Coolidge Leaders Aim To Brighten Future...

Coolidge leaders aim to brighten future, preserve downtown's past, from the Arizona Republic, reports that the city of Coolidge in Pinal County is moving to make downtown a thriving area in the midst of all the projected housing that is expected to occur there. Currently, 30 to 40 percent of the building in downtown Coolidge are vacant, and many were built in the 1940's and 1950'. In addition, the area isn't considered pedestrian friendly. To plan the future of downtown, Coolidge has hired HyettPalma, Inc., a national consulting firm, to recruit businesses, enhance public spaces and improve traffic flow. City planner Joshua Busard said the city is also forming a committee of community leaders who are interested in improving downtown. "They will help take surveys and talk to business owners and property owners in the downtown area." he said.
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Job Growth Headed To Peak Levels...

Job growth headed to peak levels, from the Phoenix Business Journal, reports that Arizona employment is expected to grow by 4.6 percent this year, which would make 2006 the second-best year for job growth since 1998, according to the Blue Chip Economic Outlook. Through the first six months of this year, nonfarm jobs were up by 5.2 percent. The outlook is not quite as positive for the real estate sector. Second quarter figures from the National Association of Realtors rated Arizona's 26,9 percent drop in single-family residential sales the steepest of any state. Although that represents a sharp drop from 2005, the actual level of activity tracks very closely to what should be expected based on historical performance of the Arizona economy, said Lee McPheters, contributing editor. "This year will most likely see sales of new homes and resales revert to trend levels, down sharply compared to recent years but not a collapse in the market when viewed over the longer term," he said.


http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/08/28/daily23.html?t=printable

Home Sales Slowdown Seen Spreading...

Home sales slowdown seen spreading, from MSNBC.com, reports that the slowdown in the once sizzling housing market is spreading, with 28 states and the District of Columbia reporting spring sales declines, led by big drops in former boom areas of Arizona (down almost 27 percent), Florida and California. Nationally, sales were down 7 percent from April through June compared with the same period in 2005, according to the report released by the National Association of Realtors. The report showed the biggest declines occurred in states that were enjoying red-hot sales during the five-year housing boom. In all, 20 states showed sales increases, led by Alaska, Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina and Vermont. In a separate survey of price changes in 151 metropolitan areas, the Realtors reported that 26 metro areas experienced outright price declines while 37 areas were still enjoying double-digit price increases.



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14359890/

Goodyear Sees Huge Growth...

Goodyear sees huge growth to south, from the Arizona Republic, reports that the city of Goodyear hopes to see the city grow by more than two-thirds by annexing county land south toward Interstate 8. Under the plan, Goodyear could see its population grow to 565,000 at build-out. Goodyear's population in mid 2005 stood at 44,000. A transportation corridor linking Loop 303 to I-8, along with master-planned communities, would swallow up a 95-square-mile swath of rural Maricopa County. The annexation would allow Goodyear to pick up Mobile, a small town that would likely become a village of Goodyear. The Goodyear annexation is on the heels of Buckeye's recently announced huge annexation, 108 square miles.



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Housing Market Decline Arrives...

Housing market decline arrives, from the Arizona Republic Scottsdale, reports that the Valley's declining housing market finally caught up with Scottsdale, with the city's overall median home values dropping in July for the first time in years. Scottsdale's median resale price dropped 9.4 percent in July to $580,000, while sales of existing homes fell 6.5 percent, according to the numbers released by the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU. Condo prices fell 1.8 percent, to $260,000, and sales fell off 8 percent. South Scottsdale saw home prices decline 6.3 percent to $304,425. Paradise Valley's median price fell 1.8 percent to $1.4 million.

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Used-Home Prices Dropped In July...

Used-home prices dropped in July, but sales up from June, from the Arizona Republic, reports that the median resale price of a Valley home fell to $264,900 last month, after climbing to a record $267,000. The number of July resales rose to 5,545, up from the 5,460 in June. However, July's totals were the weakest since July 1999, when 5,240 resales were recorded. In July 2005, 10,200 resales were recorded. For the first seven months of this year, there were 41,835 resales, compared with 68,235 during the same time frame last year. The numbers were released by the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU.

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Condos Revert Back to Rentals...

As demand cools, condos revert back to rentals, from MSNBC.com, reports that due to a softening of the housing market and the increased demand in the rental market, many condo conversion projects across the nation are converting condos back to rental units. "There was a huge craze," said Larry Leitzman, a Tampa-based researcher with Grubb & Ellis. "Everybody was taking apartment buildings and converting them to condo's. A lot of them are reeling them back in and taking the apartments that didn't sell and converting them back to rentals," he added. The article notes that Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix as markets seeing conversions of condos back into rental units. Estimates are that between 25 percent and 40 percent of all condos being developed or converted in those markets are likely to be offered as rentals instead. Condo conversions peaked in September 2004 when nearly 28,000 units were converted. Levels fell back to 3,354 units in June 2005, and experts see further softening in the number of condo conversions for the remainder of 2006 and 2007.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14231446/

Are Housing Prices Headed For A Big Fall?

Are housing prices headed for a big fall?, from MSNBC.com, reports that as the slump in U.S. housing markets picks up steam, homeowners and sellers in the once hottest markets of the country now face the biggest price declines, analysts say. And even if the U.S. economy remains healthy, it could be a year--or more-- before the market bottoms out, they say. Sellers and builders coast to coast are making concessions on homes that don't show up in the official sales price, like paying closing costs or a free pool. "So the effective price is lower and probably already falling, but you don't see that in the market price," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com. "I'm expecting 5 to 10 percent peak-to-trough declines in a third to maybe half of the nation's markets," he added. The markets hardest hit will be the same ones that had the biggest price run-ups last year, including the Northeast and East coast down to Washington, D.C.; much of Florida; California; hot western markets like Arizona and Las Vegas, and once-strong markets like Chicago and Minneapolis.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14172172/

Pinal County Unveils 5-Year Plan to Improve Transportation...

Pinal looks at the road ahead, County unveils 5-year plan to improve transportation, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Pinal County officials hope to alleviate some traffic congestion with a five-year plan to add miles of new paved roads and continue maintenance on the county's worn and rough roads. The plan will cost about $24 million, with funding coming from the county's recently extended half-cent transportation sales tax. County officials stressed the capital improvement plan is part of an overall push with developers and state officials to improve Pinal County transportation. ADOT is planning new freeways in the area, but they are at least ten years away. But improvements to existing two-lane state highways could begin in a few years. The article lists the main transportation projects planned for Pinal County. Growth follows the transportation corridors!



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Ariz.: Wells Fargo to Offer 40-Year Mortgage Loans...

Wells Fargo has joined Chase and a small number of other lenders in offering 40-year mortgages in Arizona, which has become a more expensive housing market for first-time buyers and others due to several years of high home appreciation.
Although the 40-year fixed-rate product offers lower monthly payments than 30-year loans, it does not allow borrowers to build equity as quickly as the shorter-term mortgage.
Wells Fargo says interest rates on 40-year mortgages will be about 0.25 percent higher than on 30-year mortgages and adds that the new product could dampen borrower interest in interest-only loans, which also lower costs for consumers--but only in the initial years. Forty-year mortgages have begun to catch on in expensive markets over the past year, and a few lenders have started offering 50-year mortgages in California.

Condo Market Is Showing Signs Of Slowing...

Condos opening as fever dips, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Scottsdale's condo market is showing signs of slowing just as the Hotel Valley Ho condo project is ready to complete its first condos. "It's certainly not as strong as it was two years ago when people were signing up without even looking at anything," said Alyssa Wick Thomas, a sales agent for Russ Lyon Realty. "Now they're analyzing everything and crunching the numbers." About half of the Valley Ho's 37 condos have sold. Some other projects in the first wave of what is expected to be 2,000 new downtown Scottsdale condos will welcome their first residents during the next few months, including Optima Camelview, Main Street Plaza and Scottsdale Waterfront Residences. Many potential buyers put deposits down on condo units in 2005, but now as the developers are getting their public reports in hand, some buyers are canceling. It is clear that many were just testing the waters. Scottsdale's resale condo market has seen sales dip 18 percent from May to June. Valleywide, sales of existing condos were off 30 percent from May to June.

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