Q: What economic trends do you expect will impact your business in 2025? Randy Grudzinski Partner & Head of Capital Markets Empire Group of Companies Sector: Commercial Real Estate When it comes to new homebuyers, end of year 2025 30-year mortgage-rate expectations from the leading groups in this field really don’t signal that much relief is on the way. The Mortgage … [More]
The Pandemic-Led Rent Growth Boom Is Beginning to Fizzle, Metro Phoenix Sees No Change
CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its latest Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), which analyzes single-family rent price changes nationally and across major metropolitan areas. The report highlights the slowing growth in key rental metros which all experienced population spikes during the … [More]
Gen Z and Millennials to Small Businesses: Get Online or Get Left Behind
New GoDaddy survey shows 80% of young shoppers research businesses before buying
Maintaining an online presence is important to small businesses, but is it necessary? According to new data from GoDaddy, if a business's target audience is Gen Z or Millennials, not having one could seriously impact their bottom line. A majority (80%) of 1,000 Gen Z and Millennial U.S. consumers surveyed in September shared they research small businesses online before … [More]
Investor Home Purchases Plateau after a Pandemic-Era Rollercoaster Ride, Phoenix Fared OK
Real estate investors purchased 2.3% fewer homes in the third quarter than they did a year earlier, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The small size of the change is notable because it comes after four years of huge swings driven by the wild pandemic-era housing market. For instance, investor purchases surged as much as 144% … [More]
Best U.S. Airports for Travelers: Phoenix Sky Harbor Ranks Second
New research into the factors contributing to an enjoyable airport experience for travelers has revealed a ranking of the best large hub airports in the US –with Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ranked second. The study by the online casino website Nieuwe Casino analyzed various reviews, facilities, and Google search volumes of the 31 busiest airports in the US … [More]
Consumers Plan to Spend Big This Holiday Season
JLL’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Report reveals that budgets will surge by more than 30% this holiday season
Driven by cooling inflation and the revival of physical storefronts, consumer spending habits will see significant shifts this holiday season compared to 2023, according to JLL’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Survey. After surveying over 1,000 consumers to understand how, when, and where shoppers plan to spend their dollars this holiday season, JLL reveals an expected 31.7% uptick in … [More]
Main Street Owners Feel More Confident as They Enter the Holiday Season; Arizona Voters Go Pro-Small Business
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose by 2.2 points in October to 93.7. This is the 34th consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. The Uncertainty Index rose seven points to 110, the highest reading recorded. A seasonally adjusted net negative 20% of small business owners reported higher nominal sales in the past three months, the lowest reading since July … [More]
The Number of Renter Households Is Growing Three Times Faster Than Homeowner Households
The number of renter households rose 2.7%, in the third quarter year over year, to a record 45.6 million. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That rate of growth is three times faster than the 0.9% increase in homeowner households, which now total a record 86.9 million. The 2.7% increase—representing 1.18 million … [More]
Annual Home Price Slowdown Continues, Says Report
CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released the CoreLogic Home Price Index and HPI Forecast for September 2024. U.S. home price growth continued to cool, slowing to a 3.4% year-over-year in September. Compared to with the month prior, home prices rebounded to post a very slight uptick (0.02%) following … [More]
Buying Like It’s 2021: Nearly Half of Recent Buyers Have a Mortgage Rate Below 5%
Almost half of recent home buyers with a mortgage secured a rate below 5%, a recent Zillow® survey shows.1 Current mortgage rates are hovering near 7%, yet many home buyers who purchased a home in the past year thought outside the box to unlock homeownership. Mortgage rates surged from historic lows of 2.65% in 2021 to decade-long highs of 7.79% by the fall of 2023. This … [More]
2024 Is Shaping Up to Be the Smallest Black Friday Ever, Says GoDaddy Study
Consumers are in a giving mood this year, not just toward their friends and families, but also to small businesses. According to a new GoDaddy survey, 71%* of U.S. shoppers are willing to pay more to support small businesses during Black Friday and this year's holiday season, with an eye-popping 53%* of them willing to spend up to 10 percent more to do so. Despite 65%* of … [More]
Housing Market Stays Surprisingly Active as Election Looms and Mortgage Rates Hit 7%
Mortgage rates rose to 7% for the first time since early July this week, erasing their late-summer decline into the low-6% range. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Rising rates, combined with economic uncertainty and anxiety brought on by the impending presidential election, are causing some prospective homebuyers and … [More]
The Business of Arts & Culture: How Growing Arts & Culture Benefits Our Economy
“Arts and culture is a significant industry in Arizona,” says Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, citing numbers that support the statement: The sector represents 3% of the state’s total GDP, employs more than 84,000 individuals and in 2022 added $14.2 billion to the economy. That last figure, he notes, is “nearly as much as agriculture, … [More]
Sandra Watson, Arizona Commerce Authority
Valuing Arts & Culture
The value of arts and culture is vital when evaluating the strength of an economy. Arts and culture is not only a revenue-generating sector on its own, it has been proven over and over to be a significant element of the health of the business community and in economic development. Arizona’s vibrant arts and culture scene is critical to our unbeatable quality of … [More]
How Business Owners Can Optimize Their Estate Tax Plan
And ensure business continuity
Entrepreneurs work tirelessly to build their companies, many with the intent to transfer their business to the next generation. But without proper estate tax planning, business owners at certain levels of wealth run the risk of missing out on significant savings opportunities. Using tools like tax exemptions, trusts, valuation discounts and leveraging business structures for … [More]
Arizona Is One of the Best States to Get a Job in Software Development, Study Finds
According to a new study, Maryland is the best state in the US to get a job in software development. Software development company Vention investigated which US state is best for finding a software development job. They considered four factors, which included the average salary for a software developer, availability of this job type, state income tax, and cost of … [More]
Homebuying Demand Holds Up Even as Election Uncertainty, Stronger-Than-Expected Economy Push Up Rates
Pending U.S. home sales rose 3.5% year over year during the four weeks ending October 20, the biggest increase in three years (with the exception of the prior 4-week period, when they rose 3.7%). That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. On a local level, pending sales are up in 35 of the 50 most populous U.S. metros, the most … [More]
Arizona Tops List Where Homeownership Has Increased the Most since 2020
A new study from the money experts at Moneywise shows that Arizona has had the highest increase in homeownership since 2020. Arizona has seen the most significant increase in homeownership since 2020 The research analysed government census data from 2020 to 2024 to see which states have had the most significant increase in homeownership. The percentage increase is not the … [More]
