By Philip Haldiman, Editor-in-Chief | The Dealmaker
Real estate experts in Pinal County weighed-in on last year and what 2015 has in store at the January Pinal Partnership breakfast this morning.
Panelists extolled wins in the multi-family and industrial sectors for the county, while single-family homes remained flat last year.
Chris Brozina, Mark-Taylor vice president of development, said multi-family was the darling in Maricopa County last year, surpassing pre-recession levels and showing great signs of continued improvement.
Mark-Taylor delivered 2,500 units in 2013 and 1,450 last year, he said, but are still not flirting with the demand level which is approximately 8,000 units per year.
Additionally, construction hard costs up 33 percent.
“This is the most fluid and unpredictable aspect of our business and it runs the business. And it’s not a product of commodities, it’s absolutely labor,” Brozina said. “Contractors working on our projects say they say can’t start another project until another one stops.”
Jackob Andersen, president of Saint Holdings LLC., said the industrial sector in Pinal County is also seeing positive movement.
Andersen recently closed a deal to bring Tractor Supply Company, the country’s fastest growing retailer, to his Casa Grande Industrial Park.
“People are coming to the door now more than before,” Andersen said. “However we’re not just competing with (cities in Arizona) but with Reno and other states. So we really need to work together to bring jobs to the state.”
While multi-housing and industrial progressed in 2014, single-family remained flat in Pinal County, a reflection of the rest of the state.
Dan Bonow, manager of land development for the Arizona division of Pulte/Del Webb, said in 2015 he hopes more renters will return to single family homes.
People are trying to repair their credit, which is fueling the multi-family sector, he said.
“People are interested, but are tied down by existing homes,” Bonow said. “We really need to raise the bar and bring more sense of urgency.”
The experts agreed that an increase in jobs would give a push to all aspects of the real estate industry.
Brozina said a movement back to occupational trades would also help the industry.
“Everybody thinks they need to have a college degree,” he said. “As an industry, there has been a massive move away from trades, and probably for society as whole. That is missing.”
