Phoenix hottest housing market of 2019

[john3232]

My wife enjoys listening and playing jazz. We only have one car and she hasn't been driving long. I prefer she takes the light rail so I don't have to drive to Phx from Mesa and return three hours later to pick her up.

She can call me just before boarding the light rail and I'll meet her at the local light rail station.

I've been in and around the down town areas of big cities all life. I wanted to check the area out given she may leave the club around 9 p.m.

What I mean by sketchy are those I saw on the street in the vicinity of the club. And this was four in the afternoon which is fine. What I am concerned about is after 8 or 9 p.m.

Now.... when we went walking on the other side of large intersection (Main) this is where I saw the money.

The apartment complex was new, attractive and not cheap. The coffee shop was upscale.

Reminds me an area of downtown San Francisco where housing has been developed. Yet is still close to the riffraff and crime.

I don't know downtown Phx and have only been there a few times. However, the light rail is only a block and a half away from the club and off the city sidewalk, So it should be safe as long as it's not too late.

In any event it's apparent a lot of development is happening downtown.

Interestingly my wife and I went to downtown Mesa a couple of Saturdays ago. Looks like new activity there as well. Not like downtown Phx but seems thriving nevertheless.

[DetroitN8V]

Yeah, there are definitely homeless people around. I don’t think crime is much of a concern but for a solo woman after dark, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to take precautions. The development on Portland is really nice but there is a lot of nice, new development on the east side of central as well. That whole area is booming and becoming really nice, with nothing sketchy other than a few homeless people here and there.

I’d be more concerned with her being on the light rail alone than walking around Roosevelt Row, to be frank.

[barca12]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

Growth is being driven primarily by record low interest rates for a record amount of time. Let’s revisit when the fed’s attempts to perpetually patch the dam through irresponsible fiscal policy eventually fail.

Interest rates have remained low for some time. And the Fed isn't going to significantly increase interest rates for a while. But I disagree that our growth was primarily driven by low interest rates. Even during the housing market crash, interest rates were low. Low unemployment and diversification of the job market is what is driving growth in Phoenix. That lends a favorable outlook for the future.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by barca12

Interest rates have remained low for some time. And the Fed isn't going to significantly increase interest rates for a while. But I disagree that our growth was primarily driven by low interest rates. Even during the housing market crash, interest rates were low. Low unemployment and diversification of the job market is what is driving growth in Phoenix. That lends a favorable outlook for the future.

Certainly low interest rates were a factor for the nation and were no more of a factor in Phoenix than elsewhere.

[Slater]

Before the Crash of 2008, people would camp out overnight to wait for new housing developments to open their doors to buyers. Don't think we're quite back that level yet?

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Slater

Before the Crash of 2008, people would camp out overnight to wait for new housing developments to open their doors to buyers. Don't think we're quite back that level yet?

Today is nothing like 2005 when I first bought. Any and everybody could get a loan. Homes sold in a day or two usually over asking price.

Construction companies were slapping together housing all over the Valley. They couldn't build fast enough.

Then it all came crashing down... hard.

Home values dropped by at least 50% within three or four years.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by john3232

My wife and I went to the Nash Jazz club in downtown Phx during the day a couple of weeks back. The area where the club is located looks sketchy.

However, when we walked back to the Light Rail we went to the other side of the rail station looking for a coffee shop.

This area is quite upscale compared to where the Nash Jazz sits.

The coffee shop my wife and I went had young people all busy with their laptop. And the apartment buildings looked new and I'm fairly certain the apartments aren't cheap.

The next few years will be interesting.

Roosevelt Row used to be even more sketchy over a decade ago ... in fact, at one time it was nearly dilapidated. The area is up & coming, but most of the improvement has been closer to 3rd Street. The part of Roosevelt Street between 1st and Central isn't so much sketchy as much as it is bland. To me, the murals are just a way to cover up empty or run down structures, and a good share of them are more like eyesores.

[AndroidAZ]

Yup, hate to say I told you so to the naysayers, but I knew Phoenix was long overdue for this to happen.

The fundamentals are extremely strong in Phoenix. Jobs are increasing here in quality and quantity. It's still one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) big city on the west coast, with great weather and modern amenities. This is long long overdue.

[Potential_Landlord]

I understand that Phoenix deserves higher prices more than most metro areas in the US, particular our super overpriced coastal cities. I am not happy over fast home price growth because it is harder for my kids to buy something, it does not help us overly as we need the house to live in (only higher taxes) and lastly, the key to conservatism is... there has to be something to conserve. Phoenix has always been relatively more conservative compared to other huge metro areas because we have widespread home ownership. Cities with a majorly tenant class are always socialist, across the globe. There is no own property to "conserve' or be conservative. If I was a conservative politician here, I would do something to provide affordable home ownership, in his/her very own interest. Anyways, just some things to think about.