| |
 |
4th Quarter 2005 downtown urban living AZ Native Properties Newsletter
December 15 th, 2006
Dear Friends,
I hope all is well and you’re getting ready for the holiday season. This has been a tremendous year for me, I bought a live/work condo downtown, I got my real estate brokers license and started RooPho Realty, LLC. Please feel free to stop by and say hi if you're in the neighborhood. Before you struggle with how I pronounce it, I’ll help; how I pronounce RooPho phonetically is, "roh‧foh", however you say it is OK with us. As a good friend of mine says, "Call me whatever you like, just don't call me late for dinner." I named my new real estate brokerage RooPho Realty, LLC because my new office (and home) is located in the ROOsevelt/PHOenix Art District. Many thanks to my good friend Kevin Forshay for coming up with the name for me (I think we were drinking martinis). I am also very pleased that Jude Smith has joined me as a urban real estate salesperson. Jude will be helping me with all aspects of the downtown urban real estate business while building his real estate business too. I’m sure you’ll enjoy working with him as much as I hope you have enjoyed working with me. And, of course, we help both buyers and sellers throughout the Valley of the Sun Phoenix Arizona so feel free to contact either of us if you, your family or friends have any real estate questions or needs.
Have you been watching the Metro Phoenix real estate market? If not, it’s been very interesting to say the least. The newspaper is saying the market is slowing but that’s like saying you slowed down to 100mph from 150mph. If interest rates stay reasonable we should be able to continue with a healthy market. And to help you out a bit remember I am giving $1000 towards your closing cost for every contract before December 31st, 2005.
What about this real estate economy?
If you read the Arizona Republic newspaper you’ve probably read the housing market in Phoenix is slowing down and interest rates are climbing and that’s true. Buy like I said, we were going 150 mph and slowed to 100 mph. I did some checking and while home prices went up a record 55.2% in the last 12 months they are still expected to go up anywhere from 10% to 20% in the next 12 months. That is a huge reduction in increase in value granted, BUT home prices went up on average less than 5% per year every year in the 1990’s. And, there are more homes on the market, about 1.5 times as many in October as in May of this year, BUT that doesn’t make it a buyers market although it’s not the sellers market it was earlier this year. The number of days on the market has also increased from 22.8 days in May to 30.5 days in October. BUT can you remember homes on the market for up to 6 months in the 90’s. And then there are interest rates. Rates went up to 6.36% on November 10 th, BUT there were 10% and 11% interest rates in 1990 and from 7% to 10% all through the 90’s. Yes the market is slowing and interest rates are rising but compared to the last 20 years it’s still a good time to buy and interest rates are still low and values are still going up better than many other investments. BTW, most of these numbers came from the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU Polytechnic and articles in the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Business Journal.
New ‘Vertical Living’ in Metro Phoenix
Some people say high-rise living, otherwise known as ‘Vertical Living’ is not going to take off in the Metro Phoenix real estate market. Considering there are currently only a few high rise condos in the Phoenix area today and about 13 currently under construction or in the advanced planning stages and over 25 more that are in the beginning planning stages and developers are still looking for more land to develop and they sell as fast as contracts can be written, I’d say they’re wrong. In the meantime, you might be asking are there really buyers for them? The answer is unequivocally YES! Why do I sound so confident? The sales teams for each of the projects that are currently sold out have told me they had thousands of people on an interest list for a hundred or less condo’s. Also, for over 2 years now, an average of 3 people contact me every single day of the year asking about urban living and many preferring Vertical Living. With all the revitalization and development going in downtown Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe not mention Kierland, Desert Ridge, Chandler, Mesa and Gilbert this Vertical Living thing is really taking off and I for one am glad to see it. Phoenix is finally coming of age and joining other great metropolitan cities with real metropolitan lifestyles.
New Projects around Downtown (I only have room to name a few)
The projects I have listed here are still in the early planning stages. I have preliminary floor plans and price list for most of them if you’re interested. All information I have here is subject to change. I am talking to the developers’ sales teams and getting updates when they are available. I will be adding these to my website soon so watch for more information.
Studios @ 636
This is a great buy for a first time home buyer on a budget or someone who needs a place to stay in downtown Phoenix on occasion. Studios @ 636, a new RooPho Realty listing, is a newly remodeled 10 unit conversion to condos located in downtown Phoenix Arizona. There are 6 smaller studio condo units with a front yard and 4 larger studio condos each with a large back yard and private access gate.
5th and Lincoln high-rise condominium towers
The5th and Lincoln high-rise condominium towers project design calls for 4 retail units and 387 residential units with an average size of 875 square feet (sf) averaging $427 per sf for an average price of $375,000. Prices at 5th and Lincoln high-rise condominium towers will start in the high $100’s to low $200’s and the studios will be over 500 square feet. The largest units at 5th and Lincoln high-rise condominium towers should be over 1400 square feet and priced in the $800’s.
Central and Buchanan high-rise condo towers at Central Ave and Buchanan Street in downtown Phoenix AZ
A total of 387 condos and 4 retail spaces will be built in Central and Buchanan high-rise condo towers, a 19-story downtown Phoenix condo project. The average residential condo unit at Central and Buchanan high-rise condo towers is 937sf, with pricing averaging approximately $420 per sf, which equates to an average condo unit price of well under $400,000. Over 70% of the urban condo units at Central and Buchanan high-rise condo towers will be priced between $280,000 and $450,000. Prices at Central and Buchanan high-rise condo towers should start in the mid $200’s for 600 square feet; the largest penthouse will be over 2300 square feet and priced at about $1.1 million.
3rd and Earll high-rise condominims at 3rd Street and Earll in uptown Phoenix Arizona
3rd and Earll high-rise condominims, a high-rise condominium project to be located in uptown Phoenix, is a gate-guarded urban enclave of townhomes, loft, and high-rise condominium residences. 3rd and Earll high-rise condominims will consist of 3 condominium towers, 24-story, 20-story, and 19-story high-rise towers with 143 of the units being urban townhomes and lofts. 3rd and Earll high-rise condominims will have 755 residential units in total. The average urban residential unit size at 3rd and Earll high-rise condominims is approximately 1,020 sf with projected sales pricing at approximately $425 per sf, which equates to an average residential unit price of under $435,000.
Canvas@1011 Mixed-Use at 3rd Street and Roosevelt (pictured below left)
Canvas@1011 Mixed-Use will be a 20 story mixed use project of condos, office space and retail shopping. No prices are available yet for Canvas@1011 Mixed-Use but unit sizes should start around 600 square feet and the penthouses will be as large as 2700 square feet. Canvas@1011 Mixed-Use will be located in the heart of the Roosevelt Phoenix Art District.
Now for the Trump Update!
Even with that hair he got the city counsel to approve increasing the height restrictions for his project at the Biltmore. That means he can build his project and Wescor can remodel the Biltmore Fashion Park with high rise residential towers. Opponents are getting signatures to force a public vote to restrict building height limits to 56’ everywhere in Phoenix except downtown unless approved by voters. Trump is also looking at a few properties in downtown Phoenix and he and partner Bayrock Group are discussing redoing the Arizona Center with condo towers and remodeled retail. They’ve also expressed interest in the downtown Ramada Inn site. It’s interesting that he can’t remodel his hair but he can do all of these real estate projects. Stay tuned to see what Trump does next.
What to keep your eye on!
Watch my website for information on the following locations. Developers have bought up the land with intent to develop condos, townhomes and retail spaces. I’ll be updating my website as soon as the information is available.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
               
|