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Dear Friends, September 1, 2005
Have you been watching the news lately about housing in Arizona? The Arizona Republic reported the median cost of an existing home in metro Phoenix shot up 47% since last summer according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s more than three times the national average of 13.6%. It does appear things are slowing down a bit, valley home prices only went up 2% from June to July. Earlier this year they were going up 6 to 7% per month. To put this into perspective, the average increases over the past 20 years has been more around the 5% per year range so don’t think 2% is low.
There were less home sales in July than there were in June this year. That’s the third time this year we had a decrease from one month to the next however, Jay Butler, director of Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU declined to say it’s a trend. Although there are some signs of things slowing down, the Arizona Multiple Listing Service stated the average number of days a home is taking to sell is at 24 days in July compared to 5.5 days in January, but many (including me) believe the prices will continue to increase for a while because the demand for houses is still high and the inventory and interest rates are still low.
New developments are offering new gimmicks
Just because homes are selling like hotcakes doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of competition for developers. There’s a development in Pinal County called Santa Cruz Ranch that is marketing itself as a John Wayne style development complete with a fire station that looks like a barn from the old west and farm fencing along the main roads. Developers are hoping some buyers will want their yards to back up to a working farm, just as others want to back up to a golf course. And if “farm livin is the life for you,” Gilbert has a development that feels like an old fashioned farm community, I haven’t confirmed if it’s complete with air fresheners but people are buying up homes never the less. Other developments in the suburbs are boasting about community gardens and wiring homes with Sun Microsystems technology. Verrado has a small town feeling complete with bell tower.
Downtown Update
The Sheraton Hotel with 1000 rooms and 32 floors is set to be completed in late 2008. It will have about 80,000 square feet of convention space and cost about $350 million.
Classes are set to start at UofA / ASU’s Downtown Medical School in 2007 with 24 students and plan to have about 130 students by the end of its first 4 years. They plan to graduate 150 students per year when it’s all said and done. The 3 historic schools (pictured left) are currently being restored for offices and classrooms for the medical school. And the plans to replace the Ramada Inn downtown with condos has been scraped and the hotel is being considered by ASU to be used as campus housing.
Roosevelt Street in Downtown Phoenix is changing every day. With new condos, apartments, offices and other retail space coming it will be a regular hot spot in Downtown Phoenix. I talked to the developer who owns the property on the northeast corner of 3 rd Street and Roosevelt Street and he plans to build 3 highrises of condos, retail, offices and medical offices. Those Roosevelt Street plans are still in the preliminary stages so I don’t have any more information right now but keep an eye on my website for updates. I also will be moving into my Roosevelt Street downtown Phoenix office by the end of September and should have the grand opening by the first of November. Keep an eye on www.AZNativeProperties.com for more updates.
I talked to another developer who has purchased 11 sites throughout downtown and Central Avenue. He’s not prepared to release information to the public so he asked me not to repeat the details but you can bet they are all going to be high rise condo projects of 10 stories or more. I expect to be able to release information in my next newsletter and should be adding information to www.AZNativeProperties.com soon.
The Alta Phoenix Lofts at Third and Fillmore Streets is planning on breaking ground soon with completion set for early 2007. But you can’t buy these Alta Phoenix Lofts; there will be 328 upscale apartments and five live/work rentals. The developer of Alta Phoenix Lofts thinks they could convert to condos someday but for now he thinks there’s a market for people who can’t purchase. Alta Phoenix Lofts units will range from 700 to 2000 square feet and priced from about $850 to $3000 per month.
Biltmore Phoenix Area Update
Optima Developers of Chicago who are currently building the Optima Biltmore Towers was planning another condominium project on Camelback near 24 th Street but cancelled the plans because they didn’t want to fight the neighborhood groups. The under-construction Optima Biltmore Towers will feature 230 units just south of Camelback on 24 th Street in Phoenix Arizona. The new Optima Developers project was going to be located at 2222 E. Camelback where the M&I Bank is currently located. Optima wants to build 140 feet but the area is zoned for 56 feet. Trump’s development team has the old Hard Rock Café property and is modifying the plans in hopes to get it through the neighborhood groups and Phoenix City Counsel. Keep an eye on www.AZNativeProperties.com and this newsletter for Biltmore area updates.
Strategy for buying and selling!
If you’re interested in selling your house it’s still a good time. Even though there are reports of the market slowing it’s not slowing down much. As I mentioned earlier we didn’t break a record from June to July but we’re still in a hot sellers market. Right now it’s more important than ever to have the right strategy for selling or buying a home. Good homes are selling within days of going on the market and any Realtor can do that in this market, the trick is getting you the most money for the sale of your home and making sure the buyer is capable of closing escrow. Every area of the valley requires a little different strategy so call me for a full analysis of the best way to get the most for your home. As for buying another, there’s a new strategy for that too. Depending on your price range, area of town and the amenities you want, we can create the right strategy that will help you get the home of your dreams. Interest rates are still very low allowing many first time home buyers to get into a new home and others to move up. I’ll work with your lender to get the right loan program that will ensure you get financed and then help you find the right home anywhere in the valley.
               
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