The Dealmaker: 4/24/2017

[OPINION]: Don’t be fooled by smear campaign against APEX. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents APEX Motor Club.) In his piece for InMaricopa, president and founder of Private Motor Sports Group, Jason Plotke, expresses gratitude to Mayor Price and the Maricopa City Council for “wisely” approving APEX. He details how the project will “significantly” benefit the area and praises the council for having “sided with the people of Maricopa and against lobbyists and lawyers funded by an unnamed client outside the community who wanted to kill the motor club.” http://bit.ly/2paRr7X

SPRING BROKERS: REAL ESTATE GONE WILD? – Phoenix real estate market looking up, ASU survey concludes. “[The Spring Brokers Forum Report] included a survey of 180 commercial real estate agents and brokers, active in the multi-family, retail, industrial, land/housing, investment, and office segments of the Phoenix market.” KEY QUOTE: “There are a number of people who believe that the new administration is going to give us 24 more months of expansion, especially in Arizona.” Survey highlights at AZBIGMEDIA. http://bit.ly/2oF2bdE

Nontraditional property types enjoying success. AZBEX recaps its 2017 Phoenix Metro Development Summit where city officials and industry “heavyweights” discussed “where the Valley stands in the current commercial real estate cycle — and where it’s headed, particularly in the areas of “Advanced Manufacturing,” “Healthcare,” “Assisted & Senior Living,” and “Sports Entertainment.” (Noted developments included Lucid Motors and Phoenix Mart.) http://bit.ly/2pauwcL

Plan for 178 homes near Saguaro Park West may find smoother path.  “A plan to build… homes on the historic Lazy K Bar Guest Ranch is headed to a public hearing… more than two years after a similar proposal was rejected twice by the Marana Town Council…. [D]evelopers have found a way around a statute that previously required the proposal to get support from a supermajority of Town Council members.” Check out the maneuver developers used that could render “neighbors’ opposition moot” and require just a “simple majority… for the plan to pass” — at Arizona Daily Star. http://bit.ly/2oEj332

Flagstaff student housing wins in court. “The main argument… was whether a commercial block type building, like The Hub [a 591-bed student housing complex], is allowed under the parcel’s zoning…” Check out arguments from “both sets of attorneys” and get details on how “case law required [that code] ambiguities be decided in favor of the private property owner” — at Arizona Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2ptfJgb

Existing home sales highest since 2007. NAR chief economist, Lawrence Yun: “Bolstered by strong consumer confidence and underlying demand, home sales are up convincingly from a year ago nationally and in all four major regions despite the fact that buying a home has gotten more expensive over the past year.” Mortgage News Daily has the national numbers and regional breakdowns, plus much more from Yun as well as some advice for first-time buyers from NAR President William E. Brown. http://bit.ly/2pXiKCr