NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index decreased 0.6 of a point in August to 91.3, the 20th consecutive month below the 49-year average of 98. Twenty-three percent of small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important business problem, up two points from last month. The net percent of owners raising average selling prices increased two points to a net … [More]
Phoenix Ranks Seventh for Data Center Construction in First Half of 2023
Activity from cloud service providers continues to drive construction in Phoenix in the first half of 2023, helping the market retain its status as one of the primary data center markets* in North America, according to a new report from CBRE. There is 163.5 MW under construction in H1 2023 and 88.07% percent of the under-construction inventory in Phoenix is already preleased – … [More]
Business Owner Optimism Soars to 21-Year Record High while Hiring Concerns Linger, Says Survey
PNC's latest semi-annual survey of small and mid-sized businesses, which concluded Aug. 9, shows that business owner optimism about the outlook for their own business in the next six months has reached a 21-year high amid strong expectations for sales, profits and demand. Despite PNC economists' predictions for a shallow recession starting in early 2024, business leaders' … [More]
Home Equity Increases from Winter to Spring, Arizona Down $37K
CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released the Homeowner Equity Report (HER) for the second quarter of 2023. The report shows that U.S. homeowners with mortgages (which account for roughly 63% of all properties) saw home equity decrease by 1.7% year over year, representing a collective loss of $287.6 billion, … [More]
Governor Celebrates Jobs, Strong Workforce, and Growing Economy
Governor Katie Hobbs attended two events highlighting Arizona’s booming economy and investments in workforce training. Governor Hobbs attended and gave remarks at the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation Workforce Summit that brought together employers and education leaders from across the state. The event focused on discussions about workforce trends and tangible workforce … [More]
Phoenix Q3 Construction Stats: New Report Analyzes Trends in Labor, Supply Chain & Material Costs
One of the fastest-growing design-build firms in America, LGE Design Build (LGE), today released its third quarter Construction Delivery Outlook report to examine trends within construction labor, supply chain and material costs across the country as well as in the company’s key markets of Phoenix and Dallas.“Despite the lingering challenges created by the pandemic, our report … [More]
More Than 80% of Home Shoppers Consider Climate Risks when Looking for a New Home, Says Survey
More than 4 out of 5 prospective home buyers consider climate risks as they shop, new Zillow research shows. Most say their major concern is flood risk, followed by wildfires, extreme temperatures, hurricanes and drought. "Climate risks impact where most prospective buyers shop for a home," said Zillow senior population scientist Manny Garcia. "While all generations … [More]
Home Prices Tick Up After Two Months of Declines
Following two months of year-over-year declines, home prices rose in August (+0.7%) as the number of homes on the market decreased for the second month in a row, down -7.9% year-over-year, according to the Realtor.com® August Monthly Housing Trends Report released today. Active inventory remained -47.8% below typical 2017 to 2019 levels, although an unseasonable increase in … [More]
Unlocking Opportunities with Hard Money
When does hard money lending make sense for businesses and investors?
In today’s dynamic business and real estate investment landscape, the availability of fast and flexible financing is frequently the key to success. That’s where hard money loans come into play. Hard money lending is a type of financing that allows borrowers to secure loans based on the value of real estate assets rather than their creditworthiness. While traditional … [More]
Real Estate Investors Pull Back, Buying 45% Fewer Homes Than a Year Ago
Investor home purchases fell 45% from a year earlier in the second quarter, outpacing the 31% drop in overall home sales, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s the biggest decline since 2008 with the exception of the quarter before, when they dropped 48%. The decline comes as this year’s relatively cool housing and rental … [More]
See Which Arizona Charter Schools Top National Rankings
U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today announced the 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings. The rankings evaluate nearly 18,000 public high schools at the national, state and local level. This year’s rankings showcase the schools whose students demonstrate outstanding outcomes, surpassing the anticipated benchmarks, including … [More]
August Job Growth among Small Businesses Unchanged from July
According to the Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch, the national Small Business Jobs Index — which measures the rate of small business job growth in the U.S. — is essentially flat at 99.10, a decrease of 0.04% in August. Meanwhile, an hourly earnings growth rate of 3.98% among U.S. small businesses is unchanged in August from July and below four percent for … [More]
First-Time Homeownership Surges: Half of All Home Buyers Are Making Their First Purchase
Half of all home buyers are purchasing their first home, the highest share that Zillow has ever recorded. Zillow's 2023 Consumer Housing Trends Report finds that first-time buyers now make up 50% of all home buyers, up from 45% last year and a meaningful jump from 37% in 2021. The share of first-time buyers likely hasn't been this high since around 2010, when there was a … [More]
Tourism Economic Impact in Mesa Reaches $1.1 Billion, Says Report
Visit Mesa’s latest annual economic impact report conducted by Tourism Economics finds 4.3 million visitors spent $710.4 million in 2022, which translates into $2 million spent by visitors every single day in Mesa and a total economic impact of $1.1 billion for the city and its residents. The report’s findings show this total economic impact sustained 7,767 jobs, generated … [More]
Greater Phoenix Home Sales, Prices Stay Steady as Residential Real Estate Figures Transition into Fall
Looking at numbers from a historical perspective, the residential real estate market in Greater Phoenix is better than expected when activity started slipping late in 2022, according to the latest market data from Phoenix REALTORS. Median sales prices in July remained generally steady at over $466,000, but down from $475,000 in June. However, the percentage of list price … [More]
Asking Rents Are Inching Closer to Their Record High, Says Report
The median U.S. asking rent in July was $2,038, just $16 below the record high set in August 2022. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. While rents are just shy of their all-time high, rent growth remains sluggish. The median asking rent was up just 0.3% from a year earlier in July, compared with a 13.6% annual gain in … [More]
Consumer Prices Rose 3.2 Percent in the Year through July, Slight Increase in the Inflation Rate
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2 percent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.2 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for shelter was by far the largest contributor to the monthly all items … [More]
