who wanted to move held off because it was so difficult to buy another home for about a year.

The median price hit $250,000 for three-bedroom homes, $340,000 for four-bedroom and $167,000 for condos in January. The average time on the market lengthened to 47 days, compared with four days in January 2005 and 68 days in January 2004. More...

I for one am tired of hearing that "the sky is falling". If one has spent ANY time at all understanding Central Arizona's real estate market one would see clearly that the market is just stabilizing. These same "Chicken Little's" are the ones who were also screaming about what a hot market we were in back in the 90's when there were twice as many homes for sale in Central Arizona. Just because we are coming off of the hottest market I've ever seen, doesn't mean we are now in a slow market. This is the best thing that could've happened to our local real estate market. If it didn't slow down on its own, prices would've continued to rise until no one could afford to live here. Then we would've had the inevitable "crash" in order to correct a run away market. But, that didn't happen... Thankfully.

So enough from the "Chicken Little's" out there, the sky is not falling.

Matt Pellerin

A Wider I-17 Now

A bill in the state senate, Senate Bill 1504, would appropriate $75 million per year for five years from Arizona's general fund to widen I-17 from Carefree Highway to the Maricopa/Yavapai County line.

The funding would start in the 2006-07 fiscal year. The expansion of I-17 from Loop 101 to Carefree Highway is already set to begin in 2007, but widening beyond that point is not scheduled until at least 2020 under Maricopa County's Regional Transportation Plan approved in 2004.

This proposal is the second effort to improve/speed up the freeways in various parts of the Valley.

In the southwest Valley, the growing communities of Goodyear, Avondale and Buckeye are considering a tax-hike to accelerate the widening of Interstate 10 through those areas. More...

Freeways Not Keeping Up With Population Growth

Arizona State Transportation Board has approved a corridor study by the Arizona Department Of Transportation (ADOT) that outlines where freeways could be built in Pinal County.

However, the freeways do not have funding yet and it will still be almost ten years before construction begins.

The plan calls for $2 billion in freeway corridors; one that runs from U.S. 60 at Apache Junction south to Florence; a Williams Gateway Freeway extension from the Santan Freeway in Mesa to the U.S. 60 south of unincorporated Gold Canyon; a route from about Riggs Road in Pinal County east to U.S. 60 at Florence Junction; and a north-south highway from Florence to Eloy.

The next step is for ADOT to review and pick exact routes for those freeways.

Pinal County is expected to grow to 1 million population in ten years, and 2 million in 20 years. Transportation has increasingly become a concern with all of the projected growth in Pinal County. More...

Look for county and city officials to create innovative ways to accelerate the building of new freeways in Pinal County.

The "Fix And Flip" Crowd Is Fired Up

About 1,000 investors and would-be investors spent the weekend at Phoenix Civic Plaza attending the Real Estate Investors and Landlords Conference & Expo.

Many came to learn how to find cheap properties and then "fix and flip" them.

The fact that housing prices have stabilized or even fallen in some areas and the number of homes for sale has risen significantly in the past few months didn't seem to cool interest.

Phoenix investor Dolf de Roos, the featured speaker at the event, said "It does affect the short term. I think the heat is going to come out of the market a little bit but not long and not much."

He said that even if housing prices come down by 5 or 10 percent, investors still came out ahead because the prices had grown by about 40 percent last year.

De Roos said the Phoenix area remains good for real estate investing because it is growing and has several major employers. More...

Phoenix Real Estate Market Finally Cooling A Bit

Home builders are now offering all types of deals on spec houses in subdivisions across the Valley. These kinds of deals were unheard of last summer, when people camped out to get into a lottery to buy in a new subdivision.

Now the frenzy is gone and home builders are trying to entice buyers with freebies and price cuts in "let's make a deal" sales pitches. It is another clear sign that the Valley's housing market is slowing from last year's record pace.

It is not just the new home building sector that has cooled off. The number of existing homes for sale has shot up from a year ago, and prices are flat or down slightly in most areas.

"Most of the investors are gone, and traffic is down in home builders' sales trailers," said Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU. "Just look at all the ads. Builders are trying to move homes fast," he added.

There are about 2,800 more empty new homes Valley-wide than a year ago, according to Metrostudy, a real estate consulting firm.

Local housing analyst RL Brown adds, "There's no question the overall marketplace has changed. The consumer is saying 'Excuse me. The prices are too high.'" More...

South East Valley's White Hot Commercial Market

The office market (commercial real estate) is hot in most pockets of the South East Valley.

Jeff Hartland, senior vice president at Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial, said the market is the tightest he's seen in 15 years. "There was a lot of demand all of a sudden, an boom, all the space is gone," he said.

A year ago, Chandler and Gilbert had 28.2 percent vacancy. A year later it was 4.6 percent!

Developers seeing this trend have started several new office projects in the South East Valley to keep up with the demand, such as new office projects at Tempe Town Lake, the Stapley Corporate Center at Stapley Drive and Baseline, and a 16-acre project at Ray Road and the loop 101 that will contain office condos, retail, a four-story parking garage and a five-story Class A office building. More...

Another article showing that commercial development follows the rooftops!

Phoenix Area Homes Showed The Largest Gains

Metropolitan Phoenix snagged the nations top spot for housing appreciation in 2005, with housing prices soaring 48.9% during the year.

Most of the growth occured in the first three quarters of 2005, and prices only grew 1% by the end of the fourth quarter, signaling a cooling of the market. The numbers were from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The median price of an existing Valley home now sits at $257,000, down from the $260,000 in December.

Jay Butler of the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU estimates that speculators and investors inflated metropolitan Phoenix home prices by as much as 25 percent in 2005. More...

Home Prices Nationwide Posted Solid Gains In 2005

CNNMoney.com, also reports on the NAR report on home prices.

It gives the appreciation numbers for 145 market areas so you can compare our area with other competing market areas in the country! More...

North East Valley Homes Soar Above $1,000,000

The buy-in for new North Scottsdale homes is nearly $750,000 and a new custom home in the Silverleaf neighborhood of DC Ranch is in escrow for almost $10 million.

In addition, the Toll Bros. Saguaro Estates subdivision southwest of Dynamite and Scottsdale Roads has new homes starting in the low $1,000,000's.

It is yet another sign of the times in the northeast Valley where the new-home market is out of reach of all but the wealthiest buyers.

Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU, said appreciation has pushed prices to more than $1 million for mass-produced homes in Scottsdale. More...

Happy Valentines Day 2006

Happy Valentines Day to you and yours...



The Phoenix Homes Group

Tempe: Ten Story Condo Project

A 10-story condo project may be built along a stretch of Apache Blvd. that straddles the Loop 101.

The development, named Tempe Union Station Lofts, would be the first upscale, private development in the area in years. The development still needs to go before the city's Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council for approvals.

The Lofts are hoping to cash in on middle-income folks who will be lured by easy access to two light-rail stops and the Loop 101 freeway, only a half-mile away.

"Light rail is going to change the perception of how people get around," said Steve Barduson, the projects architect. The new buildings, one ten stories and one five, would include more than 400 condos, underground parking and retail with space for a restaurant.

The design will be aimed at recent college graduates, baby boomers in the market for a second home, and anyone else looking to shun suburbia for an urban lifestyle, Barduson said. More...

Valley Home Resales Slow, Prices Continue To Rise

There were 5,260 recorded resales in January 2006, down from the 6,480 sales in December 2005 and down from the 9,360 sales in January 2005.

The information was from the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU. Jay Butler, Director of the Arizona Real Estate Center, said "the primary news of last year's housing market was the rapid rise in median home price from $194,000 in January to $260,000 in December.

However, since the record of $263,000 was set in September, the growth rate has disappeared, with the median price being $257,000 in January, which is still well above last year's $194,000."

In January 2006, 19 percent of all recorded sales were for homes priced from $120,000 to $199,999, 41 percent for $200,000 to $299,999, and 36 percent for homes priced over $300,000. More...

Silverleaf At DC Ranch - Scottsdale, Arizona

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Silverleaf At DC Ranch - Scottsdale, Arizona

Learn more about Pinnacle Peak here.

Cash Stash Fuels Real Estate

Essentially, the CB Richard Ellis report portrays the Valley as one of the hottest regions in the nation for commercial real estate and, hence, investor activity.

Although some cooling in land prices may occur in certain areas, the population and job growth will propel most, if not all, sectors.

The retail vacancy factor is only 5.25 percent and that retail rents have risen 20 to 30 percent during the past two years.

Also, Multi-family occupancy rates could reach 96 percent this year, a remarkable turnaround from the 89 percent rate in 2003.

This year, more apartment units will be converted to condos than new apartments units added to the market. More...

Arizona Real Estate Market Keeps Growing

Metro Phoenix is expected to experience more economic gains this year because of continued growth in all sectors, from residential to commercial, retail, office and industrial, according to a new report from CB Richard Ellis' Phoenix office.

The major driver in the region's growth is residential housing, in which there were more than 63,000 permits issued for new homes in the Valley in 2005. CB Richard Ellis Managing Director Gregory Coxon said, "will we have another record this year---I'm not ready to say that, but I think it's going to be a darned good single-family housing market."

With regard to growth in the outlying areas, he added, "I'm not sure if the boundary ends at Casa Grande of Eloy, or beyond. Where is the edge today? I'm not sure I know."

The article states that the Valley's industrial vacancy rate is only 5.5 percent and still declining. By the end of 2006, the Valley's office vacancy rate is expected to be 11.5 percent, down from the 12.6 percent at the end of 2005. More...

Great News From Condo Developer

Discounts to police, firefighters, teachers and more...

SunVest Communities USA announced that they will offer a 3 percent discount to police officers, fire fighters and teachers at its 228-unit Mountain Canyon condo project in Ahwatukee.

The condo development will begin sales on February 18th. It is located at Chandler Blvd. and 32nd Street and will have units from 803 to 1,546 square feet, with prices starting in the mid 100's.

In order to receive the discount, buyers are asked to present a recent pay stub when they visit Mountain Canyon. More...

$33.7 Million Land Deal

A 480-acre vacant land parcel south of Interstate 10 near Jackrabbit Trail, was purchased by Miller Holdings for almost $33.7 million, or about $70,000 per-acre.

The development is called Henry Park and will include commercial and residential development.

Scottsdale based Weinstein & Harris has been hired to market the home sites to builders and expects lots by the end of the year.

Ground is expected to break on new homes in late 2007. More...

The southwest Valley market is on the upswing as land prices continue to surge.

New Housing Attracts More Interest Than Available Units

Months before construction begins on two downtown Glendale residential projects, developers have compiled a 200-plus interest list.

Catlin Court Townhomes and Art House will provide 62 townhomes. The Planning Commission and City Council approved the projects in November and developers hope to break ground in August or September, when sales begin. The three story townhomes range from 1,300 to 1,900 square feet.

Both projects feature metal roofs, brick exteriors and stucco and lapse siding that blend with the adjacent Catlin Court historic neighborhood. "To keep the area thriving, you need to have housing like this," councilman David Goulet said.

He predicts the units will all sell within the first week of sales. More...

Arizona Fissures Bill On The Way

State legislators began discussion Monday on a bill that would give homeowners and buyers more accurate information about the location of land fissures.

Problems with fissures caught many new home buyers in the SE Valley by surprise, after heavy rains last spring opened giant fissure cracks on the properties of several Pinal County residents. Earth fissures have become more prevalent as growth has pushed out toward the agricultural fringe of the Valley.

Outcry about the fissures prompted the Arizona Association of Realtors and elected officials to draft House Bill 2639, which aims to ensure that buyers receive truthful information about fissures when they buy property. More...

Pinal and Maricopa counties have tools to research problem areas available on their Web sites: Co.Pinal.Az.US and Maricopa.gov.

Mobile Arizona, Next Hot Spot?

Elliott Homes has purchased 9,000 acres in the unincorporated area of Mobile Valley (south of the Estrella Mountains on State Route 238, in between Casa Grande and Gila Bend).

Al Evenson of Elliott Homes says "it's just a beautiful area, a wonderful valley, with flat buildable land, on an island. It's an opportunity to plan something special, where the borders of cities don't overflow."

Mobile could draw residents from Pinal County, Maricopa County, Casa Grande and Buckeye, says RL Brown, publisher of the Phoenix Housing Market Letter. But he cautioned against thinking Mobile will explode, as it has one road in and out, Arizona 238, and it has landfill and terrain issues.

Elliott Homes is looking to acquire additional land in the area, and some residents and land owners are considering selling to the builder. More...

Phoenix Arizona Added The Most Jobs

Metropolitan Phoenix led the nation in absolute job gains from December 2004 to December 2005, adding 83,200 jobs to its economy, according to figures released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Washington DC was second with 81,600 jobs.

This means that the Phoenix area created more new jobs than even such metropolitan goliaths as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. What makes this even more amazing is that the Metro Phoenix area is only the 14th largest metro area in the country. The survey was gathered on 311 metropolitan areas across the nation.

The report also found that the Valley's 4.8 percent job-growth rate was the second highest among 35 large metropolitan areas. The region's job gains mirrored the population growth of the last year, with the state adding 200,000 residents, most moving to the metro Phoenix area.

Service-related jobs, which include retail jobs, made up the biggest segment of the area's workforce, with the construction industry also being a large contributor. More...

This is more positive news for our local real estate market!

For the full report on all of the cities and their numbers, visit: BLS.gov

Central Arizona's Commercial Real Estate News

The construction value of new office buildings, retail stores and industrial properties added each year to Maricopa County is about $1.3 billion, and the total economic activity sparked by that work each year is $2.4 billion.

The information was compiled by local economist Elliott Pollack.

The region's commercial real estate construction industry also employs about 25,000 workers annually.

As of the third quarter of 2005, the metro Phoenix market had about 113 million square feet of office space, 119 million square feet of retail space and 250 million square feet of industrial space. Annually, from 1995 to 2005, an average of 3.7 million square feet of office space, 4.5 million square feet of retail space and 7.4 million square feet of industrial space were added to the market. More...

More Good Predictions For The SW Valley

Projected growth in the SW Valley from the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG).

MAG projects that by 2030, Goodyear is expected to have 330,000 residents, and Buckeye is expected to have 380,000. Currently, Goodyear has 42,000 residents and Buckeye has 35,000. Planners expect Avondale, now with about 62,000 residents, to grow to 160,000 by 2030.

MAG's new projections are expected to be released in September or October. Scottsdale architect and urban planner Vern Swaback says the Valley's future in another hundred years is hard to visualize. "If you look back a hundred years... what exists there today would have been equally unimaginable", Swaback stated.

Take Buckeye as a case study. It took the Phoenix-metro area to grow to its current size and scope. Swaback expects Buckeye's growth will zoom ahead and expand with that kind of fever in about a decade. More...