San Tan incorporation effort ‘shattered.’ What’s this? Is Dealmaker repeating itself, highlighting the SAME story as last Friday? Not exactly. Last week’s story came courtesy of SanTanValley.com while today’s is in San Tan Valley Sentinel. And although there’s a bit unavoidable overlap between the two reports, this latest coverage fills in further details on what has, apparently, brought an end to the San Tan Valley “incorporation effort.” http://bit.ly/2oUMfGh
Phoenix-area golf course communities not going away anytime soon. Some Valley golf courses are “looking a little rough, and a few others are losing holes or completely being torn up to make way for new houses.” When are golf courses a “birdie for homeowners”? When are they “a bogey”? AZCentral real estate reporter Catherine Reagor looks into it. http://bit.ly/2tw9ydY
New golf course, million-dollar homes slated for Scottsdale’s Desert Mountain. As if to underscore the above AZCentral headline, PBJ this morning rolled out an “Exclusive” paywall-piece featuring renderings and details for “Seven,” a “new expensive residential enclave [from Van Tuyl Cos. and M3 Cos.] with homes priced between $1 million and $3 million and a new 18-hole golf course at Scottsdale’s Desert Mountain.” —> http://bit.ly/2tnMw96
Carefree Town Council looks at Easy Street North Development. “The previous proposal was for a three story development with residential space on the top two floors and commercial space on the first floor with parking located underneath.” Sonoran News reports, however, that things have changed. (NOTE: Before you get to that news, you’ll first have to wade through reportage on a bit of other Carefree Town Council business.) http://bit.ly/2Fmnb5j
Hottest secondary home markets in the United States. SmartAsset looked at “402 metro areas,” comparing the “number of homes purchased as primary residences” to the “number of homes purchased as secondary residences.” The result? “In total seven of the 10 hottest secondary-home markets are near a beach.” As for the three markets NOT “near a beach,” one is in Arizona. Builder. http://bit.ly/2DcyYgo
Cities that offer renters the most square footage for their money. See how much spaciousness “$1,500 will buy in various rental markets across the country” in Multifamily Executive. (One Valley city cracks the Apartment List top five!). http://bit.ly/2DaIMaX
1M homeowners missed refinance opportunity. “About 1.4 million homeowners missed out on refinancing their mortgages when interest rates were lower.” HOWEVER: “Black Knight researchers believe [that] the opportunity to take advantage of historically low rates hasn’t evaporated for everyone.” REALTORMag. http://bit.ly/2FshOgX
A majority of home buyers don’t expect availability to improve in 2018.“[Sixty-five percent] of buyers don’t expect the home search to get any easier in 2018.” For a full look at the findings from the NAHB poll, head to Eye On Housing. http://bit.ly/2Dbpgef
Spring home sales could be the weakest in years “The Wall Street Journal is out today with a report that warns of a muted spring selling season, owing to multiple factors.” Although this is a WSJ subscriber piece, you can read most of it, hassle-free, in Builder. http://bit.ly/2Hige1H
Is the housing market’s foundation showing cracks? “The U.S. housing market may be starting to get volatile. Fannie Mae’s latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index report found that consumer confidence in housing took a hit in February.” DSNews reports that the “worry seems to be stemming from some general upheaval at the federal financial level.” http://bit.ly/2oZTNqe
Ben Carson’s housing agency drops pledge to end housing discrimination. The U.S. housing “[d]epartment removes from its mission statement promises to build ‘inclusive’ communities ‘free from discrimination’” in The Guardian. http://bit.ly/2Hfve0g
PulteGroup founder William Pulte dies at age 85. “Pulte, who started the William J. Pulte Inc. in 1956, built his first home near Detroit City Airport at age 18 in 1950 and his first subdivision in 1959. He retired from the company, which grew to be a the nation’s largest homebuilder, at age 77 in 2010.” He passed away on Wednesday. More on this “giant of the home building business” in Builder. http://bit.ly/2IciLMb
Surprise P&Z advances industrial office project. Property owner 84 Lumber seeks to develop the “multi-building project” — a spec “industrial office project” and a “masonry sales facility” — situated on “about 19-acres” with “frontages along the rail line and Dysart Road.” Details in YourValley. http://bit.ly/2Fs3DIq
Flagstaff council postpones Mill Town vote. Tuesday night, the “Flagstaff City Council voted to postpone a first vote on the rezoning application for a 1,221-bed student apartment complex until the developer,” Vintage Partners, “could consider some suggestions,” regarding building height and affordable housing. Arizona Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2oYa9zV
Municipal lease agreements illustrate the new vision of Scottsdale Airport. “The Scottsdale Airport has begun executing lease agreements for its terminals and in-the-works aviation business center that will generate just over $1 million per year…” For info on companies landing leases at the airport, along with agreement details and revenue each company is expected to produce, navigate to Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2FCaMti
Two chosen for Pinal County Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee. “The board for the Pinal County Regional Transportation Authority has selected [Terri Crain and Tena Dugan] for the new Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee.” Crain will serve as Supervisor Anthony Smith’s representative on the committee, while Dugan will rep Maricopa Mayor Christian Price. A bit of background on both new members, plus info on the purpose of the committee, in Apache Junction Independent. http://bit.ly/2FB3E09
The story of Cleve Van Dyke, founder of Miami. Silver Belt looks at the life of Miami, Ariz. founder Cleve Van Dyke, a Minnesotan (the original snowbird?) who “first came to Arizona in 1905 when he was hired by a real estate and development company in southern Arizona to help lay out the model town of ‘Warren’ near Bisbee.” http://bit.ly/2tt7dki
Trump’s tariffs could spell trouble for certain Valley manufacturing, construction, other industries. “President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on imported steel and aluminum last week was greeted with praise from American steelworkers… But the proposal, if implemented, is expected to significantly raise the cost of the two metals, carrying potential consequences for local economies across the country.” Governing. http://bit.ly/2oZGu9s
Committee advances bill permitting county sales taxes for roads. “With gas tax revenues lagging, state lawmakers are moving to allowing all 15 counties to levy their own sales taxes to fund critical road and transit needs.” Capitol Media Services/Howard Fischer in Arizona Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2Hh8fSq
‘New York Times’ lands on ASU suspension of Lawrence Krauss over sexual misconduct accusations. “Arizona State University has suspended Lawrence M. Krauss, a prominent theoretical physicist, while the university investigates accusations of sexual misconduct over a decade.” (RELATED, from AZCentral: “ASU professor Lawrence Krauss: Sex-misconduct allegations are ‘absurd,’ ‘libelous.’ ”) http://bit.ly/2tv4JSt
ASU professor teaches in the dark as students in Puerto Rico wait for light: Rose Law Group Reporter Hero of the Day. Arizona State University professor Manuel Aviles-Santiago teaches his Intro to Human Communication class “with the lights off — with no use of technology — in order to create awareness about the humanitarian crisis of Puerto Rico…” What inspired the idea? State Press has the story. http://bit.ly/2tt3ZNv
Newsmaker BONUS: What’s so darn funny, Alexa? “Amazon acknowledged on Wednesday that some of its Alexa-enabled devices have developed a new skill: creeping out their owners with unexpected and unwarranted bursts of robotic laughter.” Governing. http://bit.ly/2oZUsIb
