TUCSON, ARIZONA – Phoenix accident attorney, Brandon Rafi, has purchased the property at 550 W Irvington Road in Tucson.  The 40,550-square-foot lot is located at the northeast hard corner of Irvington and 12th Street, a former used car lot with a 2,000-square-foot unaffixed sales office and asphalt parking lot was sold for land value at $1.225 million ($30 PSF).  One block from major I-19 highway interchange the intersection has over 52,000 cars per day.

The seller, Gikar, LLC (Gilbran Hallal, manager) had owner occupied property as a used car lot dba Camel Motors.

The buyer will occupy the property for a law firm dba Rafi Law Firm and hold for future retail / office redevelopment.

Phoenix, Arizona – CBRE negotiated the sale of the 342-unit multifamily community Shade at Desert Ridge to a partnership between Knightvest Capital and Torchlight Investors for $87 million ($254,000 per unit).

CBRE’s Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter, Matt Pesch, and Mark McFate of Phoenix Multifamily Institutional Properties represented the seller, Ergas Group. Rocco Mandala of CBRE Debt & Structured Finance arranged debt on behalf of the buyers.

Built in 2007, Shade at Desert Ridge amenities include a lap pool and a resort-style pool area with fire and water features, a state-of-the-art fitness center with Peloton bikes, modern resident clubhouse with demonstration kitchen, one-of-a-kind dog park, grilling station and parcel pending lockers.

“Shade at Desert Ridge’s resident-centric amenities are among the finest in North Phoenix and the community’s excellent location in walking distance of the highest concentration of retail in the region is unbeatable,” said Pesch.

Located in the North Phoenix submarket of Desert Ridge, the community is within walking distance of approximately 1.6 million sq. ft. of retail amenities, including three power centers across Tatum Blvd. from Shade at Desert Ridge.

“We are excited to add Shade at Desert Ridge to our portfolio and increase our presence in the Phoenix market specifically,” said Knightvest Capital Senior Vice President Phil Lake. “Phoenix continues to demonstrate exceptional performance in key fundamental metrics that drive our interest and continued investment. As we look ahead, Knightvest is focused on continuing to grow our presence in the market and region.”

Founded in 2007, Knightvest has become a major player in repositioning multifamily assets, transforming more than 100 properties, and consistently delivering exceptional returns for investors, and a better quality of life for residents.

By George Hammond, EBRC director and Eller research professor

Arizona added 6,500 jobs over the month in November (seasonally adjusted), according to the latest employment situation release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was close to the average over-the-month job change during the 2015-2019 period, but significantly slower than October.

Arizona has now replaced 68.3% of the 294,600 jobs lost from February to April. That was better than the national replacement rate of 55.6%. Arizona jobs are still 93,400 below February.

Since June, Arizona’s over-the-month job growth has averaged 12,600. At that pace, it will take eight months for the state to regain its February employment level.

Most of the jobs added over the month in November were in transportation and warehousing, followed by leisure and hospitality. Professional and business services; government; other services; and information lost jobs.

As Exhibit 1 shows, job growth has been uneven across the state’s metropolitan areas. Jobs in Flagstaff are still 17.4% below February, while jobs in Prescott (-0.3%) and Sierra-Vista Douglas (-1.4%) have nearly recovered. In November, jobs in Phoenix and Tucson were 2.9% and 4.1% below February, respectively.

Exhibit 1: Nonfarm Payroll Jobs in Arizona’s Metropolitan Areas, Percent Change from February 2020, Seasonally Adjusted

The Arizona unemployment rate fell slightly in November, to 7.8% from 7.9% in October (seasonally adjusted). Arizona’s rate was above the national rate of 6.7%.

Arizona’s personal income growth hit the brakes in the third quarter, reflecting the timing of fiscal stimulus from the CARES Act. The massive economic impact payments (one-time Recovery Rebates) occurred in the second quarter.

As Exhibit 2 shows, Arizona’s personal income declined at an annual rate of 8.6% from the second quarter to the third. Even so, that was better than the U.S. and many states. (Release available here). https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income-by-state

Exhibit 2: U.S. Personal Income Growth by State, Annualized Percent Change from the Second Quarter of 2020 to the Third Quarter

Arizona’s personal income rose 9.7% over the year in the third quarter, down from a revised increase of 13.4% in the second quarter. U.S. personal income rose by 7.1% over the year in the third quarter.

As with the second quarter, transfer receipts rose significantly over the year in the third quarter, with a 35.4% gain. That followed a 67.1% increase in the second quarter. The increase in transfer receipts over the year, driven primarily by the CARES Act, accounted for 72.3% of the overall increase in personal income over the year in the third quarter.

Net earnings by place of residence rose by 5.2% over the year in the third quarter, up from 0.4% in the second quarter. Net earnings accounted for 32.3% of the over-the-year increase in personal income in the third quarter.

Income from dividends, interest, and rent fell by 2.3% over the year in the third quarter, which followed a 1.2% decline in the second quarter.

The Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity has released population estimates for July 1, 2020. The estimate that Arizona’s population was 7,294,587, up by 105,567 from July 1, 2019. That translated into a 1.5% increase, down slightly from 2019 growth of 1.6%. Phoenix MSA population was estimated at 4,907,152 on July 1, 2020, up 84,107 from last year (+1.7%). Tucson MSA population was estimated at 1,052,375 on July 1, 2020 a 0.7% increase from last year (+7,700).