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
Scottsdale takes top Bloomberg honor for ‘show’ business. Scottsdale is among seven U.S. cities — and the only Western city — recognized by Bloomberg Philanthropies for its use of data in decision-making, problem solving and to improve government transparency. A Mike Sunnucks’ report, written exclusively for Rose Law Group Reporter. http://bit.ly/2Vgn7ez
UPPER OFFICE –Tempe’s Watermark ‘tops out,’ on track for opening. “It’s become quite the presence off the freeway on Scottsdale Road,” says Fenix Development’s Mike Loretz in this PBJ update on the $150 million Watermark and its 16-story office tower — the “tallest building along the north side of Tempe Town Lake.” (Subscriber Content) http://bit.ly/2ZyVmNE
Sheraton Grand Phoenix is remodeling to become a community gathering place. “And, of the 120 Sheraton hotels [Marriott executives] plan to renovate in the coming months, they hope the Sheraton Grand Phoenix will be the company’s ‘jewel box’ to display the concepts they’ve envisioned.” Report along with renderings of what’s in store at AZCentral.http://bit.ly/2W08dGo
ASKING FOR TROUBLE? –Scottsdale OKs Lot V on the Green at Troon North. With roadway access issues, it’s been characterized as a “troubled piece of property.” Even so, City Council last week unanimously approved “a request to subdivide” the .70 acre tract on White Feather Lane. Scottsdale Independent. http://bit.ly/2IEK1Gr
Squeezed Out: People struggle to buy houses, pay rent as rising prices outstrip incomes. Rising rents. Affordability. Disappearing mobile homes. New builds. Income and prices. AZCentral devotes separate articles to each of those issues in its 2019 series “Squeezed Out.” http://bit.ly/2XN5a4X
PulteGroup beats Q1 earnings estimates. President and CEO Ryan Marshall: “In addition to the strong financial results PulteGroup delivered in the quarter, we view the significant increase in consumer traffic into our communities as an important indicator of the overall health of the housing industry.” Enjoy the Q1 numbers in Builder! http://bit.ly/2Dyk0V7
Main drivers for remodeling spending: A graphic analysis. “Despite the current concerns for the housing market and projections that domestic construction spending is slowing, home improvement spending is up.” FIXr (graphically) breaks down the spending and analyzes “what those results mean for the construction industry going forward.” http://bit.ly/2IDaiVz
Az City community hears about golf course. With the owner of the “now- closed Arizona City Golf Course” having, reportedly, ‘waddled’ out of town (so to speak), taking plans for an RV park with him, Pinal County officials say there “seems to be some interest [from developers and investors] in changing that asset.” County Community Development Director Himanshu Patel talked about it recently, and Arizona City Independent was there. -> http://bit.ly/2GDutjU
‘BUDGET BOOM’ –Surprise city manager unveils $414 million budget for FY2020. An expanding city = a bigger budget — up “7.6% from last year’s $384.6 million.” City Manager Mike Frazier: “This year, the theme of our budget process was growth.” “Budget boom” highlights in YourValley. http://bit.ly/2GHffKZ
A whopping 49 people apply to fill Tempe City Council vacancy after Kolby Granville’s ouster. So who applied? (Perhaps the better question is: Who DIDN’T apply?) “The applicants include a former council member, former council candidates, community activists, business leaders and school officials.” Tap toAZCentral for the full list of names. http://bit.ly/2vim6Ux
FLAGSTAFF: Council moves toward affordable housing commission. “[It] would be made up of industry stakeholders like real estate agents and developers, nonprofits working on housing issues, and citizens.” One wrinkle for council: How to effectively communicate with the new commission. Daily Sun. http://bit.ly/2ZuNCvU
2019’s Best Places to Be a Real Estate Agent. Based on “sales per agent,” “annual median wage for real-estate agents,” “housing-market health index” and other factors. Findings courtesy of WalletHub. http://bit.ly/2Vp91HE
Less Than Two Weeks Until An Arizona Kentucky Derby Party Like No Other – http://bit.ly/2GGQSgw
As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!
Click here for 2019 Arizona Legislative News
A state budget fight is brewing at the Arizona Capitol — governor, Republican lawmakers at odds. “As the legislative session hits its 100th day, Arizona lawmakers seem no closer to passing a state budget than they were when the governor unveiled his fiscal priorities three months ago.” An AZCentral overview of “the key issues complicating budget talks.” http://bit.ly/2UZDU6k
Ward: State GOP backs tax hike for education. “It’s been a decade since the state Republican Party supported [taking money from those who produce it].” That long-standing anti-confiscation mindset ended Monday when AZGOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward came out in favor of “legislation that would increase a voter-approved 0.6-cent sales tax earmarked for education to a full penny.” AZ Cap Times. http://bit.ly/2L3THfE
Ballooning controversy pits Girl Scouts and lawmakers. A Brownie Troop wants “a law that drastically limits the release of balloons into the air,” but it looks like HB 2664 won’t be it. House Republicans killed the “extreme bill” and they couldn’t have been happier about it. No word, though, in this AFN report if those lawmakers celebrated with their own helium-filled release. http://bit.ly/2GGTefm
