Lennar and CalAtlantic merger creates homebuilding force. “[The two companies] announced that their respective boards of directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement.” Company heavyweights — Lennar CEO Stuart Miller, CalAtlantic President & CEO, Larry Nicholson, and Lennar President, Rick Beckwitt — each weigh in on the many upsides of the homebuilding combo in AZ Business Magazine. http://bit.ly/2BJrCEn
Builders: New policies improving housing market conditions. “Builder confidence improved in December to its highest reading in 18 years,” according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald credits “new policies aimed at providing regulatory relief; meanwhile, chief stat-man Robert Dietz assesses the HMI components and provides a snapshot-forecast for next year’s “single-family construction sector” — in HousingWire. http://bit.ly/2BzlegA
Trump, real estate investors get late-added perk in tax bill; Rose Law Group Partner and Transactional Dept. Director, Cameron Carter, comments. “The change… would allow real estate businesses to take advantage of a new tax break that’s planned for partnerships, limited liability companies and other so-called ‘pass-through’ businesses…” Tax experts in this Bloomberg report call it a “windfall for real estate developers like Trump,” but also say that “[o]rdinary people who invest in rental real estate will also benefit.” Cameron Carter: “We are hopeful that if approved, the proposed tax bill will provide benefits to all of our real estate clients… and that these tax benefits will keep the real estate market in Arizona strong for years to come.” http://bit.ly/2yY2QLy
The average U.S. home can be purchased for 18 Bitcoins. “According to Redfin, cryptocurrency is starting to become part of the discussion with some clients buying and selling homes over the second half of 2017.” But is the use of Bitcoin a “long-term trend” or “just a blip based on the recent spike in value”? Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson weighs in, in World Property Journal. http://bit.ly/2kmt0TQ
MUMMY MOUNTAIN? MORE LIKE ‘MONEY MOUNTAIN’ – Arizona’s priciest home ever sells for $15.65M on Mummy Mountain. “Steve Sanghi, founder of Chandler-based Microchip Technology, paid cash for the 14,200-square-foot home.” You can view a shot of the four-bedroom, eight-bathroom “contemporary-style mansion,” in AZCentral. But to really get your SLIDESHOW money’s worth, be sure to swipe through 51 images of the “second priciest house to sell in Arizona,” which was “also in Paradise Valley.” –> http://bit.ly/2Bgcf6W
Fountain Hills P&Z shifts leadership, approves Adero Canyon plan.Fountain Hills Times reports that “a change in market conditions has caused Toll Brothers to look toward offering a greater diversity of housing and the need is for smaller lots than are currently platted on the property… The change will also convert 167 acres of what would be private property to open space.” And then there’s this: “It was reported that two commissioners, Gene Mikolajczyk and Howie Jones, had resigned their seats on the commission… before the [P&Z] meeting.” http://bit.ly/2BAV0ug
Rancho Sahuarita – Making new home building great again. “Richmond American Homes recently bought 71 finished lots at Entrada La Villita, the newest community in Rancho Sahuarita Master-Planned Community… Ted Herman with Sharpe & Associates, who represented the seller in the transaction told [REDNewsthat] the decision to finish these 40’x 90’ lots… began about one year ago. ‘We were waiting for retail to catch up with price point appreciation,’ Herman said. ‘That seems to be happening now, and the outlook for new home builders looks great again.’ ” http://bit.ly/2B0Zqti
Sedona City Council approves apartment complex. “It may just be a drop in the bucket in terms of an overall need, but many see the approval of a 45-unit apartment complex [on 2.25 acres at Juniper Dr. and SR 89A ] as a start in the right direction.” However, the approval comes with a couple of funky strings attached, one of which is: “Priority will be given for 25 of the 45 units to tenants who are employed locally…” Red Rock News. http://bit.ly/2B0NZ4T
[OPINION] How using eminent domain to seize land for a border wall harms American property owners. “A new study of border takings under the 2006 Secure Fence Act finds that many owners get inadequate compensation, and that the condemnation process is flawed in other ways.” By Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University. (This piece in Reason also features some impressive artwork from Richard Weinstein titled “Eminent Domain.” See if it grabs you the same as it did us.) –> http://bit.ly/2oPAqDG
Pollack: Some early Christmas presents. “Top on the list was that the FED increased the FED Funds rate for the third time this year.” The Monday Morning Quarterback calls it “an indication that the FED believes that the economy is growing at an acceptable pace that allows it to continue adding ‘bullets’ to their gun.” More holiday cheer in data for these “Snapshots”… U.S.: Retail Sales, Manufacturers’ Shipments & Inventories, Consumer Prices & Inflation, Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization (w/ charts!). AZ: Median Prices of Homes Sold – Greater Tucson. http://bit.ly/2BfaAyK
Big changes coming to Sky Harbor designed to keep airport competitive. “By the end of spring 2018, the airport plans to have 16 new stores opening, including one of the first Trip Advisor stores in the country and Sky Harbor’s first medical clinic and pharmacy.” But as PBJ notes, these changes represent “only… part of a multi-billion dollar renovation to keep Sky Harbor thriving.” (Subscriber Content). http://bit.ly/2BfzBtr
ADOT releases report on possible routes for I-11. “State transportation officials have released a report detailing several options for where an interstate might go through Pinal County in the future.” Access this “Alternative Selections Report” and check out a map of the routes — those “Recommended for Advancement,” those “Undergoing Additional Analysis,” and those that have run out of road and are “Recommended for Elimination”– in Casa Grande Dispatch. http://bit.ly/2oLTVgs
EAST SIDE SCHOOL: ‘I FEEL PRETTY, OH SO PRETTY…’ Magazine says Chandler has most beautiful public high school in Arizona. “According to Architectural Digest, the most aesthetically pleasing school [with it’s “blend of Colonial Revival and Spanish Revival styles’] was Chandler High School…” Did you know that “Chandler High School was established in 1914, with the oldest buildings standing today completed in the early 1920s”? More on the school at KTAR. http://bit.ly/2D4jfkG
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2BN1JUa
Arizona’s national monuments escape Zinke-Trump shrink meter. “Four national monuments in Arizona under review for elimination or boundary changes by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke did not make the recommended list to President Donald Trump.” See which four avoided “modifications,” and learn why they’re “not out of the woods yet,” in The Daily Courier. http://bit.ly/2BfbR90
Arizona only has one Senate vote on tax reform, and it’s uncertain.“Senate Republicans are expected to vote on tax reform legislation this week, but one Arizona lawmaker is reportedly still on the fence: U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake.” What sort of “pathway” does Flake reportedly want before “committing to a ‘yes’ vote”? Find out at KTAR. http://bit.ly/2Bg7MRZ
State says it’s making it easy to report out-of state-sales (tax). Did you know that when you “go online — or travel elsewhere — [and] buy” things, you’re “legally required” to send the “applicable tax” on the “purchased… items… to the state”? “State revenue officials are hoping a new tax form and a public relations campaign convinces more Arizonans to” do so. A Capitol Media Services/Howard Fischer report in Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2yYRkiU
Court rules public officials cannot hide communications by use of private cell phones. “The unanimous ruling from a three-judge [Arizona Court of Appeals’] panel contradicts [AG Mark Brnovich’s] opinion earlier this year that concluded communications made by public employees or elected officials solely on private electronic devices or private social media accounts are never public record, even if those devices or accounts are used to conduct public business.” Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. http://bit.ly/2yXKFFT
How consumers could get shafted by new media. “Proponents of major media mergers [Disney/Fox, Sinclair/Tribune] say that consumers will benefit if regulators approve the deals. But consumers, especially those who can least afford it, could get screwed by these deals.” Also from Axios, this RELATED item: “What internet firms are saying now that net neutrality is no more.” http://bit.ly/2kle08A
Anti-government sheriff wants to be part of it. “Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who founded and runs the anti-government group Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, announced in an email over the weekend that he is planning to run for Congress in the special election to replace Rep. Trent Franks.” You can read Mack’s email in Right Wing Watch, a “project” (publication) brought to you by the progressive (left wing) advocacy group, People For the American Way. http://bit.ly/2CFevBc
Women have always farmed in Arizona, but left out of the agricultural narrative. “Arizona has the highest proportion of female farmers – but conditions in this dry desert landscape aren’t easy, and rural isolation has created a tapestry of challenges, by Debbie Weingarten (words) and Audra Mulkern (photos)” — in The Guardian. http://bit.ly/2yYbEkw
