Tag Archives: Phoenix Metro

Downtown Phoenix’s Growing Popularity is Pricing Out Many Residents

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10-28-2018 Courtesy, in part, azcentral

Downtown Phoenix’s Metro housing boom is blanketing the area with thousands of new apartments and condominiums.

But the rents and prices for the new homes will shut the door on some who want to live in the area. and home prices in historic neighborhoods in and around downtown Phoenix are soaring as the area becomes more popular, further limiting Metro Phoenix potential buyers.

“It’s heartbreaking that the teachers and those working in the area’s hotels and cafes can’t afford to live in downtown,” said Cindy Dach, downtown Phoenix proponent, resident and business owner. “The area won’t be diverse unless we plan housing for everyone.”

Some affordable housing is planned in the city’s core, but not enough, say housing advocates. Building affordable housing in the area is tough due to rising land prices.

“We need the entire spectrum of housing in downtown Phoenix,” said Patricia Garcia Duarte, CEO of the housing non-profit Trellis. “Many people forget affordable housing is needed to create a healthy community.”

Luxury, luxury and more luxury in Metro Phoenix Phoenix, AZ

Most of the 8,000 apartments recently built, underway or planned in downtown Phoenix are in luxury complexes with rents higher than the average Valley mortgage.

The average apartment rent in downtown Phoenix is $1,608, according to ABI Multifamily. The average apartment rent for a one bedroom for the entire city of Phoenix is $1,050.

Millennial Adrian Zaragoza rented in downtown Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row neighborhood for five years before buying a new condo in the area’s Portland on the Park development last year.

“I saw rents rising, and the chance to buy a condo before those prices climbed too,” he said.

Zaragoza said all of the new development going on downtown “is exciting,” but he’s glad to be his own landlord and not dealing with rent hikes.

If too many apartments go up and don’t fill up fast, rents could fall in downtown Phoenix.

Also, though rents are high in downtown Phoenix, they are still $50 to $100 lower a month than rents in downtown Scottsdale and Tempe.

Can you still find an affordable house In Phoenix, AZ?

Aysia Williams and Benjamin Hughes rented in Phoenix’s Woodland Historic District, on the western edge of downtown, for about a year before trying to buy their first home.

“We fell in love with the area, but saw prices and rents climbing fast,” Williams said. “We knew we wanted to buy, but there was a lot of competition for the houses we liked.”

Woodland is part of the 85007 ZIP code, one of central Phoenix’s more affordable neighborhoods. The area, which has also attracted many investors, saw its overall median home price climb 10 percent to more than $192,000 in 2017. Sales in the area jumped nearly 20 percent last year.

The couple’s house, for which they paid less than $250,000 a few months ago, was never even listed for sale. They were renting in the neighborhood and searching for a home they could afford when they met a longtime homeowner who didn’t want to sell to an investor.

People talk about the gentrification of central Phoenix pricing too many first-time homebuyers out. Buyers can still find affordable homes if they look hard enough.

Home prices in most other historic neighborhoods around downtown Phoenix are much higher. Prices in nearby the nearby Roosevelt historic district and Willo historic neighborhood can easily top $500,000.

Housing downtown workers can afford

Phoenix Housing Director Cindy Stotler said downtown Phoenix has 1,001 affordable units which is more than most people realize.

The issue is that those units are reserved under federal law for “very low-income” individuals who have a median annual income of  $14,000-$38,000.

Stotler said the real downtown housing gap is in “workforce housing,” for middle-income individuals who make $38,000-$48,000 annually. These individuals would have to pay nearly 50 percent of their income to afford living in market-rate housing downtown which is not reasonable or sustainable, she said.

“To me, the area that we’re missing in downtown is the working people’s housing. And people who are not like a lawyer or something and making a lot of money, but they’re just average working people,” she said. “There’s no regular housing for them. We’re not building that.”

To get workforce housing downtown, the city likely won’t be able to rely on traditional developers, Stotler said.

Land prices are high, which makes it difficult for developers to offer middle-income rents and still turn a profit on their projects, she said.

Garcia Duarte said financing is also difficult for more affordable housing, which deters some developers from building it. 

Stotler is looking to city-owned land in downtown as a possible solution to this issue. She hopes to find developers or non-profit groups that may be able to build middle-income housing on these lots.  

Affordable housing to market-rate

Phoenix’s housing department owns and operates three affordable housing properties in the downtown core.

  • Deck Park Vista: Located at Third and Moreland streets, Deck Park Vista has 56 subsidized senior apartments. The average household income is $17,848 and only two of the units qualify as workforce housing.
  • Ambassador West: This complex located near Van Buren Street and Fifth Avenue has 102 units. The average household income is $24,159 and only 28 of the units qualify as workforce housing.
  • Reflections on Portland: This small, 18-unit complex at Second and Portland streets has five workforce housing units. The average household income is $35,245.

Stotler would like to take some of the city’s housing projects and redevelop them as denser projects with more units available for middle-income households.

For example, Deck Park Vista is a garden-style apartment complex with just 56 units on two acres of land. Stotler said she could fit between 200-400 units on the land.

“It’s a poorly designed project for the downtown,” she said.

Stotler said the city has 10 other senior housing options across Phoenix, including some near downtown, like the Warehouse District, where the current residents could be moved to accommodate a new multistory project on the land with 200 workforce units and 50 affordable units.

Financing the project won’t be easy. While the city gets federal assistance to provide low-income housing, there are far fewer resources to build and provide middle-income housing, Stotler said.

“That’s where I’m struggling right now, is where we can get the funding to build all these workforce units,” Stotler said.

Pressure to build affordable In Phoenix, AZ

In most large cities, particularly those on the East Coast, it’s common practice to require developers who build market-rate housing to contribute to an affordable housing trust fund, which allows the city to build affordable housing.

Phoenix can’t do this. State law prohibits cities from creating such trust funds, Stotler said.

Instead, the city council can, and has, put pressure on developers to include a percentage of affordable or workforce housing in its projects if they want special perks from the city like a tax break or extra height.

Recently, the developer of an apartment project planned at the Arizona Center agreed to reserve 10 percent of its 354 planned units for workforce housing in exchange for a tax break.

Whether you’re looking to buy a single-family home in Phoenix, AZ, a Historic Phoenix home, or, If the condo lifestyle is something you’re considering, or, if it’s all you can afford now, please give me a call for  free, no obligation consultation. I specialize and LOVE working with first-time homebuyers and am am FIRM believer that THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION. I’ll take all the time with you that you need!

Renovated Burton Barr library set to reopen after flood damage

The city’s main library was devastated by a flood last monsoon. The $10 million renovation includes a larger children’s area and more community space in the Downtown & Central Phoenix, AZ area

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Workers put the final touches at the Burton Barr Central Library, which will be open to the public on Saturday after a year-long renovation sparked by a catastrophic failure in the building’s sprinkler system that flooded much of the building.

But don’t worry, many of visitors’ favorite aspects of the library are the same. 

This week, the sounds of vacuums and power tools echoed throughout the branch. Librarians stacked books while IT professionals installed computers. 

“This is a beloved resource in Phoenix,” Phoenix Public Library Community Relations Manager Lee Franklin told The Arizona Republic. 

The storm

In July 2017, a windstorm caused the library’s roof to shake and release dust. The building’s smoke-detection system confused it for smoke and caused the fire-sprinkler system to be filled with water. 

The sprinkler heads did not activate but water came out of the holes, causing damage to all five of the building’s floors and part of the book collection. No one was in the library during the flooding. 

During the renovations, the fire suppression system and roof were replaced. 

More space, accommodations 

When walking into the renovated library, people will notice many of the same features and services. 

“We are ready to be back in business and offer a significant increase in service,” Franklin said. 

Franklin said the staff understands the community’s love of the former library and didn’t want renovations to change it drastically. But there will be some new things.

Throughout the library, visitors will find more computers and convenience outlets near desk areas. The library replaced flooring and tabletops. 

The biggest changes were made to the children’s section, College Depot and MACH areas. 

The children’s space, on the first floor, is larger: a bigger story-time area, bigger collection and an upgraded First Five Years area.

Franklin said before the storm, the library had been planning to update the College Depot on the second floor. 

Now, the space has a computer lab that can hold 66 people and a large meeting room. 

“We are now able to offer more sessions and accommodate more people,” Franklin said.

The area can host visits from experts, GED classes, workshops and summer camps. 

On the fourth floor, the MACH area was significantly damaged by water. The area, also known as the space for makers-artists-crafters-hackers, caters to people who want to learn more about STEM. 

The area now has two computer labs and a designated 3D-printer room. 

An additional service at the location will be the seed library. Franklin said Burton Barr librarians realized the program was successful at other locations and wanted to bring it downtown

Phoenix library flood’s damage tally: 6,000 books

The library’s fifth floor

The pipe burst above the reference section on the fifth floor. 

Franklin said when replacing the section, staff researched which resources were used the most. 

Some resources were not able to be replaced due to being out of publication. Therefore, computers were added to the area so visitors can search digital versions. 

Franklin said the library staff like to call the floor “the great reading room.” 

Also, the room’s metal pillars offer visitors the opportunity to see how the building’s architecture interacts with sunlight. 

The pillars point to skylights in the ceiling, which highlight the sun’s ascent.

Franklin said the library will honor the summer solstice on June 21 because the midday effect of the pillars is most pronounced on that day.  

Rare books and art

Franklin said many people in the community were concerned about the rare books in the library. None of the books or the Washington handpress were harmed, she said. 

The room’s floor was replaced with more durable material and the tables can now be moved around.

During the first days of accessing the damage, crews saved art work from the property. 

Burton Barr is home to more than 30 art pieces on permanent display and a gallery space. The gallery will continue its exhibit schedule with the reopening. 

Franklin said art pieces were shown at City Hall during the renovations.

Reopening details

The library will open at 9 a.m. Saturday. 

The day’s activities include story times, a fairy-tale princess visit, activity stations and a magician in the Children’s Place from 9 a.m. to noon.

Visitors can visit the rare books room from noon to 3 p.m. and print a keepsake on the century-old Washington handpress, or spend the afternoon learning about coding or how to build a droid. 

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.

Top public school districts in Phoenix area, ranked by 2014 SAT scores

Top public school districts in Phoenix area

May 17, 2016

top phoenix schools,2014,arizonaWhen ranking Arizona’s top 50 public high schools based on 2014 SAT test scores, the majority in the top 10 are charter schools.

So we crunched the numbers again to look only at traditional, non-charter public high schools to see which are the best scoring school districts in the metro Phoenix area.

It’s no surprise that public school districts in metro Phoenix tend to perform better in the outlying areas, especially in the East Valley, such as in Chandler and Gilbert. But it was surprising to see how close some of the other school districts are when comparing their average 2014 SAT scores.

SAT test scores are a good measure of college readiness, according to the College Board, which administers the test nationwide.