Market News 04/17/06

Housing blip a speed bump, not a slump, from the Phoenix Business Journal, reports that the region's housing market has gone from red hot to lukewarm in just a few quarters, but most housing experts see the current slowdown as a market correction and not a more serious slump. "The current slowdown in the market is a short-term imbalance caused by excessive investor activity, rapid price run-ups in a short period of time and, in some cases, poor market analysis by builders that, collectively, have led to an oversupply of housing in certain price ranges, in certain areas," said Rebecca Burnham, a real estate attorney with the law firm Greenberg Traurig. In December 2004, Phoenix-area resale homes averaged just under eight days on the market and in January 2005, that number dipped to six days. A month later it increased to 35 days, and in January 2006, it rose to 49 days. In February 2006 it rose again to 55 days. Housing industry experts hope the Valley housing markets' slowing is a market correction and that the region can be propelled by continued population and job gains. As the "investor" homes that are now on the market sell, the market should get back to inventory levels that are more normal and sustainable.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/04/17/story6.html?t=printable


Sky Harbor to get some relief, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Phoenix is poised to become an operator of Williams Gateway Airport, a significant move that solidifies the airports future role as the primary reliever to Sky Harbor International Airport. This move gives Phoenix a major voice in how and when the fledgling commercial airport would begin to alleviate congestion at Sky Harbor, the nation's seventh busiest in terms of passengers. "The demand for air service in the Valley is growing so rapidly that we are not concerned of a threat to Sky Harbor," said Deborah Ostreicher, an airport spokeswoman. "We're interested in the sustainability in Valley aviation as a whole." Look for this area to be a real estate hot spot for commercial, industrial and retail development.

http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0415gateway0415.html