I love to see articles like this, from the New York Times, which describe what we’ve known for a long time: Phoenix is a great place to live and start a business and our downtown is getting better all the time.

What we need to continue to watch, however, is affordable housing. Specifically, I believe that we have learned over many decades that affordable housing cannot be simply built in isolation and stacked atop each other, as in Chicago.

Nor, can we only put affordable housing alone, out in the suburbs.

The same motivation to live close to work is apparent in all income levels. Indeed, years of research indicates that the best approach is to encourage affordable housing right along side those shiny, feature-rich new-builds that we’ve seen going up recently.

The same goes for creating a good mix of rentals and owner-occupied homes.

Its, you know, diversity. Diversity helps any system thrive, whether ecological or economic.

So, I’ve been concerned in recent years about the ratio of apartment units to owner-occupied units have been build in CenPho. Last I checked, it was a six to one ratio. That means that the only owner-occupied units being built are mainly only within reach of those earning over about $70,000 per year.

Its just my personal opinion, but if we are going to continue our revitalization in Phoenix, we need a good mix of options for all kinds of folks.

If you are thinking of buying a home, whether that is a condo or detached house, whether in downtown or elsewhere, give us a call at 602-456-9388. We can help you put together the right strategy.

I don’t like to get political in this newsletter, but this issue affects all of us, regardless of your political leaning.

Dark money –undisclosed money that is funneled in support or against candidates and elected officials in Arizona– is a corrupting influence. Not only do you not get to see who is trying to influence your vote, but dark money is also used to pressure politicians from the governor level all the way down to school board –even obscure water district boards.

And that is the connection to real estate and the economy.

Imagine that a water company wants to use its money muscle to influence a local water district board –the board members of which seldom spend more than $200 to get elected. That company could over-whelm and control that board with a couple thousand dollars!

If you hope that policies will be made on the basis of the merits of laws, rather than who can pressure whom with dark money, then you will want to understand more about the effort to repeal SB1516, “The Dark Money Act.”

Go to StopCorruptionNowAZ.com to learn more.

If you favor an open market, for real estate or almost anything, then you don’t want policy decisions made based on this kind of pressure.

Here’s a video to explain more.

The June Get Your PHX at Tuft & Needle is just a few weeks away. I’m excited to tour an actual manufacturing facility in downtown Phoenix –in an era when manufacturing seems to happen only in other countries.

Tuft & Needle has just moved into the historic O.S. Stapley building on Grand Avenue and Get Your PHX will be one of the first to take a look inside and tour the new headquarters.

Daehee Park and JT Marino met in college and were hired at the same startup company in Silicon Valley. The two were working long hours, barely seeing their families and yet even with all of their time and effort, the business was barely eking by.

“We worked more hours per week than what seemed humanly possible. One colleague joked that we were “burning vats of midnight oil”—and this was a boast, not a complaint,” says Park & Marino.

Amid exhaustion and striving for success at work, JT and his wife began shopping for their first piece of furniture together – a new mattress. Pushy salesmen, unnecessary upgrades and a $3,300 mattress later, the newlyweds were stuck with an uncomfortable mattress they couldn’t even return. JT along Daehee decided to do something about it and in 2012 they launched Tuft & Needle.

Since then, T&N has grown into one of the most successful businesses in the market. In just nearly four years they’ve grown their initial investment of $6,000 to over $100 million in revenue while employing over 100 people.

The decision to move their headquarters to Phoenix was not only an easy choice, but also one that has helped their company continue to reach new goals. From the cost of living to business climate, Park and Marino have found Phoenix and its residents the perfect place to raise a business.

“… It’s been our experience that people here want to build careers and businesses—not resumes. They aren’t hopscotching around, waiting for the latest startup to close a round so they can go off and join the next big thing. No, they’re committed: When equity vests, it’s not time to leave. It’s time to continue to make that equity worth something. They’re fighters, and they’re in it for the long haul. If you’re a founder, you can’t put a price on that kind of loyalty.”

Join Get Your PHX and Local First Arizona for tours inside Tuft & Needle’s new space! As always, please RSVP below.

Date: Thursday, June 23^rd
Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM*
Location: 735 Grand Ave., 85007
RSVP Here
Follow us on Facebook!

This is a cross-post about a venture some friends of Get Your PHX are taking on. We are particularly interested in this because it signifies that redevelopment is beginning to move eastward on Van Buren from downtown. Keep an eye on this one!

————–

PHOENIX, Ariz. (May 3rd, 2016) – A team of downtown Phoenix advocates have purchased the historic Roland’s Market building in Downtown Phoenix, and will restore it to create an iconic space in the growing Eastlake Park and Garfield neighborhoods.

The 4,800 square foot, multi-use property at 1505 E Van Buren St. was purchased for $270,000.

Roland’s Market is available to lease, and the team is hoping to find a user who is passionate about housing their business in a unique, historically significant location. “There are so many young, exciting companies looking for cool, untraditional work space,” says Kevin Rille, real estate investor and developer with KLMN Properties LLC., leading the project.

The City of Phoenix has plans to revitalize Van Buren, which, in combination with established businesses like Co-Hoots, exciting new projects like The Pickle House by Chicanos Por La Causa, new multi-housing developments by Mike Lafferty, and plenty of light rail stops nearby, the Roland’s Market’s location will become even more desirable over the next couple of years. “Roland’s Market is just outside the downtown Phoenix hub, so it’s going to be really affordable, while also being super close to everything downtown Phoenix has to offer,” says Rille.

The property was built in 1917, and it operated as a grocery store until 2008. It became the iconic Roland’s Market in 1941, when Chinese immigrant Roland Ong bought the building and turned it into a Chinese market, fitting in with the robust, Chinese ex-pat culture in downtown Phoenix in the 1940s.

Rehab on the building will start soon, with plans to bring the warehouse-style building back to its original glory. Even after its many previous tenants, the team was happy to discover that most of the original elements that make the building so beautiful are still intact, including the tin ceiling, exposed brick walls, and wood trusses. One of the most exciting original elements is the vintage sign on the front of the building, a bright red typographic neon sign that has made Roland’s Market a landmark along the Van Buren strip.

The purchasing team of Roland’s Market LLC. is made up of Kevin Rille of KLMN Properties LLC., a broker and real estate manager; Celine Rille of Rille & Co., a creative studio that will handle the branding and marketing of the property; Brian Cassidy of CCBG Architects Inc., who will design the project; Kees Rietsema, a Phoenix entrepreneur, and two silent partners.

The team’s dedication to the development of Downtown Phoenix is a pivotal part of this project. Having recently served as president of the Evans-Churchill neighborhood association, Kevin Rille’s passion for downtown Phoenix led him to find this deal; Rille & Co. has been fundamental in projects around Downtown Phoenix, working on interior design, branding, and culture creation in spots like DeSoto Central Market and The McKinley Club, the co-working space and social club in the heart of the Roosevelt Row arts district; and CCBG Architects Inc. have been influential in the revitalization of the warehouse district, designing many of the adaptive reuse office and event spaces in the neighborhood, including their own work space.

The team hopes to make Roland’s Market a staple of the up-and-coming Van Buren hub.

For the monthly period ending May 15, our friends at the Cromford Report were recording a sales $/SF of $142.50 averaged for all areas and types across the ARMLS database. This is up 1.8% from the $139.96 we now measure for April 15.

In most years, prices make a lot of progress between March and June so they think 2 months of strong advance from April 15 to June 15 is a very reasonable expectation.

They also expect a retreat to occur between June 15 and September 15, because this is a seasonal pattern that occurs almost every year.

So, what does that “retreat” actually mean to you? Does it mean that prices will fall? I don’t think so. When we look at the Cromford Index (a measure of who has the advantage, and by how much), you can see that sellers have about the same advantage as they had last year. (Anything over 100 is a sellers’ advantage.)

When you look at price per square foot over the last three months in the CenPho area and historic neighborhoods, you see a strong climb for all prices. But, when you break it down, you see more strength in the sub-$200k market than the $200k to $500k market.

Why? Well, probably because there are so many first time home buyers who need homes and they are just not coming on the market. I think there is also a bit of a leveling in the $200-$500k band because many of the renovators and sellers are pricing their homes too high and the buyers just are not buying it.

See below for those charts.

So, what does this mean? I think we are in for a continued strong market through the summer with prices in the lower ranges pushing upward. Michelle and I usually find that the summer still has a very strong market. Well, we are busy, at least!

If you would like to build a strategy to purchase a home or sell your home, contact us at 602-456-9388.

$200-$500k market

All prices

Sub-$200k market.

We’ll be hosting the May Get Your PHX at Palabra.

In 2012, Jorge Torres first opened Palabra Hair. Art. Collective. in downtown Phoenix and in January of this year, the creative hub launched its new location on 1^st Street.

Since breaking out on his own, Torres’ vision for Palabra has intentionally brought together hair, art, fashion, music and performance. The idea is to cultivate growth in others and to infuse creativity into all aspects of the business.

Inside the stark white building, Futuro coffee welcomes guests with a rich wafting aroma of espresso, and behind it to the left is a dedicated gallery space, to the right is Torres’ hair studio.

Continue reading

Greyhound Pets of Arizona is an organization that, obviously, helps with greyhound fostering. It has received word that the Tucson Greyhound Park will be closing this year. The best word they have at this time is that the closing is likely to be the end of June.

GPA, along with other adoption groups in the area, is mobilizing to start bringing retiring greyhounds into foster programs so that they can live with loving families.

The legislature has finally voted to end greyhound racing in Arizona (thankfully) and the park will be closing.

So, GPA is in need of additional greyhound fostering homes over the next three months. If you think you might like to foster a greyhound, call 1-877-545-3647.

The hounds will be coming directly from the track.

• They may or may not be spayed/neutered when you get them
• They will not have been tested with small animals and cats
• They may have parasites such as ticks although the kennels are
  working hard to make sure the hounds are clean.
• They will not necessarily be house broken

Of course, it begs the question of what they will do with all of that park space. Could that be turned in to urban housing, or a huge festival space? Its yet to be seen. I hope that the park does not sit empty for years, as that would be a sad situation for our positive urban development.

I used to want a greyhound when I thought they could run long distance with me. But then I learned that, while they are great at short speeds, they are not good at distances and are generally very calm dogs.

It was a bummer, because they are such beautiful and sleek dogs. If you are a lover of art nouveau or art deco design, you will see them and Afghan Wolfhounds depicted everywhere. But, I digress.

The group “This Could Be Phoenix” does a great job establishing sense of place in Phoenix and envisioning what our little town could be.

In trolling around Facebook today, I saw a great little effort they are making to talk focus on our future. Here’s what they are up to, and I encourage you to have a look. I know that we will grab one of these little signs to share a space that is near and dear to us.

Today marks the start of ‪#‎ThisPlaceMatters‬ & ‪#‎ThisPlaceMattersPHX‬month! What is it? It’s national campaign that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities.

So join us all month long, and tag photos of special places near and dear to your heart with two hashtags: #ThisPlaceMatters and #ThisPlaceMattersPHX. Plus, we’re competing with 12 other cities around the country, and if we win (by having the most tagged photos), we’ll get money to host a party – So drinks will be on us! Let’s put Phoenix on the national map!!

Our friends at the Cromford Report supply us with great data for our May Market Update, which we use to help our clients. Here’s a summary of the data as of the middle of April, in time for this month’s Clark Report.

For the monthly period ending April 15, we are currently recording a sales $/SF of $140.06 averaged for all areas and types across the ARMLS database. This is virtually unchanged (up just 7c) from the $139.99 we now measure for March 15.

Sales pricing over the last 31 days has been considerably weaker than expected but stayed within the lower bound of our 90% confidence range.

In most years, prices make strong progress between March and June so we felt confident that last month’s forecast was reasonable. Only adding 7c to the average price per sq. ft. between March 15 and April 15 is pretty underwhelming. We are forecasting a more impressive advance for May 15, but we could again be confounded by a negative change in the sales mix.

Normally prices decline between June and September each year, so sellers will be hoping for a stronger pricing trend during the next 2 months than we saw during the last 2 months.

This is reflected in the CenPho and historic markets, although the data seems to contradict itself. In short, while the sales prices seem to be going up, the average days on market are increasing and the active listing count seems to be going up.

What does this tell us?

Continue reading

Our friend Matthew Steinkamp of Sundawg Media tells me about his new project, which will be at the Phoenix Film Festival. It is called “Play – A Documentary. See a list of screenings at this link, and pick up a pair of tickets here.

The documentary will be at our local film festival, and hopefully more around the country.

Phoenix seems to be generating its own home-grown film industry. Earlier in the year, we hosted the premier of Durant’s Never Closes at our January Get Your PHX.  We are so proud of our local film makers.

What makes us particularly impressed with this film is that it is a crowdsourced film about music, passion and education. With so many critiques of education in Arizona, its nice to see a film that honors arts education.

Congratulations to the whole crew.