Don't Fret Drop In New-Home Permits

The number of new home permits in the Northwest Valley and Southwest Valley fell from 2,106 to 1,495 in February.

But market experts say this is just the market getting back to normal after last year's frenzied market.

"The drop in permits is merely a blip on the radar," said Steven Kraut of Premier Properties. "The market is certainly not tanking; the builders were just overspeculative in the number of homes they produced."

Since the housing market is largely driven by population and job growth, the Phoenix metro area will continue to thrive.

This trend is especially true in the West Valley. With April around the corner, the market will stabilize even more, said Tom Traw with Traw & Associates. More...

Maricopa County Movin' On Up Millionaire List

Maricopa County ranks fourth in the United States in the number of millionaire households...


Counting 106,210, or roughly 8.2 percent of all households, as having $1 million-plus in net worth. In 2006, Maricopa County ranked sixth. Visit PhoenixHomes.com to find luxury homes for sale.

The information is from a report prepared by TNS Financial Services, a British market research firm. Los Angeles County took the top spot with 262,800 millionaire households, followed by Cook County in Illinois with 167,873 households.

"You're a large county to begin with, and I would imagine that a lot of people retire to places in Arizona, particularly the Phoenix/Scottsdale area because the cost of living there is a little more favorable than a place like San Francisco," said Jeanette Luhr, manager of the study. More...

Visit our Scottsdale website, Scottsdale Homes dot com, to find luxury homes for sale or find Paradise Valley luxury real estate here.

Open Space At Top Of New-Home Buyers List

Golf losing appeal to new-home buyers...

There is a new trend with new homebuyers who favor parks and trails as their most desired community amenity, contrasting with previous notions that living on or near a golf course represented the epitome of American lifestyles.

The desire for open space is one that homebuilders are responding to. Of the 17 master-planned communities under review in Maricopa County, only five have plans for golf courses, where as in the past, most master-planned communities included golf courses.

Costs are one reason that developers may be more willing to opt for open space, parks and recreational facilities. "Building a golf course in this market is not a solid return on your money," said Curt Smith, chief operating officer of Sunbelt Holdings. The cost to build a golf course is often upwards of $500,000 a hole, and an upscale course can reach $1 million per hole. "The long and short of it is the open space gets almost the same or higher premium than gold courses," said Rick West, a principal with Carefree Partners. "So a developer can make more money by building parks and recreational facilities." More...

Valley's New Housing Market Starting To Slow

Valley new home permits in February dropped more than 20 percent from the same time last year, perhaps a signal that the Valley's new home market has started to slow.

The 3,729 permits issued in February was the lowest total in the last two years, according to the numbers released by RL Brown in his latest Phoenix Housing Market Letter. RL states that builders are rolling out all sorts of incentives, including price discounts, and free or discounted upgrades.

Brown doesn't see the current housing conditions as a precursor to any kind of disaster. "We're seeing the resale market begin to adjust," said Brown. "Housing prices reached a point to where the consumer said no more. I don't think it will be very long before the resale (price) is reflective of what consumers are willing to pay for a home," Brown added.

The March average base price of all new home floorplans offered was $387,000, while the median closing price was $268,000, a big spread! "It was past time that the rapidly upward price pressure on the new housing market ended," Brown said. "I suspect that we can say they've ended." More...

Here's another article that I posted on the National New Homes Market.

A Little Ditty On Interest Rates

Twas the night before the FOMC meeting, when all through the financial community, not a bond trader was stirring, not even Alan Greenspan whispers could be heard hoping that the Big Ben takes advantage of his new opportunity....

Fed predictions were crafted by economists who care, in hopes that Fed Chairman Bernanke would announce a Fed Funds increase to 4.75% delighting those who trade like a bear.....

Real estate professionals were nestled snugly in their mortgage beds, while visions of lower interest rates danced in their heads, but new Fed Chairman Bernanke seems confused and his actions could cause Wall Street to soon see red.

Tomorrow is the BIG day and the beginning of a new ERA in Fed history, one that we have only seen five times in the last 50 years. Yes everyone is expecting a 25 basis point increase in the Fed Funds rate to 4.75% (Prime rate will be increased to 7.75%) but these "experts" are also expecting a equal increase in long term interest rates. Yes the Fed is probably surprised and frustrated that long term rates have not risen as they have with previous Fed tightening over the past 40+ years. It all comes from inflation and the fact that despite higher commodity (oil, metals, etc.) prices overall inflation indexes have not risen in the past few years and are NOT rising in 2006. The Fed's key measure of inflation is the PCE index (personal consumption index) and the February reading will be released on Friday (3/31) and it will again show a CORE (ex food and energy) reading of sub 2%.The good news is that despite growing fears of inflation long term rates (10yr. Treasury) have risen only 41 basis points in 2006 despite a very strong seasonal trend that has seen rates rise an average of 99 basis points between February and April of every year since 1966 (except 1995).

Just in case Mr. Bernanke and the members of the FOMC need a little help with their Tuesday decision......The average spread between the Fed Funds rate and the core PCE index over the past 40+ years is approx. 2.5% and with the Funds rate at its current 4.5% and the PCE at 1.8% that gives a differential of 2.7%......Enough to stand pat for the next few months and then IF inflation increases they can raise the Funds rate...For those worried about wage inflation, the ECI (Employment cost index) is up less than 3% in the last year and that is down from 3.8% in 2004. YES commercial and industrial loan demand continues to increase at a 12% rate but much of that is for purchases look for an unchanged Funds rate with a statement that the Fed policy is neutral and will follow the path of inflationary expectations and NOT worry that a strong economy equates to higher inflation....That's a policy that worked in the 70's and 80's but not in 2006...

The best news for the many real estate professionals that read this post and desperately want and need long term rates to fall is that the interest rate boat is now overflowing with experts that are predicting higher short and long rates. In today's USA Today business section there was an article entitled "Economic prognosticator sees minefield of risks ahead for interest rates." The article surveyed the "top 10" US economists and everyone of them predicted higher Fed Funds rates at the end of 2006. The Wall Street Journal Q&A column lead question was how can the small investor bet on higher interest rates. The market's biggest enemy is uncertainty and until 11:17am tomorrow morning we will not have the answer to the most often asked question of each day: "What is the Fed going to do and what are they going to say??" Both questions will be answered tomorrow and an expected "relief rally" in the bond market which will push long term rates lower for the next few weeks. Whatever the announcement from the FOMC we will finally have some degree of certainty until at least the next Fed meeting on May 10th.

For all your mortgage needs we recommend:
Matt Smith, Mortgage Broker
Scottsdale Mortgages/Loan Brokerage
I have personally worked with Matt Smith since 1994!

Infill Wave Is Here

Infill development seems to be on the minds of everyone these days, from Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to major homebuilders.

The reasons for the increased demand for infill projects are rising land prices and development on the outer fringe of the Valley that have caused homebuilders to look for alternatives closer into the city core.

The article notes several infill projects already in the works, such as Beazer Homes 20 unit housing project at 24th Street and Broadway, Trend Homes development of 750-homes at 24th Street and Roeser Road, and Lauth Property Groups Washington Airport Center, a master-planned business park on the site of a former mobile home park. More...

Home Resales Down, Prices Up

Cities across the West valley saw the number of housing resales fall in February compared with the same time last year, though the median sales prices were higher.

Peoria saw its median price rise to $275,000 in February, up from $212,000 in February 2005.

Glendale prices rose to $250,000, up from $175,000 a year ago.

Surprise went to $260,000, up from $198,000.

Jay Butler, director of the Real Estate Center at ASU, said "all the signs are for a very good market. It won't be in a hyper mode, and there is no disaster mode sitting out there. It is a market that seems to be acting very normal." More...

Arizona Unemployment Rate Falling Again

Arizona added 36,800 new jobs in February and the state's unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 4.4 percent, another indication that the area continues to grow and attract new residents.

Most of the new jobs created last month were in the government sector, a gain of 16,600. And three industry groups hit new record employment levels in February; leisure and hospitality, educational and health services, and construction.

State economists also said that "given the degree of momentum in the economy, Arizona will most likely reach a record number of jobs in the next month or two." More...

Central Arizona, A Master-Planning Hotbed

Five Valley master-planned communities are among the country's best sellers, according to a report released by Robert Charles Lesser & Co, LLC.

Four of the developments are located in the fast-growing West Valley, where large tracts of developable land are making way for amenity-rich neighborhoods.

The five communities are:
No. 7, Anthem, Northwest Valley
No. 8, Johnson Ranch, Southeast Valley
No. 11, Sierra Montana, Surprise
No. 12, Surprise Farms, Surprise
No. 13, Vistancia, North Peoria.

It comes as no surprise that the Valley has more developments on the list than any other market, said Curt Smith, chief operating officer for Scottsdale-based Sunbelt Holdings, which jointly developed three of the communities.

Many of these new homes are going up in the West Valley. "A few years ago, this area had 30 percent of the market, and now it's pushing 70 percent," Smith said. More...

Are You Under Insured?

Property insurers and regulators are calling on Arizonans to check their homeowners insurance coverage amid escalating residential prices and higher costs for building materials.

The topic is timely because housing values have risen roughly 50 percent in the Valley over the past year.

Yet residential prices aren't as critical, for insurance purposes, as the costs of lumber, wiring, metals, labor and other construction components.

Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, a Los Angeles firm that tracks building costs, last year estimated that 59 percent of American homes were under insured, by an average of 22 percent. More...

Are you under insured? Do you know what it would cost to completely rebuild your current home and replace all of its contents? It may be time for you to re-evaluate your current policy. You might even want to check with a local home building contractor to see what it would cost you to rebuild your current home, up to today's building codes.

Central Arizona's Resale Market Perks Up

This article reports on the housing market numbers released by the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU.

Jay Butler, the director of the Real Estate Center, said the market direction wouldn't be clear until the second quarter. Investors placing their homes on the market was again cited for the big increase in inventory.

"We're getting a few more buyers coming out and looking around, but the inventory is going through the roof," said Floyd Scott, designated broker of Century 21 Arizona Foothills. "Investors are rotating out, going to Dallas and Austin. They bought the resale market last year, took the inventory right out of the market and everyone raised prices... We're still trying to find our legs on whether these prices will hold up or there will be a small decline this year. It might soften a little bit because of the price increase last year," he added. More...

Phase Two Of Verrado Project Taking Shape

Builders recently started crafting the second phase of Buckeye's Verrado, dubbed the Heritage District, which includes 1,900 new homes and eight home builders.

Verrado, which sits at the base of the White Tank Mountains, spans some 8,800 acres and will have 11,000 homes at build-out, along with retail developments and a resort.

Verrado bills itself as a "hometown" and prides itself on its feeling of community

The developer, DMB, requires builders in Verrado to create new models for the development that have never been used elsewhere. More...

San Manuel Arizona Set For Growth

San Manuel, a small former copper town northeast of Tucson in Pinal County, could become the site of 15,000 new homes and a luxury golf resort as part of a master-planned development proposed by Los Angeles based Lowe Enterprises.

Lowe Enterprises envisions eight or nine neighborhoods, a high-end golf resort, commercial and retail development, and even light industrial as part of a mixed-use project.

BHP Copper is the seller of the land, and chose Lowe over several other entities competing to develop the land.

"It will be designed to appeal to every level of income from starter to move-up to second move-up to active adult," said Kent Merselis, a Lowe senior vice president.

Between 4,500 and 5,000 people live in San Manuel, which sits below the Santa Catalina Mountains at about 3,500 feet elevation. The Pinal County supervisor who represents the area said he is in favor of the development because it will bring amenities and other benefits. More...

Phoenix's Sunnyslope Gets New Look

The Sunnyslope neighborhood, bounded by 19th Avenue, 16th Street, Northern Ave. to Peoria Avenue, has seen a renewed interest in its real estate, and rising home values.

Two years ago, the average price of Sunnyslope homes ranged from $80,000 to $100,000. Now most sell over $200,000.

Many of the homes are older, with about 1,200 to 1,500 square feet, one-car carports or garages, and few pools.

This area is slowly redeveloping and is experiencing renewed interest due to its close in central location. More...

Well, it's about time! This area has some of the best hillside lots (with views of downtown Phoenix) around! It's a charming little valley of its own, nestled in between the mountains of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve and I've been saying for years what a shame it was to see this area so dilapidated.

Now We're Talking Transportation

Developers, real estate analysts and economists are all talking about what will happen to the Valley's already congested roadways as the area continues to grow.

Housing analyst RL Brown, who isn't a big fan of light rail, has brought the possibility of starting commuter rail service on the Valley's existing roadways.

In January, Drew Brown, president of developer DMB, half joked that Interstate 10 would have to have 20 lanes to support all the new homes planned for the Southwest Valley.

Greg Vogel of Arizona Land Advisors said that land for a reliever road to Interstate 10 in the West Valley should be bought before homes go up and it becomes more costly to buy.

In a side note, the article states that buyers shelled out a record $10.2 billion for 225,000 acres of land across metro Phoenix in 2005, adding support to the fact that we will continue to grow as more population comes into the Valley. More...

2006 - Realty Executives' New President And CEO

Bill Powers has stepped down as president of Realty Executives International to undertake a new adventure with our company.

We broke the news of Bill's presidency here back in May of 2005 when our real estate news blog was brand new.

The new president and CEO of Realty Executives International is Rich Rector. Rich has stepped up to the challenge and we are glad to have him leading our company now. Though we are a bit late in breaking this news, we didn't want to miss this opportunity to mention him.

Congratulations Rich!

Rich Rector also has a blog where he talks about the real estate industry in general and about Realty Executives. Please feel free to leave comments of congratulations, etc. here.

Metro Area 'Fringes' Are Booming

USA Today, reports that some of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. in 2005, including Pinal County, lie on the farthest edge of large metropolitan areas, stretching the definition of "exburbs" to the limit.

"It's not just the decade of the exburbs but the decade of the exburbs of the exburbs," said William Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institute.

"People are leaving expensive cores and going out as far as they can to get a big house and a big yard. Suburbia is moving much further out," he added.

The article cites Pinal County as the seventh fastest growing county in the U.S. with a 6.9 percent growth rate for the period 2004 to 2005.

The article also cites Maricopa County as gaining 563,000 people from 2000 to 2005-- more than any other county in the U.S. More...

Here We Grow Again

Maricopa County will soon be the nation's third largest county behind Los Angeles and Chicago's Cook counties.

Census estimates to be released today rank Maricopa County No. 1 nationally in population gains for both the year ending July, 2005, and since the 2000 census.

The estimated population of Maricopa County as of July, 2005 was 3,635,528. That is equivalent to the entire state's population in 1990!

Maricopa county added 563,193 new residents since the 2000 census. 136,941 people are moving to Maricopa County each year, about 375 every day! More...

Where - are all of these people going? We are not building new homes at a rate of 375 a day. So where are they all going? There has to be a substantial number of people moving out every day too that just wasn't included in this report... comments? Is the Valley Of The Sun growing too fast in your opinion?

State Trust Land North Of Fountain Hills

This post has been moved to:
State Trust Land North Of Fountain Hills

Learn more about Fountain Hills real estate and homes for sale here.

Cave Creek's Condo-Hotel?

Last Thursday, the planning commission of Cave Creek voted unanimously to continue the site plan and preliminary plat review for Cave Creek Resort & Casitas, a 252-unit condohotel project proposed for the northwest corner of Cave Creek and Schoolhouse roads.

Developers favor the condohotel concept because it minimizes financing risks by shifting that risk to individual unit owners. Traditionally, construction doesn't start until 50 percent of the units are presold. Larry Lazelle, who represented the project to the commission, said this is the only way developers can afford to build hotels in this day and age.

The two-story, pueblo-styled project will have three distinct villages with a centrally located pool, water slide and a lazy river feature. Even though they have not actively marketed the project, Lazelle said a local realty company has already received 300 calls.

"It's not a timeshare", said Lazelle, "This is an ownership. But people can't stay for more than 30 days", to meet the definition of a hotel. "Their units are placed into a rental program where 50 percent of the revenue goes back to the owner." More...

New Anthem Development

Sales started this weekend at Sun City Anthem by Del Webb at Merrill Ranch, the new age-restricted community in Pinal County, west of Florence.

Homes are being sold by appointment only, and no more than 10 appointments will be made each day. "We have over 16,000 people that have shown interest," said Brad Shoenberg, the vice president of field operations of Pulte Homes.

"We have not seen the effects of any type of cooling of the market with those numbers," he added.

The first residents are expected to move in in July. The non-retirement portion of Anthem is expected to begin sales this spring.

The development is expected to take seven years to build out and will have 9,000 homes. Florence's Anthem will have a elementary school, golf course and a community center. When completed, Anthem will triple the population of Florence.

Concerns remain over traffic congestion in this area with only Hunt Highway as the major road accessing the community. More...

Condo Mania

This post has been moved here:
Condo Mania

Learn more about Scottsdale schools here.

Land Is Disappearing Around SE Valley Airports

Three land sales this month around growing East Valley airports show the strong demand from real estate investors betting on the need for industrial and office space.

Paragon Properties purchased 303 acres near Williams Gateway Airport and now controls about 525 acres. "Williams Gateway Airport has been earmarked as the new distribution airport for Phoenix, so we're planning on all that new growth," said Paragon owner Doug Dragoo. Dragoo plans office, light industrial and cargo-related space on the land.

Dragoo's land is adjacent to the General Motors Proving Grounds, which is expected to be a future 5,200-acre master-planned community that will include some 14,000 homes and commercial development.

Other deals around airports include Colliers International purchase of 20-acres near the Chandler Airpark for the future Chandler Airpark Business Center, and Hewson Co's purchase of eight acres near Falcon Field for a 100,000 square foot spec industrial building. More...

These deals show that the East Valley is growing the jobs that will support the residential growth in the East Valley and Pinal County.

Home Builders Feel Ethnic Buyers' Impact

As the size of the Valley's minority communities grow, the impact on home building and the real estate industry is creating a new dynamic in home selling.

In the not-too-distant future, it may even change the way some houses are designed as builders take note of the needs of young families and extended families. Nationally, Hispanics, Asians and African-Americans make up more than one-third of all first time home buyers in 2003. Although local statistics are not available, it could very well be higher in Maricopa County, where members of those groups make up about 39 percent of Maricopa County's 3.5 million residents.

"Just by surnames alone, I can tell you home ownership by Hispanics has soared and is a significant part of the current activity," said local housing analyst RL Brown.

Another signal that minority home buying is ramping up is the number of real estate professionals across the Valley taking time to learn more about the customs and cultural nuances of various ethnic groups. More...

West Valley Seeing Biggest Gains

Six of the top ten Maricopa County communities that saw the biggest home-value percentage gains last year were in the West Valley, according to the Arizona Republic analysis.

Sun City West, Waddell, Avondale, Litchfield Park, Goodyear and Glendale were all in the top ten. Sun City West saw a 48.1 percent rise, Waddell saw 52.7 percent, Goodyear rose 42 percent, Avondale rose 44.8 percent, Buckeye saw 37.6 percent and Tolleson rose 32 percent.

People are being drawn to the West Valley by entertainment amenities (Glendale Arena and Westgate), freeways, new shopping malls, and the overall newness of the area. Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU says that the West Valley's biggest challenge will be getting roads, freeways and other infrastructure in place to keep up with the West Valley's population boom. Attracting major employers to the west side will also be critical. More...

2006 - Central Arizona Real Estate Market Conditions

On Sunday, March 5th, the Arizona Republic released its semi-annual housing market recap with a complete section on our housing market called: Valley Home Values, Buy? Sell? Hold?.

It contains eight articles about our real estate market and links to charts showing appreciation, median home prices, number of listings and information on each submarket area.

The link for this special section on our real estate market is here.

The following is a quick summary of the eight articles:

The first article, Valley tackles cooling market, reports that Metro Phoenix's housing market had big gains in the first half of 2005, but the market started showing signs of cooling in September, and by October, prices had dipped slightly. Increases of 30 to 50 percent were common in some zip codes as Metro Phoenix led the nation in percentage gain of housing price. The slowing has continued this year with resale listings exceeding 30,000 in January, nearly nine times the level for January 2005. Selling time has increased from 5 1/2 days to 49. Sellers are frustrated because they are getting few offers, and many are cutting prices. Most real estate watchers say the Valley's housing market is only reverting back to a stable one after last years frenzy. Jay Butler, head of the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU says the housing market needs to "cool down to sustain the appreciation it gained last year. I wouldn't be surprised to see prices fall this year."

The second article, Slowing trend may force owner to be landlords, reports that with the slowing real estate market, some investors who bought homes looking to flip them and make a quick profit may be forced to rent them and become landlords. But the article cautions that there is a lot to know and consider before becoming a landlord, including tenant phone calls, fair housing issues, registering the property as a rental with the county Assessor, and cash flow. The article gives several good resources and links for landlord help, and gives a link for a copy of the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act.


The third article, Many home buyers still being priced out , reports that due to the big increases in home prices in metro Phoenix in 2005, fewer buyers can afford a home in the Valley. Even the "fringe" areas of Maricopa, Apache Junction, Goodyear and Surprise now have home prices that rival or exceed those of closer in cities. The Phoenix market has had a long-standing reputation of affordability, but now its median price is higher than the national average. Some analyst point out that Valley housing is still affordable when compared to other western cities, but incomes are not keeping up with home prices, and spending power is being cut by higher energy costs.


The fourth article, Prices, traffic take away from Pinal's appeal, reports that Pinal county, know for its affordable housing that drew thousands to areas like Maricopa, Johnson Ranch and Casa Grande, has lost some its "affordable" sheen with rising prices and rising gas prices. "Part of the challenge is that values have gone up an extraordinary degree from where they started out," said local housing analyst RL Brown. "The market equation for new housing for Pinal County is changing, and (buyers) are going to have more reasons to go (there)." Both median resale prices and new-home prices rose dramatically in Pinal County in 2005, up to 57 percent in the Johnson Ranch area. Bigger worries for Pinal County include traffic problems and availability of shopping.


The fifth article, Move-up buyers face widening gap , reports that last year's unprecedented price run-up in Valley home prices has widened the gap between current home values and the price prospective buyers can expect to pay for their next, bigger home. Some real estate agents are now advising their clients to adjust their expectations, which may mean sacrificing square footage for location or visa versa. Even the new financing plans designed to keep monthly mortgage payments affordable can't keep a lid on the growing gap between the current house payment and one for a house at the next step up. The "move down" market seems to be the best right now, with people cashing out of their larger homes for a smaller home.


The sixth article, Home builders add special deals to lure buyers, reports that homebuilders are now offering incentives to homebuyers, such as a new pool or financing incentives, in an effort to lure buyers to purchase new homes in their subdivisions. These kinds of deals were unheard of last summer, when people camped out overnight and builders held lotteries for new homes. Now that the frenzy is gone, and traffic is down in home builders models, home builders are willing to deal. "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 the ads. Builders are trying to move homes fast." "There's no question the overall marketplace has changed," said RL Brown. "The consumer is saying, 'Excuse me. The prices are too high'".


The seventh article, For now, condo conversion boom continues, reports that nobody knows for sure how the Valley's booming condo market will fare going forward. Concerns about a glut are widespread, but advocates say that the baby boomers wanting a different lifestyle will keep interest high. The depth of demand is what has some housing analyst's, such as RL Brown, concerned. He believes that only 15 to 20 percent of the new high-rise condo developments will actually be built. Apartment conversions to condos make up the fastest growing segment of the condo market. Jay Butler at ASU believes the most successful conversions will be those that exude a home and not apartments.



The eighth article, Buyers gain upper hand as homes sell less quickly, reports that the number of listings Valleywide are up, houses are taking longer to sell, and Buyers now have the upper hand in our real estate market. The number of homes on the market has nearly tripled in the past year, according to the Arizona Regional MLS. The reasons why? Speculative investors are selling after realizing gains of 40 to 50 percent. Prices are higher and buyers, including investors, are saying "no" to these higher prices. Mortgage rates have nudged higher, making housing even more expensive. Valley homes have not bee so difficult to afford since 1990. Incomes are not keeping pace with housing price increases.

I hope you enjoy reading these articles. Please feel free to leave a comment on any of them here.

Big News For Our Real Estate News Blog

Please Feel Free To Leave Your Comments...

After much deliberation and many, many requests... we have decided to allow comments on this real estate news blog.

Our initial reasoning for not allowing comments was to avoid SPAM and keep this site simple. Plus, we felt this site would be used only by our clients as a way to gather all the latest real estate news, trends and our opinions all in one easy to use site.

Now that we have been ranking #1 in Yahoo and MSN for months under the term "Arizona Real Estate News". In addition, several other sites are using our RSS feed on their sites which has dramtically increased the daily traffic to this site (even the powerhouse: Internet Business Solutions Team site is featuring our blog). With so many new users each day aside from our client base, it just makes sense to allow comments at this point and see where we can grow this online community to from here.

In the 10 months we've been online, we have discovered that many people aside from our clients have found this to be an informative and useful real estate news portal/site.

How do we know? Well, you've been writing to us and thanking us for publishing this site. Even colleagues and peers use it to keep on top of ALL the latest news and trends as they relate to the Central Arizona real estate market.

So, on that note, please feel free to leave your comments on any article on this entire site! Even this post, if you have comments about comments...

Thank you in advance for helping us make this a better place.

Sincerely,

Matt Pellerin

Arizona Economy's Job Creation Exceeds Expectations

Arizona's economy was stronger than first reported in 2005, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES).

The state's economic growth rate in 2005 was 5.3 percent, representing the creation of 125,000 new jobs, the best showing in a decade. This is higher than the earlier projection of 4.1 percent, or 110,000 new jobs.

"What we're seeing even further, not just job growth, but recent data shows broad-based growth of wages as well," said Don Wehbey, an economist with DES. Wehbey said strong growth is expected to continue into 2006 and 2007.

Official projections for 2006 and 2007 job growth will be released by DES on April 6th. More...

Pulte Plans 23 New Del Webb Communities

In 2006, Pulte Homes plans to open 23 new communities in several states under its Del Webb communities brand name.

Combined, these 23 new communities are expected to account for nearly 41,000 homes at final build-out.

In Arizona, the Del Webb communities expected to open for sale this year include Sun City Festival and Sun City Anthem at Merrill Ranch. Sun City Festival in Buckeye will have 7,200 homes and Sun City Anthem at Merrill Ranch will have 4,200 homes. More...

New Home Prices Being Driven By Material Costs

Prices of construction materials have been rising because of demand from overseas and higher energy prices, and builders are passing these higher costs on to the consumer.

Higher material costs mean higher home prices, higher rents on commercial projects, and changes to projects based on the material costs and availability.

In December, steel prices were up 4.2% from the previous year, plastics were up 20.6%, cement was up 12.3% and gypsum wallboard was up 15.3%. The run up in construction costs is tied to higher crude oil prices, which make the delivery of goods more expensive, and, since oil is used to make plastic pipe and vinyl siding, those material costs have also risen.

Steel and concrete have risen among shortages created by strong demand from overseas, especially China. "We see it in lumber, concrete, insulation, drywall and vinyl," said Jason DeBoer of DeBoer & Gabriel Builders. "Every week we see memos (from suppliers) of price increases of 5% to 10%." More...

Our own custom home builder, Peak One Builders, is feeling the crunch as well. The costs of building a new home have forced them to increase their prices for a finished custom home. Which in turn, is raising the re-sale prices in the areas that they build new homes. For instance, in Rio Verde where they build most of their custom homes, prices have shot up from $600,000 or so for a 3000 square foot home on 1.67 acres (back in 2004) to around $750,000 for that same home today.

Three Offices Sold For $144 Million

Three Valley office properties changed ownership on Wednesday in a $144 million deal.

The deal included the Gainey Ranch Financial Center, the Scottsdale Executive Office Park, and the Paradise Village Office Park.

The deal is one of the larger commercial portfolio transactions in the Valley and highlights the attractiveness of local properties to institutional investors.

The buyers were a joint venture between Los Angeles based Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group and GE Real Estate. They plan on spending $1.4 million in property improvements. More...

Elite Neighborhoods And Luxury Estates

Central Arizona's luxury-home market is staying strong as wealthy buyers pay big money to move into the growing number of elite neighborhoods in the Valley.

"The luxury estate market is real strong", said Bob Hassett of Russ Lyon Realty. "We've got people looking at the $5 million, $6 million, $7 million stuff."

There were more than 1,800 sales of houses worth at least $1 million last year according to the Arizona Regional MLS. That's a huge increase from nearly 1,000 in 2004.

Luxury homes in Paradise Valley had the highest median price in the Valley in 2005, with a median price of $1.39 million. Other areas seeing $1 million homes include North Scottsdale, Arcadia, Biltmore and North-Central Avenue luxury homes. More...

One area to watch is the West Valley with its large new planned communities with acreage set aside for luxury custom homes.

New Home Builders Hold Their Ground

The average price of a new home rose 1.2 percent, or $4,300, in February, according to the latest Phoenix Housing Market Letter released by local housing analyst RL Brown.

"If builders were thinking of empty sales offices, they clearly would not be raising prices by an average of $4,300," Brown said. "It's a demonstration that builders are not seeing anything out there that scares them."

At the same time, he acknowledged that more builders are using incentives to keep buyers motivated, such as financing incentives, a new pool or free options.

The average price of new-home sales that closed in January dropped to $306,000, down from $310,000 in December. More...