The Major Driver in The Region's Growth is Residential...

Report: All segments of real estate market likely to keep growing, from the Phoenix Business Journal, reports that Metro Phoenix is expected to experience more economic gains this year because of continued growth in all sectors, from residential to commercial, retail, office and industrial, according to a new report from CB Richard Ellis' Phoenix office. The major driver in the region's growth is residential housing, in which there were more than 63,000 permits issued for new homes in the Valley in 2005. CB Richard Ellis Managing Director Gregory Coxon said, "will we have another record this year---I'm not ready to say that, but I think it's going to be a darned good single-family housing market." With regard to growth in the outlying areas, he added, "I'm not sure if the boundary ends at Casa Grande of Eloy, or beyond. Where is the edge today? I'm not sure I know." The article states that the Valley's industrial vacancy rate is only 5.5 percent and still declining. By the end of 2006, the Valley's office vacancy rate is expected to be 11.5 percent, down from the 12.6 percent at the end of 2005.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/02/06/daily50.html?t=printable