The Dealmaker is a daily note of the day’s top real estate stories served just in time for lunch. Bon Appetit! Subscribe here to receive the Dealmaker to your inbox
A decade after the housing bust, the exurbs are back. Because this was featured on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal (and is among the WSJ’stop three “Most Popular Articles”), we thought we would re-run it this morning. Fascinating insight into the AZ housing market! (Subscriber Content). http://bit.ly/2HIlvDU
Suddenly, CBD is everywhere. Here’s what’s next; Rose Law Group Founder and President Jordan Rose comments. “The CBD floodgates opened after President Donald Trump signed the Farm Bill into law in December. Among other things, the bill legalized the production of hemp, which contains high levels of [‘non-psychoactive’] cannabidiol, or CBD.” CNN • Jordan Rose: “The interest seen in growing Hemp since the passage of the Farm Bill has been enormous. Arizona ag stands to save water and create new economic opportunity — this is exciting.” http://bit.ly/2OssIs8
Opportunity Zones hype overshadows potential pitfalls and risks. With “perhaps trillions” of investment dollars targeting “low income communities,” the OZ program has “potential to be the most significant federal community development initiative in U.S. history.” But ensuring such investments don’t “end up hurting communities the program was intended to help” is a concern. Quinn Palomino, co-founder and principal at Virtua Partners, weighs in on the matter in this report from National Real Estate Investor. http://bit.ly/2FDSNBQ
A second downtown Phoenix grocery store? $231 million high rises to replace transit center.AZCentral reports that the “city and Houston-based developer Medistar believe the space [‘that separates the Van Buren light rail platforms between Central and First avenues’] is underutilized and should be redeveloped to create more energy surrounding the transit hub.” Here’s what they have in mind. http://bit.ly/2HKfztS
Toll Brothers opens sales at two north Scottsdale communities. YES, TOLL BROTHERS IS OPEN! for seven-figure home sales at Sereno Canyon (near 118th and Ranch Gate), and for Boulder Ranch (at the corner of 118th Street and Jomax). Get design details at Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2HRpnSl
Cullum Homes named ‘Custom Home Builder of the Year.’ Congratulations to Cullum Homes! The family owned home builder received the “Custom Home Builder of the Year” award at the National Association of Home Builders Show in Las Vegas last week. PV Independent. http://bit.ly/2JGYCT7
KB Home report 30 million Q1 profit. Jeffrey Mezger: “Although the decline in net orders during the 2018 fourth quarter impacted our first-quarter housing revenues, we are encouraged by improving market conditions, which we believe should enable us to generate stronger revenues in the 2019 second half.” More from President and CEO Mezger, plus a bullet-point breakdown of KB’s financial data, in Builder. http://bit.ly/2CIYV9W
The Best Cities to Sell a House – 2019 Edition. ARIZONA is “great for selling a home”! But don’t just take Dealmaker’s tout for it — it’s also the main finding in a SmartAsset analysis of 165 U.S. cities. The Top 10 Places to Sell a House includes FOUR Valley cities, two of which rank first and second! -> http://bit.ly/2YvAvtO
Phoenix developer and green tech-firm founder Ken Losch charged in $37M fraud case. Losch, a “tech-firm founder” and developer of the failed “twin-tower” condo project called Centerpoint in Tempe, “was indicted Tuesday on 17 counts of wire fraud tied to his company, Advanced Green Innovations.” The story in AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2TDwbVJ
Newly renovated Arizona Center adds tenants, will break ground on newhotel. Now that a “$25 million makeover” has wrapped, what sort of establishments will fill the place and “bring a whole new vibe to the heart of downtown”? AZRE takes a look and also has a rundown of the “first upscale select-service boutique hotel in downtown Phoenix, AC Hotel by Marriott,” which is set to start turning dirt next month. http://bit.ly/2UYwOL3
Val Vista and Pecos shopping center proposed. “Diversified Partners is planning to build a 59.3KSF shopping center on 11.2 acres at the NEC of Val Vista Drive and Pecos Road in Gilbert.” Get development details and view renderings of the aptly named Val Vista and Pecos Shopping Center at BEX. http://bit.ly/2Ordbsw
Legacy Traditional Schools announces new Goodyear campus. Set to open this fall at “16060 W. Lower Buckeye Parkway” in Goodyear, the “37,000 square-foot facility” will have “an enrollment capacity of 700 students” and will be “Legacy’s 15th Arizona campus.” AZ Business Magazine. http://bit.ly/2TYpkLI
RCSC Grand property renovation cost pegged at $6 million. “Recreation Centers of Sun City officials will consider a motion to allocate $6 million to convert a… restaurant to another club facility in the corporation’s inventory.” How will the Grand Recreation Center affect other planned projects? “It will delay them,” says one official. YourValley. http://bit.ly/2UY3u7y
2019’s Cities with the Most Overleveraged Mortgage Debtors. “WalletHubdetermined which cities are home to the most overleveraged mortgage debtors by comparing the median mortgage balances against the median income and median home value in more than 2,500 cities.” http://bit.ly/2OrgMqw
As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!
Click here for 2019 Arizona Legislative News
[IN-DEPTH] Here’s what the Colorado River deal will do, and why some criticize Arizona’s approach. “[E]ven as the drought agreement has earned widespread praise as a historic step toward propping up the river’s reservoirs, Arizona’s plan for implementing the deal has also drawn criticism for relying on a strategy that some argue has significant drawbacks.” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2Yt9JT0
Dark money foes launch new effort for disclosure law. “[Former AG Terry Goddard] on Tuesday launched the campaign for the Voters’ Right to Know Act. The proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution would require anyone who spends at least $5,000 to influence the outcome of an election in Arizona to disclose the original source of the money.” Arizona Mirror. http://bit.ly/2Oy4exS
