The Dealmaker: 12/10/2018

Rose Law Group is thankful for clients and friends… And all those who came out for our annual holiday “THANK YOU!” party at the Coach House featuring this year’s one-hit wonder, Tag Team, and the song “Whoomp! (There It Is).” http://bit.ly/2Qoysrj

Pinal’s economy will remain strong in ’19, expert says. Before a big crowd at the Pinal Partnership annual meeting Friday, economist Elliott Pollack delivered an upbeat jobs and housing forecast — positive news that comes “thanks in part to previous years’ planning recognizing the need to improve transportation infrastructure and in seeking companies such as Lucid Motors and Nikola Motor Company.” Highlights in CG Dispatch. http://bit.ly/2rx2n1i

Pinal County economically charged heading into 2019. More from Pollack at Friday’s Pinal Partnership meeting (including an economic one-liner that drew laughter from the crowd), courtesy Callan Smith who was there covering the event for Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2Qn8Yu9

Fulton Homes investing $200M for 2,700 metro Phoenix lots. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Fulton Homes.) November saw Fulton shell out “32.2 million in cash for 500 acres” at “Signal Butte and Queen Creek roads,” and then “another $11.5 million for 182 acres” at 163rd Avenue and Pinnacle Peak.” Head to PBJ for a preview of what Fulton has planned “on opposite ends of the Valley.” (Subscriber Content). http://bit.ly/2C0M6rI

Richmond American design center wins Silver in The Nationals. Congratulations to Richmond American Homes! Builder reports the homebuilder collected a “2019 Silver Award for Best Design Center” in NAHB’s award completion, The Nationals, for its new HG2 design center. http://bit.ly/2UwB6cR

Maricopa home sales. Sales data for homes sold February 2016 through November 2018, from Acacia Crossings to Villages at Rancho El Dorado, in RLGR(courtesy InMaricopa). http://bit.ly/2QM6mWi

Cottonwood waives water capacity fees on Mesquite Hills project. And that’s because the developer “installed substantially more water capacity” than will “likely” be used by Mesquite Hills, a 425-home subdivision along Gold Rush Lane in Cottonwood. CV Bugle.  http://bit.ly/2L8kCTR

The housing boom is already gigantic. How long can it last? While the U.S. is currently in its “third biggest housing boom in the modern era,” there are “signs of weakness” that some say point to a housing-market plunge à la post-2006. As for where things are headed, answers aren’t easy to come by, not even for a Nobel Prize-winning economist like Robert Shiller. NY Times. http://bit.ly/2L8RPP9

Arizona rejects Prop. 127, but Phoenix pursues solar energy options. Voters struck down a law that would have required utilities to “receive half of their power from renewable sources.” Downtown Devil reports, however, that “energy providers are investing in the technology to increase renewable energy sources despite the lack of policy or incentives to do so.”  http://bit.ly/2SEwnnv

Real estate agents get briefed on election fallout. Last week, Dale Wiebusch, the City of Maricopa’s “Intergovernmental Affairs director, hosted the Quarterly Real Estate Roundup focused on the ‘Legislative Effects of the 2018 Election.’” InMaricopa has a recap. http://bit.ly/2Uyb1di

Scott Wiener’s SB-50 could fix California’s housing crisis. “[Sen.] Wiener’s bill, described by Politico as a plan to ‘spur housing development near transit, job centers’… does not directly require anyone to build any apartment complexes anywhere. What it does is prevent cities and towns from banning apartment construction, at least in certain specified areas.” VOX. http://bit.ly/2C3qcUJ

Landowner inside Bears Ears monument wants out of newly incorporated Bluff, raising questions about what is planned for the property. Joe Hunt acquired the land “two years ago… Now Bluff residents want to know what Lyman Family Farm Inc., Hunt’s firm that owns the [391-acre] parcel, intends for land many regard as central to preserving the town’s character and quality of life.” (RELATED, also from Salt Lake Tribune: “Millcreek set to abandon ‘blight’ study, but Utah’s newest city will press ahead with major redevelopment on Highland Drive.”) http://bit.ly/2zNA57q

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

10th Annual AZ DealMakers – January 11, 2019. Don’t miss out on the BIGGEST homebuilding industry event for real estate forecasting and analysis, featuring the best speakers in the industry, including Meritage Homes Chairman & CEO Steven J. Hilton and Christopher Todd Communities CEO Todd Wood. Plus, Belfiore Real Estate Consulting President & Founder Jim Belfiore provides an Overview on Housing. For the full list of speakers & panelists, along with registration info for Arizona Housing: Growth, Its Costs, Challenges & Opportunities, tap on! http://bit.ly/2LAvclq 

As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!

Ducey: Trump tweet on border surge raises questions. “Gov. Doug Ducey said Friday he has no knowledge of Arizona ‘bracing for a massive surge’ of migrants through a ‘non-walled’ part of the border despite a warning by President Trump.” Among the many questions Trump’s tweet raises: Surely the president knows how to correctly spell “border,” right? A Cap Media/Howard Services report in Arizona Cap Times. http://bit.ly/2C0ELZ2

Based on ‘fitness,’ 3 Arizona cities labeled unhealthy in survey. American College of Sports Medicine is out with its annual American Fitness Index, “which rank cities on dozens of factors, from how much park space is available to how often residents go to the gym.” Tap through for results. http://bit.ly/2zQQAQj

University of Utah researchers identify 4 gene variants linked to heightened suicide risk. “The findings strengthen existing research linking genetics and suicide, and could have implications leading to “new treatments for those who suffer’… ” Deseret News. http://bit.ly/2QIEJgz