Metro Phoenix homebuilding hits decade high - Sounds Good to Me

[Account Closed]

Phoenix went from bad to worse to worst(?)  when the housing market crashed. That was then, this is now!

I'm enjoying the ride. I find that the influx of people from other parts of the country (the soon to be 3 Californias, if they have their way, for instance)  and from the midwest have really brought back the Phoenix (Maricopa County) markets. High Tech companies are moving into the area which creates jobs. Of course, since I buy "off market" and cash flow the properties I'm particularly happy.  ;-)

Today's Newspaper

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"Metro Phoenix homebuilding hits decade high"

New houses are going up in the Phoenix area at the fastest pace in 10 years, and prices are climbing faster than they have in five years.

Buyers are again heading to Valley suburbs farther out to find houses they can afford.

By the building numbers

More than 1,950 new houses sold Valleywide in May, and the pace of sales for the year is 18 percent ahead of last year, Belfiore Real Estate Consulting reports.

May was the best month for new house sales in metropolitan Phoenix since March 2008, according to RL Brown’s Phoenix Housing Market Letter.

Brown reports the median new house price in the Valley is up almost 3 percent from last year to $330,000. That's about $65,000 more than the area's median existing house sale price.

Jim Belfiore said demand from buyers in the spring gave homebuilders the confidence to push prices upward at the most significant pace in nearly five years.

[Jay Hinrichs]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @Wes Blackwell:

@Account Closed

The Arizona Sun Corridor (Prescott to Nogales) is set to explode in population over the next 30 years and double in population to over 12 million. Phoenix is obviously going to be leading the charge on that.

The main population segments moving here are going to be:

1) Retirees from colder states (Florida #1 destination, Arizona #2) Over 10,000 people turn 65 every day.

2) Younger Generations from California (mostly from SoCal - Median home price is double Phoenix's)

The main thing that'll keep the ball rolling is young families from more expensive markets like California. You can buy twice the home for half the price so everything out here seems like an absolute steal.

As long as interest rates don't get too high and we don't run out of water (or get nuked by North Korea!) I don't see anything really slowing down -- at least for a few more years.

 I agree. I'm betting once folks from California figure out that investing in Arizona is easier and safer than in California we'll see an up swing from there. 

As to "(if) we don't run out of water" I'm betting that one of two things will happen sometime in the future, 1) it will be decided to pipe the Columbia river from Washington the way oil is currently being piped across continents, or 2) a process will be developed to desalinate seawater cheaply or a process will be developed to bring moisture out of the air which can currently be done on a small scale. That will solve the water problems in the southwest states.  Or, they will develop a box that just sits there and blasts out cold air into a house which will reduce the summer heat to a much more livable temperature. Oh, that last one is called "air conditioning" which nobody saw coming back in the 30's and 40's. That is why Maricopa County is livable for most people through out the summer. Pie in the sky thoughts. 

 had not heard the piping of the Columbia down to AZ  I suspect the Greenies in Oregon and Washington would have something to say about that..