In the News 03/20/06

The first article, Phoenix's Sunnyslope gets new look, rising interest, from the Phoenix Business Journal, reports that 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.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/03/20/newscolumn1.html?t=printable

The second article, Phoenix's real estate industry is talking transportation, from the Arizona Republic, reports that 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. Buyers paid an average of $34,000 an acre for Valley dirt in 2005.

http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0319catherine0319.html

The third article, Homebuilders looking to deal, from the East Valley Tribune, reports that it only takes scanning the local newspaper ads to see some new homebuilders are dealing with a softer market in 2006. For many, its the first time in years that they have had to act more like car dealers by offering fat financial incentives. Engle Homes is offering $30,000 in upgrades, Shea Homes is offering new pools again, and Beazer has advertised price reductions as much as $40,000 on selected homes in its inventory. "The builders are back to marketing houses and marketing subdivisions, which they hadn't been because they had waiting lists for every lot they released," said RL Brown. "Things are getting back to normal, not abnormal. That's a positive sign." Some experts see the incentives as temporary and that builders will work through their excess supply of homes in the market quickly as more people move to the Valley. Part of the excess supply is from homebuyers and investors who are now cancelling contracts because home values have stabilized, or even dropped in some areas.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=61421