Arizona was awarded a prestigious “Gold Shovel” award from Area Development Magazine in the 6-10 million population category, marking the state’s third consecutive gold shovel. Considering economic development projects that were announced, commenced construction or operations in 2022, the Shovel Awards recognize states that “garnered large job-creating and investment projects … [More]
Arizona Wins Third Consecutive Gold Shovel Award; TSMC’s $40B Investment in Phoenix Wins ‘Manufacturing Project of the Year’
ASU to Launch Medical School
The Arizona Board of Regents has asked Arizona State University to expand medical education in Arizona by launching a new medical school, one charged with addressing the significant and growing health care needs of the state. The new ASU School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering will integrate clinical medicine, biomedical science and engineering, … [More]
Phoenix Is the Top Metro for Build-to-Rent Construction
Single-family rentals are booming across the U.S., with 45,000 new homes for rent built in the last 5 years. Out of these, an all-time high of 14,541 new homes were completed in 2022 alone — and this trend isn’t showing signs of slowing down one bit. Our new build-to-rent report maps the construction of build-to-rent communities (BTR) throughout 100 U.S. metros and offers a … [More]
Governor Hobbs Unveils 100-Year Study to Protect Valley Groundwater Supplies; Announces $40M Investment in Arizona Water Resiliency Fund
Last week, Governor Katie Hobbs unveiled the Phoenix Active Management Area (AMA) Groundwater Model and the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ latest study of groundwater conditions across the Phoenix metropolitan area. The groundwater model evaluates water level changes after 100 years of existing and projected pumping, and gives water managers critical information to … [More]
Arizona Has the 10th Best State Economy, Says Report
With California on track to overtake Germany as the world’s fourth largest economy, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst State Economies, as well as expert commentary. In order to determine America’s top economic performers, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic … [More]
U.S. Employers Added 339,000 Jobs in May, Defying Expectations of a Slowdown
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 339,000 in May, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, government, health care, construction, transportation and warehousing, and social assistance. This news release presents … [More]
Small Businesses Have Record High Levels of Job Openings Despite Struggle to Find Qualified Workers
According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 44% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down one point from April but still 20 points higher than the 49-year average reading. The percent of owners reporting labor quality as their top small business operating problem remains elevated at 24% and 10% of owners reported … [More]
Home Price Gains Slow to Lowest Rate on Record in May, Says Realtor.com
Home prices rose slightly in May, but price growth slowed to the lowest rate on record since 2016, suggesting home prices may not see a new peak in 2023, according to the Realtor.com Monthly Housing Trends Report released today. Additionally, home inventory growth continues to slow and is declining in many metro areas across the country as fewer sellers list their homes than … [More]
Industrial Construction Update: Is The Market at Risk for Oversupply?
Cushman & Wakefield has released its new Industrial Construction report, showing demand losing speed as construction completions peak, setting the stage for a return to a more balanced market. The report press release is also attached. Throughout the current industrial expansion, which began in 2012, the pipeline has often struggled to keep pace with demand throughout … [More]
Investor Home Purchases Fell a Record 49% YOY in the First Quarter, Says Report
Real estate investors purchased 48.6% fewer homes in the first quarter of 2023 than they did a year earlier as elevated interest rates along with declining rents and housing values ate into potential profits, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s the largest annual decline on record, and outpaced the 40.7% drop in … [More]
Three Innovative Phoenix Biotech Businesses Secure Spot at 2023 BIO International Convention
Phoenix-based start-ups ElectraTect, FAKnostics, and Reference Medicine are among the 50 global companies selected to participate in the highly acclaimed Start-Up Stadium at the 2023 BIO International Convention. This unique platform provides seed-stage companies with an … [More]
Overall U.S. Mortgage Delinquency Rate Drops to All-Time Low in March, Says Report
CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for March 2023. For the month of March, 2.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 0.3 percentage point decrease … [More]
Small Business Jobs Growth Holds Steady in May
The rate of small business job growth was unchanged from April for the month of May, according to the latest 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. — stands at 99.45, a 0.04% decrease from April. Meanwhile, hourly earnings growth for U.S. workers slowed to … [More]
Out-of-Town Moves Have Fallen 6% from a Year Ago, Phoenix Tops the List of Cities to Move Into
The number of Redfin.com users looking to move to a different part of the country is down 6% from a year earlier, the biggest drop on record, as the overall U.S. housing market remains cool in the face of high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty. This is according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s a big swing from a year ago … [More]
Phoenix’s Office Market Slows
As high inflation and rising interest rates have begun to influence the real estate market in increasingly impactful ways, Phoenix’s office market has shown a constant slowdown since the beginning of 2023, CommercialEdge data shows. Despite the 2.0 percent growth in office-using jobs on a year-over-year basis as of February, the metro closed the year’s first quarter … [More]
Waymo and Uber Partner to Bring Waymo’s Autonomous Driving Technology to the Uber Platform
Waymo and Uber are excited to announce a new, multi-year strategic partnership to make the Waymo Driver available to more people via the Uber platform starting in Phoenix. Since both companies were founded in 2009, Waymo and Uber have in their own ways each revolutionized access to mobility. Now, we’re partnering to bring together Waymo’s world-leading autonomous driving … [More]
Arizona, California, and Nevada Governors Announce Lower Basin Plan to Protect Colorado River
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo announced that the Colorado River Lower Basin States have developed a plan to conserve 3 million acre-feet over the next three years to protect the Colorado River system. “The Lower Basin Plan is the product of months of tireless work by our water managers to develop an agreement … [More]
VC Partners with Flinn Foundation to Fuel Growth in Arizona Bioscience and Healthcare Sectors
Xcellerant Ventures welcomes the Flinn Foundation as a limited partner in its Xcellerant Venture Capital Fund I. Xcellerant Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early and seed stage startups within the HealthTech and MedTech sectors. Xcellerant seeks to invest in dynamic founding teams with strong intellectual property portfolios that XVC believes will transform … [More]