Monthly Archives: September 2016

Architects to Take Over Historic Phoenix Building

Mike Sunnucks Senior Reporter | Phoenix Business Journal | Sep 19, 2016

An international architecture firm has leased and will renovate a historic mid-century building in Phoenix.

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A rendering of the interior

Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture has leased the Farmers & Stockmens Bank Building at Washington and 50th streets near Papago Park.

The 6,000-square-foot building was built in 1951 by famed Los Angeles architect William Pereira.

He also designed the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, CBS Television City in Los Angeles, the Arizona State Prison in Florence and much of Los Angeles International Airport.

The Washington Street building has a historic designation from the city of Phoenix.

Cuningham Group currently has its Phoenix offices near First Avenue and McDowell Road north of downtown Phoenix.

The architecture firm plans on moving this fall.

“For a firm such as ours that deeply respects good design, it is an honor to make this landmark our home,” said Cuningham Group Principal Nabil Abou-Haidar. “There is a clean-lined simplicity to the building that remains attractive to this day. It is certainly an approach we bring forward in contemporary architecture for our clients, and in our other offices around the world.”

Cuningham’s Phoenix office has approximately 20 architects and designers.

The firm’s project portfolio includes work in South Korea, China as well as Disney’s California Adventure.

Cuningham Group is leasing the 1950s era bank building from owners Mike and Gary Smith. They own Phoenix-based Jokake Companies, which acquired the property and in partnership with the city of Phoenix in 2015.

They restored the building’s exterior.

“We are delighted we were able to save the historic property,” said Jill Clements, president of Jokake Real Estate Services. “There are not many historic buildings left in the Phoenix area. So when we were able to save this one, we were thrilled. The Smiths are happy to be working with such a prestigious architectural firm as Cuningham Group and look forward to their long-term tenancy at the property.”

Call Laura Boyajian for all of your Historic Phoenix Homes Buying and Selling needs.

REPORT: Phoenix Ranked Second-Best Metro Area For Homeowners

Bankrate.com Aug 31, 2016

The Phoenix metro area is the second-best in the nation for homeowners, according to a Bankrate.com report released Wednesday.

phoenix,az,market report,real estate,historic,bestPortland, Phoenix, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Minneapolis/St. Paul round out the best metropolitan areas for homeowners, according to the report. Bankrate.com is a leading aggregator of financial rate information and this marks their first time releasing such a report.

The study reviewed eight factors: home affordability; price appreciation; property taxes; homeowners’ insurance, energy and maintenance costs; foreclosures and how rapidly rents rose over the past six years for which data are available.

Phoenix ranked high on the list for several reasons, including strong home-price appreciation, few foreclosures and inexpensive homeowners’ insurance, according to the report.

“Phoenix was one of the best cities in all the categories we looked at,” said Claes Bell, Bankrate.com analyst. “We were looking to see which cities were the best for attainability, sustainability, affordability and if there was a rewarding financial benefit to owning a home in these areas.”

The Phoenix area scores fifth lowest on the scale of rent hedging, which is a way of measuring rent increases compared with the home price appreciation. In Phoenix, house prices have also been rising faster than rents over the past five years, contributing to the Valley’s high ranking. The Phoenix metro area had the tenth highest energy cost among the 50 metro areas, a reflection of high air conditioning bills during the summer months, according to Bankrate.com.

Home values plunged during the housing bust, but now they are recovering, according to Bankrate.com, and the pace of home appreciation in Phoenix in the last five years is second fastest among the 50 largest metro areas.

The greater Phoenix area also has bounced back from the foreclosure crisis. For the last three years the city has had the second lowest foreclosure rate among top metro areas.

“Builders stopped building during the housing bubble and now demand beats out supply,” Bell said. “Phoenix is no different in that way from the rest of the country. What’s different is the property tax rate and the affordability of the home itself. In cities like New York and L.A., housing costs are half to three-quarters of a person’s annual income.”

Strong home-price appreciation over the past five years is a common thread in Phoenix, Atlanta and Las Vegas. The Twin Cities’ best housing attributes are strong home-price appreciation and a dearth of foreclosures.

Hartford, Connecticut ranks last because of high carrying costs: It has above-average property tax, energy, homeowners’ insurance and maintenance fees. The New York City metro area is second-worst due to high property taxes, minimal home-price appreciation and expensive maintenance costs. Only Los Angeles (fourth-worst) prevented a northeastern sweep of the bottom five (Providence is third-worst and Buffalo is fifth from the rear), according to the report.

“Major cities in the middle of the country did really well in this ranking,” Bell said in a press release. “Out of the top 15 metro areas, only one is within 250 miles of an ocean. Homeowners in America’s largest coastal cities face a number of challenges, ranging from sky-high mortgage payments gobbling up an outsized portion of homeowners’ incomes to high property insurance rates, especially in hurricane-prone areas, and our ranking reflects that.

It’s a terrific time to buy or sell a home in the Phoenix Metro area.