The first article, Santan Freeway fuels job market, from the Arizona Republic, reports that the Santan Freeway will deliver big developments and a large number of jobs to Gilbert in 2007. Retail centers from clothes to cars, office towers, and a hospital expansion are all expected to open this year in an area around Val Vista Dr. and the freeway. "We had planned over the years for that to be a center of employment for Gilbert as well as a revenue generator for sales tax," said Kathy Langdon with the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce. Several of the projects coming to Gilbert this year include Santan Motorplex, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, Rome Towers, San Tan Village and Main Street Commons. Shows that growth follows the freeways!

Santan Freeway fuels job market
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The second article, Home buying, selling made easier with hybrid agents, from the Arizona Republic, reports that some Valley Realtors are getting into a new trend, becoming "hybrid agents"-- professionals who double as Realtors and loan officers. Jim Decker, an associate broker with West USA Realty in Peoria, decided to venture into lending as a way to become more versatile and better inform his clients. "I was tired of some of my clients getting bad deals from mortgage companies", Decker said. "It's a huge step in buying a home, and if I can give then the answers they need, the whole transaction goes smoother." To learn the lending side of the industry, Decker teamed up with JSSmith Mortgage, a Scottsdale-based company that offers a training program to help Realtors like Decker make the transition to a hybrid agent. Out of about 70,000 licensed agents in the state, a few hundred double as loan officers. "This seems like a brand new idea, but in a decade, it will be everyday practice," said Jeffrey Smith, president of JSSmith Mortgage.

Home buying, selling made easier with hybrid agents
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The third article, Old, new in Rancho Ventura, from the Arizona Republic, reports that soaring home values in Arcadia the past five years have sparked interest in nearby neighborhoods that are being rediscovered and redeveloped. That includes the 50-year old Rancho Ventura neighborhood, southwest of 44th Street and Thomas Road, which has large, irrigated lots with a mix of well-kept homes and others that show their age. "it's a sleeper of an area in terms of value," said Katherine Coles, a planner for Phoenix's Camelback East Village area. But bargain properties are starting to disappear as interest in the area rises. Median home prices in Arcadia's ZIP code 85018, increased 145 percent to $490,000 between 2001 and 2006. By comparison, the median home price was $218,500 last year in 85008, up 29.3 percent from 2005 and up 100 percent from 2001. That ZIP code is from Thomas Road to Van Buren Street, between 64th and 24th Streets.

Old, new in Rancho Ventura
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