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Metro Phoenix Home Prices Continue Rise
The Arizona Republic :: June 27, 2012
Metro Phoenix home prices continued to rapidly climb in May. The median sales price of a home in the region is up 32 percent from May 2011, according to the latest report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. During last month alone, the cost to buy a Phoenix-area house climbed 7 percent to $147,000. The region's home prices have rebounded back to early 2003 levels. More regular buyers and investors coupled with a shrinking supply of homes for sale are propelling metro Phoenix home prices higher. ASU housing analyst Mike Orr said in his report "high demand and low supply" remain the dominant factors in Phoenix's housing market.
7 Builders Commit to Mesa's Eastmark
The Arizona Republic :: June 29, 2012
Builders are spending $50 million to buy the first home lots in Mesa's Eastmark, the former location of the GM Proving Grounds. It's the first major multiple-builder land purchase in a new metro Phoenix community in five years. Houses on the 709 lots bought by seven builders will be for sale to customers early next year. At the height of the housing boom in 2006, developer Scottsdale-based DMB paid $260 million for its 3,200 acres of the site, where GM raced Corvettes and tested other cars for decades. But, it was clear by the end of 2007 that the housing market was heading for a serious downturn.
The Top 10 US Metros for Economic Growth; Phoenix 5th
Phoenix Business Journal :: June 27, 2012
A new report from the Brookings Institute shows Phoenix has the fifth-strongest economy in the nation, buoyed by a recovering housing market. The latest Metro Monitor Report from Brookings, which looks at 2012 first-quarter data, shows Phoenix moved up from a No. 9 ranking in the previous quarter. The report tracks the economic progress of the country’s 100 largest metro areas. Phoenix ranked second in the nation for housing prices, even though the report indicated prices fell 0.9 percent in the most recent quarter. That was a much stronger performance than the national average, however: a decline of 2.1 percent.
Bank of America Plans Hiring in Phoenix Despite Global Cuts
Phoenix Business Journal :: June 29, 2012
Bank of America plans on hiring in the Phoenix area, even as it undergoes a global restructuring and sheds thousands of jobs. Benito Almanza, Arizona market president for BofA, said this state is one of four markets where the bank expects to add staff. It is too early to determine how many people will be hired in the Valley, but officials hope to complete an assessment of the bank’s properties by the end of the year to determine how many employees can be accommodated in existing space.
Diesel-Engine Maker Southwest Products Corp. Moves to Surprise
The Arizona Republic :: June 26, 2012
Arizona could lose between 42,000 and 127,000 jobs related to defense contracting over the next eight years, depending on what Southwest Products Corp., a diesel-engine manufacturer, has announced plans to build an assembly plant in Surprise, bringing at least 120 jobs and $10 million in investment. Surprise leaders were expected to unveil the company's plans at a City Council meeting Tuesday night. It's the latest in a string of mid-size employers to relocate to the northwest Valley city's industrial park due, in part, to city incentives and the availability of cheap land. "We're open for business and people know it," Surprise Mayor Sharon Wolcott said. "Jobs has been at the very top of our agenda for residents for a long time."
Building for the Future: $500 Million in Projects Span Four ASU Campuses
Phoenix Business Journal :: June 29, 2012
For Arizona State University, the rush is on to build $500 million worth of residence halls, classrooms, science labs, academic villages, dining halls and recreation centers at locations from downtown Tempe to Lake Havasu City. This is boosting the state’s real estate and construction industry at a time when significant projects can be hard to find. Cities, nonprofit agencies, construction companies, architecture firms, and even the YMCA and the post office in downtown Phoenix are joining in. “It definitely has been a positive impact on the economy,” said Lorraine Bergman, president of Caliente Construction Inc. in Mesa.
Biltmore Investors Looking to Dump Hilton Contract, Sell Resort
Phoenix Business Journal :: June 29, 2012
The iconic Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa may soon be up for sale — and without any Hilton contracts — as its owners attempt to emerge from almost a year and a half in the trenches of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A group led by New York-based hedge fund Paulson & Co. and co-investor Winthrop Realty Trust bought the resort out of foreclosure last year and placed it into bankruptcy shortly thereafter.
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