BREAKING: Just in Proposition 416 AND 417 final numbers in… Both propositions WIN. This is a great day for Pinal County. Congratulations to all who have been working to make this a reality for the past 19 (!!) years… and let’s go build some roads. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County working to bring new transportation infrastructure to the county.) “Proposition 416, which simply passes the Regional Transportation Authority’s plan without the funding provided by Prop. 417, has sealed its victory…” As for Prop. 417, Arizona City Independent reports that it “continues to receive a majority of the support from voters,” and that, at this juncture, “fortunes would have to change drastically” for it to fail. http://bit.ly/2zvRfXS
Lennar joins Meritage and Richmond at La Estancia in Tucson. “SBH La Estancia, an affiliate of Sunbelt Holdings, the developer of La Estancia has sold 350 lots in 2017 with Meritage, Richmond and now Lennar Homes there… Lennar closed on 112-lots for $6.16 million.” Real Estate Daily News has further deal and development details, including a postage stamp-sizesite map (get your zoom on!) along with why the developer “intends to replat the 65-foot wides…” –> http://bit.ly/2zrQW0s
Owners of Van Buren to appeal terms of preservation grant. “The Phoenix City Council is set to vote… November 15 on a request to change grant terms for [the Van Buren] … If the new request is approved, the time limit for the full grant payback would be reduced from 30 to 15 years.” As for why the owners made the request and how it could affect the “time limit for and [the amount of] the full grant payback” if approved, tap to Downtown Devil. http://bit.ly/2jdYtJO
San Tan residents object to Queen Creek annexation. “Two residents filed a petition in Pinal County Superior Court… asking for an ordinance the Queen Creek Town Council adopted to be invalidated. The issue is over… property [near Ellsworth & Empire] which ‘could be developed into car dealerships and storage facilities’]. Planned area developments had set height restrictions… But the plaintiffs accuse the property owner of circumventing these restrictions by having the land annexed into Queen Creek.” Casa Grande Dispatch. http://bit.ly/2zKoR5m
Republican tax plan could grind affordable housing construction to a virtual halt. “The [tax] plan… preserves a well-regarded program called the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit — but effectively guts it. That’s because about half of all low-income housing credit development is done in conjunction with private activity bonds, a financing method that the plan scraps.” “Shocking,” “devastating,” “troubling” — those are just a few of the descriptors used in this Realtor.com® report that looks at the impact of eliminating the program. http://bit.ly/2hro9Cl
Which metro areas would be hit hardest in the latest tax plan by capping the mortgage interest deduction? “Nationally, this policy change would affect a small share of homeowners… But, the impacts in some metropolitan areas could be much larger…” Check out the metros “with greatest exposure to a reduced MID cap” in Brookings. http://bit.ly/2hXEBYe
Market share of 5,000+ square foot homes declines. “[T]he share of new homes started with 5,000 square feet or more of living space stood at 3.1% in 2016, down from 3.9 percent in 2015. The total number of 5,000+ square-foot homes started in absolute terms was 24,000, down from 28,000 in 2015.” NAHB tabulates the data from the Census Bureau’s “Survey of Construction” in Eye On Housing. http://bit.ly/2yLO5ju
Today’s new homes could benefit from extra storage space. “With today’s new homes being constructed somewhat smaller than even just a couple of years ago, the value of increased storage space is becoming more important. This is evident by the ever-increasing and somewhat expensive, offsite mini storage facilities popping up on almost every corner. Marwin (via Builder) takes a look at “Attic Storage” — “for builders seeking to offer a high value feature at a relatively low cost.” http://bit.ly/2zvtInQ
Construction job openings in September. “The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector declined in September. Given the significant need for repair and restoration work in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, we can expect increases in the months ahead.” NAHB chief economist, Robert Dietz, drills down into the construction market numbers, at Eye On Housing.http://bit.ly/2iIELC3
Renters getting off easy vs owners when it comes to rising payments?Mortgage News Daily examine “posts in the CoreLogic Insights blog” which “find that that homeowners are being hit harder than before.” However, MND’s Matt Graham is a bit skeptical: “While I can appreciate CoreLogic is trying to shed light on actual increases in payments vs prices, I’d like to see a bit more light before jumping into the rabbit hole of who has it easier between owners and renters…” http://bit.ly/2zvVhgI
Homeowners: Don’t call it ‘aging in place.’ “More homeowners are taking on projects that will allow them to age comfortably in their current home, according to the ‘2017 Aging in Place Report’ from HomeAdvisor. But they don’t like the term ‘aging in place.’ “(Along those lines, here are some other phrases such folks also might not be too fond of: “Remaining in a structure that the grandkids don’t visit nearly enough”; “Staying put where you often fall and can’t get up”; and, “Refusing to leave a place where you find yourself asking more and more, ‘What on earth are my keys doing in the fridge!?!’ ”) Highlights and link to the full HomeAdvisor “2017 Aging in Place Report” at REALTORMag. http://bit.ly/2ymMTiA
CAA, hit by storms, faulty joists, sees earnings slip. “In its earnings release, the company stated, ‘During the 2017 third quarter, our operations were negatively impacted by three non-recurring events: Hurricane Harvey, impacting our Texas operations; Hurricane Irma, primarily impacting our Florida operations; and the Weyerhauser I-joist issue, impacting our Colorado, Minnesota and Philadelphia operations.” Full details in Builder. http://bit.ly/2zwDJmX
10 things to know about the office market and commercial real estate.“Third quarter commercial real estate data is out from JLL and Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services.” PBJ presents “10 things [it] learned from those numbers and how Phoenix compares to other big U.S. markets.” (Subscriber Content). http://bit.ly/2zvxdL3
Scottsdale stalls Desert EDGE project for citizens ballot initiative. “The Scottsdale City Council happily stunned critics on Monday when it hit pause on the proposed Desert EDGE in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve until a citizen’s initiative plays out. The council also directed staff to explore other city-owned sites for the project…” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2zwZalU
Phoenix councilwoman would not support new, remodeled Suns arena. Councilwoman Kate Gallego: “I do not believe… that Phoenix should invest in either a new or improved arena for the Suns… [I]t is not in Phoenix’s best interest to invest in an arena.” More from Gallego along with what, if anything, prompted Wednesday’s statement from the councilwoman, at KTAR. http://bit.ly/2Aqkusa
Fountain Hills candidates: Two more plan to run in 2018. FH Planning & Zoning Commissioner, Amberleigh Dabrowski, and former editor of The FH Times,Mike Scharnow, “have announced that they will seek a seat on the Town Council in next year’s election.” Get the rundown on each candidate in Fountain Hills Times. http://bit.ly/2hnYwT5
