| December 2006 News Articles | ||||||||||
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12-01: 50,000 work in airpark area, from the Arizona Republic, reports that development of 11 large office buildings in the Scottsdale Airpark area has pushed employment beyond 50,000 jobs, a benchmark that observers thought was at least 4 years away. Scottsdale Airpark's growth is spread over 2,900 acres, roughly northwest of Cactus Road and Loop 101 and includes Kierland and adjacent commercial areas on the Phoenix side of Scottsdale Road. It is one of Arizona's largest employment centers, along with downtown Phoenix and the area surrounding Sky Harbor Airport. Jim Keeley, a commercial Realtor specializing in the Scottsdale Airpark area, predicts 55,000 jobs by 2010. Keeley said the area's commercial real estate market is starting to show signs of leveling off, with land prices holding at about $25 to $30 per square foot since 2005. He noted that in typical cycles the commercial market trails the residential sector by 18 to 24 months. 12-01: Developers rush to CityNorth, from the East Valley Tribune, reports that CityNorth, a billion-dollar mixed-use project located at the northeast corner of Loop 101 and 56th Street, has recently broken ground and is expected to become a commercial hub of the northeast Valley. The 144-acre project is expected to have 5 million square feet of mixed-use space. Up to 1,300 residences will occupy the upper floors of several buildings, with office, retail and restaurants on the lower floors. It will also include hotels and other commercial uses. The first phase, a 70-acre portion projected to cost $1.2 billion, is slated for completion in Spring 2008. The developer, Thomas J. Klutznick Co., already have a commitment from Nordstrom for a 144,000 square-foot store. Less than two miles from CityNorth is the 2,200-acre Palisene master-planned community being developed by Westcor. To the east of Palisene is DMB's One Scottsdale project at the northeast corner of Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=79882 12-01: Mortgage rates sink to 6.14 percent, from MSNBC.com, reports that mortgage rates fell to their lowest levels since January. Freddie Mac reports that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.14 percent, down from 6.18 percent last week. That was the lowest rate since January 26th, when rates were at 6.12 percent! It marked the third straight weekly decline in rates. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, said those declines have now pushed long-term mortgage rates below where they were at this time last year and should help spur a rebound in housing. "Mortgage applications for home purchases in November have remained healthy, largely because of the drop in mortgage rates and a softening in home prices in some areas," he said. A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.26 percent. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7148582/ 12-05: Auction aims to start idles home project, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Scottsdale-based Charlevoix Homes LLC has offered $29 million in a Bankruptcy Court settlement to purchase the unfinished Turner-Dunn homes and land in the Pinal County communities of Maricopa and Casa Grande. Charlevoix Homes plans to finish the homes at the original contract price for buyers who still want them. Half-finished homes have sat for most of the year since Turner-Dunn walked away from construction and contracts early in 2006 with about $650,000 in earnest money from more than 150 buyers, and millions owed to subcontractors and banks. Charlevoix plans to count buyers' earnest money and may be willing to double-count it in some cases to close deals and apply those payments toward new homes in Charlevoix's other developments, CEO Mike Roberts said. Turner-Dunn's collapse prompted an ongoing investigation by the Arizona Department of Real Estate and lawsuits. Subcontractors slapped liens on Turner-Dunn's housing lots and in some cases on new homes that buyers had moved into. The bankruptcy trustee is still investigating transactions by Dunn and Turner. 12-07: Auction aims to start idles home project, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Scottsdale-based Charlevoix Homes LLC has offered $29 million in a Bankruptcy Court settlement to purchase the unfinished Turner-Dunn homes and land in the Pinal County communities of Maricopa and Casa Grande. Charlevoix Homes plans to finish the homes at the original contract price for buyers who still want them. Half-finished homes have sat for most of the year since Turner-Dunn walked away from construction and contracts early in 2006 with about $650,000 in earnest money from more than 150 buyers, and millions owed to subcontractors and banks. Charlevoix plans to count buyers' earnest money and may be willing to double-count it in some cases to close deals and apply those payments toward new homes in Charlevoix's other developments, CEO Mike Roberts said. Turner-Dunn's collapse prompted an ongoing investigation by the Arizona Department of Real Estate and lawsuits. Subcontractors slapped liens on Turner-Dunn's housing lots and in some cases on new homes that buyers had moved into. The bankruptcy trustee is still investigating transactions by Dunn and Turner. 12-07: 444-unit condo project in Surprise advances, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Chicago-based Terrapin Properties had its 444-unit Bellazano condo project approved by Surprise Planning & Zoning, paving the way for the start of the project located at Parkview Place just south of Grand Ave. The project will have one, two and three-bedroom units ranging from 1,072 to 1,755 square feet. Prices will span from the low $200,000s to the high $300,000s. Bellazano will have a 6,333 square-foot clubhouse with a fitness center, yoga room, entertainment kitchen, resort-style pool, paved walking trails and two dog runs. Just north of Bellazano, the first residents of Park Place Condominiums are moving in. That 258-unit complex, developed by Diversified Real Estate Group, has condo units from $200,000 to $285,000. It has sold 207 of its 258 units. 12-07: Mortgage demand rises as rates fall, refinancing surges, from the USA TODAY, reports that mortgage applications rose sharply last week as 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 5.98%, down 0.15 percentage point from the previous week. That's the lowest since Oct 7, 2005. Interest rates were also below year-ago levels of 6.32%. "The decline in mortgage rates and the slowing in home price appreciation, along with the build-up in inventories, has led to a much better situation for home buyers through increased affordability as well as more inventory to choose from," said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital in New York. "Households are saying on surveys that home buying conditions have improved notably, and that has coincided with the stabilization in home sales." http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/housing/2006-12-06-mortgages-mba_x.htm 12-08: Falling mortgage rates = big savings, from the USA TODAY, reports that mortgage rates have fallen for 10 of the past 13 weeks and are now averaging 6.11%, the lowest since January, according to Freddie Mac. Six months ago, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.67%. The average this year is 6.44%. The unexpected but steady decline in rates could cushion falling home sales by making mortgage payments more affordable. Lower rates will also help the millions of homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages that are resetting to higher rates. "These low rates really have come as a surprise, considering previous forecasts," said Greg McBride, a senior analyst at Baknrate.com. "And I don't see these rates going up by a significant measure anytime soon." "Lower rates should improve the affordability issue, which has really become a challenge to a lot of American homeowners," said LaVaughn Henry, an economist for The PMI Group, a mortgage insurance company. 12-11: The Housing Hangover: Take Two Aspirin and Call Me in 2008, from the Elliott Pollack website, reports on local economist Elliott Pollack's latest report on the housing market. Elliott points out that people forget that housing is cyclical. In 2004 and 2005, there was an explosion of roughly 123,000 single-family permits pulled in the metro area, yet demographics for that same time period supported only 84,000 to 90,000 units were needed. That led to an oversupply of between 15,000 to 25,000 units, and has led to the current "inventory correction". Elliott states that historically based on population inflows, we should be doing 43,000 to 44,000 new homes in the Valley, and that we will need to go through a period of under-production to get rid of the excess inventory. He says that the worse 2007 is in terms of new home permits, the better off we will be and the quicker we will pull out of this oversupply market. Very good article for a true representation of the market. 12-12: Land sale plan raises ire, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Tempe-based SunCor Development Company has applied to the State Land Department to purchase a 1,713-acre tract of land northeast of Scottsdale and Happy Valley roads. This has angered Scottsdale leaders who want to preserve that land as open space. But a price tag of nearly $500 million could put it out of Scottsdale's reach. "This is so premature," Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross said Monday, adding that the city had not expected this land's sale for at least five years. The 1,713-acre tract stretches all the way to Pima Road and Dynamite Blvd., and has a wash and power line cutting across it that will limit how much can be developed. It is zoned for low-density housing of no more than one home per acre. The land has not been appraised yet but State Land Commissioner Mark Winkelman roughly estimates that it could bring in close to $300,000 per-acre. The auction for it is not likely for 9 to 12 months, he added. "Bringing it forward does not prevent Scottsdale from purchasing it," Winkelman said, adding that the city will have to prioritize which lands it wants most for its preserve. 12-13: Nov. housing market in the Valley held steady, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Metropolitan Phoenix's housing market continues to show a steady pulse, with prices for existing homes edging up less than 1 percent in November to $259,000. 5,040 homes sold in November, up from the 4,985 sales recorded in October 2006, according to the latest housing report from the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU. Last year, nearly 7,200 homes sold in November. "Instead of being overactive, or no pulse, it's running at a normal pulse," said Jay Butler, who heads the Real Estate Center. "It's a good, strong pulse. It's just not the pulse people like." Butler added that sales and prices are much more sustainable than those recorded in 2005. Sellers have been able to get about the same price for their homes for the past several months. Prices varied throughout the Valley, with Scottsdale showing a median resale price increase of 5.9 percent from November 2005 to November 2006, while Goodyear saw prices drop 11.9 percent over last year. 12-14: Freeway projects to get fast-tracked, from the Arizona Republic, reports that plans to speed up construction of some Valley freeway projects by as much as 14 years were approved Wednesday by the Maricopa Association of Governments. MAG approved acceleration of six freeway projects in various parts of the Valley. The plan still needs to be approved by the State Transportation Board on Friday, which is expected to occur. The Valley projects that will move up on the construction schedule include: 12-18: Valley's next boom: Buckeye, from the Arizona Republic, reports that more than a dozen huge developments are sprouting up on both sides of the 30-mile long Sun Valley Parkway, west of the White Tank Mountains in Buckeye, an area expected to draw a quarter of all the Valley's new homes during the next few decades. "It's not if but when Sun Valley's growth takes off," said national housing analyst Tim Sullivan. "It's the logical place where metro Phoenix's growth will head in the next 10 to 20 years." In 2000, fewer than 50 homes were built in Buckeye. Last year, 5,000 went up. With its recent annexations, Buckeye already has more land than Tucson or Mesa. The article lists many of the bigger developments planned or underway in the area, including Douglas Ranch, Tartesso, Trillium and Sun City Festival. Developers in the Sun Valley area have secured water and utility service for the area and are already building homes. Sun Valley is bisected by the Sun Valley Parkway, which was built in the 1980's by developers banking on the area's growth. 12-18: Home buyer is suing seller in fissure flap, from the Arizona Republic, reports that one homeowner is suing her property's previous owners and real estate agents involved in the deal over fissures that have appeared on the property they purchased. It is the latest round in an ongoing battle between home buyers and developers over the growing fissure problem. The Etenhousers purchased a property near the Santan Mountains in February 2004 for $230,000, but nearly three years later, they feel the value of the home has plummeted because of three fissure cracks that have shattered their land, cracked their tile floors and separated walls and ceilings. The suit alleges that the sellers lied about known defects on the property and that the agents should have known that the property contained fissures. ADRE has recently changed its subdivision reports to include a separate section for fissure disclosure. 12-19: SEV freeway projects on fast track, from the Arizona Republic, reports that in addition to the West Valley projects that received fast-track status from the State Transportation Board, two SEV projects were also accelerated. The two SEV projects are:
The Maricopa Association of Governments identified and approved the projects needing state appropriations, also known as the Statewide Transportation Acceleration Needs, or STAN, fund. 12-20: Builder offers buyers a high-tech house, from the Arizona Republic, reports that homeowners in Shea Homes' LaMirada at Seville in south Gilbert options for security cameras at the front and back doors and access to GoAccess Portal, a system that allows for remote viewing of the cameras, remote control of lights and air conditioning, and monitoring e-mails that send parents notification when their children send or receive with phrases such as "meet me". Shea Homes tested the software for a year and a half before offering it to customers. The system runs from $780 up to $5,000, depending on what the customer wants. Shea ultimately plans to offer the system Valleywide. 12-22: Arizona growth fastest in U.S., from the Arizona Republic, reports that Arizona ended Nevada's 19-year reign as the nation's fastest growing state, according to the lasted U.S. Census numbers. Arizona had a population growth rate of 3.6 percent in 2006, adding 213,311 people. That brings the state's population to more than 6.1 million and makes Arizona the nation's 16th largest state. 12-22: 2006 housing market shows signs of stability in inventory, demand, from the Arizona Republic Scottsdale, reports that Scottsdale homeowners should find comfort that the bottom didn't drop out of the market and that home prices are relatively stable during 2006, and that there was no bubble bursting. Sales of existing homes in Scottsdale are on track to reach about 5,200 in 2006, down nearly 40% from last year's torrid pace. But the average monthly median home price this year is just shy of the median price of $595,000 from November 2005, evidence of the Northeast Valley market's stability, according to figures from the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU. "The big picture thing is that sales activity has returned to normal and prices have held," said Karl Stauffer, manager of Diamond GMAC Realty in Scottsdale. "The big fear was that prices would drop off the edge of the world." Scottsdale's inventory of existing homes priced under $1 million has dropped 9.5 percent since late September, said Stauffer. "It's getting back to supply and demand," he said, adding that the market is absorbing the oversupply of new houses and that will help the resale market. 12-27: A recovery in Housing? Not so fast, from MSNBC.com, reports that a BusinessWeek analysis of the past three decades shows that if history repeats itself, it's likely to take 15 years or more for many parts of the country to get back to their inflation-adjusted peaks. The article states that for residential real estate, the outlook ranges from mildly positive to awful. The biggest losers will fall into one of these groups: cities like Detroit are suffering economic contractions; cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and others in California where prices are extraordinarily high and have barely begun to adjust; and cities like Miami, Las Vegas, and Phoenix that have a huge overhang of unsold houses or condos. The article cites several economists predicting housing prices will fall from 3 to 10 percent from the end of 2006 to the end of 2007. 12-28: Valley home inventory slowly dropping, from the East Valley Tribune, reports that after shooting up rapidly in 2006, the number of existing Valley homes on the market has inched down in the past couple of months. About 43,800 homes are currently up for resale, down from a peak of roughly 48,000 two or three months ago, said Robert Rucker, CEO of the Arizona Regional MLS. "I think it's good to see the inventory levels dropping even if it's just 3,000 or 4,000," he said. Rucker said he expects to see inventory levels continue to drop to more normal levels in the coming months. Historically, the Valley has averaged 30,000 to 35,000 home listings at any given time, he said. Look for this trend to continue as builders and home sellers reduce prices to move the excess inventory. 12-29: Existing home sales edge up in November as prices fall, from the USA TODAY, reports that the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes rose 0.6% in November. That followed a 0.5% sales increase in October and marked the first back-to-back sales gains since the spring of 2005. The slight increase in sales were not enough to halt the slide in home prices. The median price in November dropped to $218,000, down 3.1% from the price a year ago. David Lereah, chief economist for the Realtors, said he believe sales of existing homes would fall 9% this year and 1% drop in 2007 as the markets undergo a correction following what many economist believe was a real estate speculative bubble. He predicted price declines would continue in December and for the early part of 2007. He said these were necessary adjustments that were luring buyers back into the market. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2006-12-28-existing_x.htm 12-29: GM Proving Grounds sold to developer for $265 mil, from the Arizona Republic, reports that DMB Associates closed on 3,200-acres from General Motors on Thursday, one of the biggest land deals this year. The property is part of the 5,000 acre General Motors Proving Grounds. The other 1,800-acres was sold to Phoenix developer William Levine in 2004. Levine is planning a mixed-use development on that land including industrial, Class A office and residential. DMB has not specified what it will do with the property but it is expected to contain a variety of housing and commercial uses. "Our goal is to develop a project that contributes to Mesa's future and the diversified economic base of the East Valley", said Drew Brown, DMB's president. http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1229biz-proving1229.html http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=81410 12-29: Words matter, from the Los Angles Times, reports that studies offers advice on what to say - and what not to say. Words matter. Wars have started over them. Civilizations have collapsed because of them. And it would appear that the speed with which a house sells might be determined by the words used. As listings grow old on the vine and frustrated sellers grapple for the slightest edge, the findings of several academics might offer some guidance. Researcher Paul Anglin, who teaches real estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph in Ontario, was surprised that the buying public put style over substance. Words that denoted "curb appeal" or general attractiveness helped a property sell faster than those that spoke of "value" and "price." Homes described as "beautiful" moved 15 percent faster and for 5 percent more in price than the benchmark. "Good-value" homes sold for 5 percent less than average. Anglin's study isn't alone in efforts to determine what language moves the market. The impact of listing language was covered in a National Bureau of Economic Research study that looked at whether real estate agents selling their own homes hold out for a higher price. (They do; the study found they take longer to sell but fetch a higher price.) Words that suggested desirable attributes - "granite," "maple," "gourmet" - translated into a higher sale price, the study found. University of Texas-San Antonio finance and real estate professor Ronald C. Rutherford found among other things, that buyers read between the lines. If you can't find anything better to say than "new paint," perhaps it's best to say nothing at all. Rutherford advice is "avoid the word 'motivated.' " http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/admark/la-rewords10dec10,1,7671480.story?ctrack=1&cset=true | ||||||||||
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