Chandler sees boom in multifamily housing

 
For the first time in at least 20 years, more apartment and condominium units than single-family homes are going up in Chandler this year.

It’s a trend that is likely to continue as Chandler moves toward build-out (see graphic at bottom of story), but city leaders recently got together to discuss whether that is consistent with their vision for the city.

“I have been concerned about how many apartments we have coming in,” said Councilman Jeff Weninger, echoing other City Council members. “A lot of them make sense and there’s special circumstances. ... But we have to be careful in the future, especially changing from other uses to the multifamily use, that we have the right balance because we could be affecting things for years to come.”

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Revenue skyrockets as sales of state land strengthen

Aided by the improving economy and land prices, the Arizona State Land Department has brought in more revenue recently, a trend that is likely to continue as the state auctions off more land, including prime property in Phoenix’s Desert Ridge area.

The trust has seen revenue skyrocket from land sales and leases as the economy and land prices have bounced back. The State Land Department brought in more than $318 million in fiscal 2013, which ended June 30 — a near 60 percent jump from the previous year, which saw revenue of a little more than $200 million, according to a department official.

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Arizona’s lost homeownership

 
The Phoenix area, Maricopa County and Arizona posted the biggest estimated declines in U.S. homeownership rates in their categories in recent years, confirming that metro Phoenix was in important ways the national epicenter of the housing crash.

Newly released Census Bureau data shows the metro area, the county and the state swung from slightly above-average homeownership from 2007-09 to slightly below-average rates in the 2010-12 period.

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