The Dealmaker: 4/18/2017

Phoenix considers $9M tax break for high-rises while lawsuit hinders similar project. “[R]esidential towers of 29 stories, 25 stories and 19 stories would add to Phoenix’s skyline at Third and Pierce… The City Council will consider the project [along with a $9M GPLET] April 19…. Meanwhile, work has stopped on a… micro-apartment unit tower at Second and McKinley… [after a suit]… over the $8 million in tax breaks….” Get the story, view the 3rd and Pierce renderings, and/or WOCHIT at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2okf38G

Shea Homes opens sales gallery for $2.5M-plus homes at Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley development. “Shea’s Azure development will have 66 homes at the 105-acre Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley project on Scottsdale Road….The Ritz homes are the first project in the Shea Signature brand of high-end homes.” Shea’s sales and marketing vp, Ken Peterson: “[W]e saw this parcel of real estate as the perfect opportunity to debut what will be our most elevated offering to date.” More on the project in PBJ. http://bit.ly/2oSbB8e

Phoenix Real Estate in March: Sales up 9%, Inventory down 10% YoY.Calculated Risk’s Bill McBride is back with Residential Sales and Inventory figures for March 2017. Bill reports that March is the “fifth consecutive month with a YoY decrease in inventory following eight months with YoY increases.” –> http://bit.ly/2pwU46x

LEFT COAST – Arizona a destination for those leaving coastal California as housing costs rise. “Moves out of the area remain far below levels seen during [the] housing bubble, when… real estate agents urged clients to ‘drive until you qualify.’ But… out-migration is picking up [again] as prices climb…” According to this LA Times story, one couple who left the coast for AZ will have a monthly mortgage nut that will be “about $500 less than what they paid for a two-bedroom apartment in [Orange County].” http://bit.ly/2pe8Ij6

Pollack: Congress – ‘2018 was supposed to be a different story.’ Forget President Trump’s economic and tax package getting through congress this year; the Monday Morning Quarterback reports that there’s even doubt about it happening NEXT year! MMQ points out, however, that “it’s still very early in the game and no one knows how it will play out.” This week’s “Snapshots” –> U.S.: GDP Forecast, Interest Rates, Consumer Sentiment, Manufacturing, Consumer Prices (the unexpected!). AZ: Phoenix – Building Permits, Resale & New Home Prices, Apartment Rents & Vacancy Rates. http://bit.ly/2oSpCmr

Why rising prices don’t discourage prospective buyers. Inman looks at results from Zillow’s “new Home Aspirations Report,” which found (among several other key things) that “more than half (63 percent) of renters said they are confident they will be able to afford a home someday, with 25 percent saying they plan on buying in the next three to five years.” http://bit.ly/2pPkQ6J

Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2pymABT

10% off tickets to the Best Kentucky Derby Party in Arizona, May 6th at Turf Paradise  – http://bit.ly/2p8RGzC