Arizona Real Estate Informer

Proposals for Town Lake project, Marriott keep Tempe planners busy

Work on a multimillion-dollar hotel, condo and retail project proposed for Tempe Town Lake could start as soon as next year. The city reviewed the first set of plans for the project last week. If and when the building begins, it would be a big step for Tempe. The project would become a physical reality. A previous project slated for that site fell through in 2001. More...

Sales of new homes in U.S. fall, but prices rise a bit from 2005

WASHINGTON - Nationwide sales of new homes fell in October by the largest amount in three months, a fresh sign of the cooling that continues in the housing sector. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new-home sales totaled 1.004 million at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, a 3.2 percent decline from September. That was the largest drop since July, when home sales plunged by 9.2 percent. Prices of new homes, meanwhile, went up in October, after falling sharply in September. More...

Housing slump may slow consumer spending

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Slumping U.S. housing may hurt the economy by curbing consumer spending, which was fueled as homeowners took more cash out of the homes as prices rose, the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank said in a research letter on Wednesday. Mortgage cash withdrawals via home-equity loans, cash-out mortgage refinancing and smaller down payments have allowed Americans in recent years to tap housing wealth to free up cash for consumption. More...

Residents worry about new SRP power lines

Some residents of east Mesa soon will see large power line poles rise near their homes in one of the city’s most scenic areas. The Salt River Project, the third largest public power utility in the nation, announced Wednesday that it has chosen a route along 76th Street for a series of 70- to 80-foot tall power poles. More...

Total Active Residential, Commercial, and Land Listings To Date

Total Active Listings To Date:

Residential- 45,886

Commercial- 552

Land- 10,983

Protecting some land may spur building elsewhere

To protect the most environmentally sensitive land, Pima County has proposed allowing more development in other areas. The program — called transfer of development rights — would allow people who own land designated for conservation to sell the development rights on their property. More...

New home closings, prices up last month

Homebuilders are bringing more buyers into the local market by offering steep discounts and other incentives. That’s according to the latest Phoenix Housing Market Letter by housing expert R.L. Brown. New home closings in Maricopa and Pinal counties were up nearly 10 percent last month compared with October 2005, while resales were down 38.5 percent during the same period. More...

Valley's priciest home sales

$3,400,000 Curt Schilling, future Hall of Fame major league baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, and his wife, Shonda, sold their 8,290-square-foot Paradise Valley home in the Turquoise Hills area north of Mummy Mountain to Michael E. Hook and his wife, Susan, of Paradise Valley. Schilling helped pitch the Arizona Diamondbacks to their only World Series title and the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in more than 90 years. More...

Onyx Tower hopes to rise even higher in Tempe

WestStone Communities plans to ask the city of Tempe to extend the height of its 23-story Onyx Tower on Tempe Town Lake. "We decided to add the three additional stories to Onyx Tower to take advantage of the spectacular views of the lake and the skyline," said Brian Regehr, president of WestStone Communities. "We also wanted to offer buyers more square footage in the top floors. This luxury residential tower will be like no other in the state." More...

Median prices of homes post record decline

WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes posted a tiny increase in October, the first gain in eight months, but the median price of homes sold last month fell by a record amount. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that existing home sales edged up 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.24 million. It marked the first sales increase since February. More...