Catherine Reagor, The Republic | azcentral.com
Homebuilders cut their spending on metro Phoenix land during 2014 as new home sales fell.
Last year, builders spent $510 million on Valley land, according to Scottsdale-based Land Advisors Organization. That compares with $709 million in 2013 — the most spent on land by home builders in the Phoenix area since the housing boom of 2004-06.
During 2010 and 2011, builders spent about $120 million a year on Valley land. In 2012, builders paid $610 million for “dirt” in metro Phoenix, signaling their optimism for the new-home market.
Through November, new-home sales in metro Phoenix were down 10 percent from 2013’s pace, according to RL Brown Housing Reports. And housing analysts RL Brown and Greg Burger, publishers of the report, don’t think December new home sales or permits will see a big “bounce.”
