PHOENIX, AZ – ORION Investment Real Estate is proud to announce the sale of the Parkwood Professional Plaza for $3.2 million ($43.53 PSF). This ±73,514 square foot, four-story, medical office building is situated at the intersection of 19^th Avenue and Missouri Avenue, next to the new park-and-ride lot for the Valley Metro Light Rail system. The property was 40% occupied at time of sale and the new owner plans to do capital improvements and release the property.

Parkwood Professional Plaza is located in the Heart of Phoenix, sitting adjacent to a large parking lot (park-and-ride) for the Metro Light Rail. There are 10 park-and-ride locations in the Phoenix area, offering more than 4,000 free parking spaces. Park-and-rides are free to use and monitored by personnel and security cameras. The Valley Metro is the regional public transportation organization providing coordinated transit options to residents of greater Phoenix. Part of the Valley Metro public transit system is the Valley Metro Rail, which is a 26.3-mile long line serving the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa.

Nick Miner, CCIM, Senior Vice President at ORION Investment Real Estate, noted, “This was a challenging assignment. Not only did the property have a low occupancy rate, it was also part of a California Probate Court Case and the sale had to be approved by the courts, which further complicated the process.”

The property was sold by Parkwood Commercial Properties, LLC, a client of Miner’s, and purchased by Robert C. Penney.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that after increasing to the highest annual rate in six months, existing-home sales tumbled in February amidst unshakably low supply levels and steadfast price growth in several sections of the country, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Led by the Northeast and Midwest, all four major regions experienced sales declines in February.

The national report is in direct opposite of Tucson home sales that reported reported home sales volume increased while prices and inventory decreased in February. See Real Estate Daily News March 11, 2016 for local market report.

Total existing-home sales nationally, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 7.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.08 million in February from 5.47 million in January. Despite last month’s large decline, sales are still 2.2 percent higher than a year ago.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says existing sales disappointed in February and failed to keep pace with what had been a strong start to the year. “Sales took a considerable step back in most of the country last month, and especially in the Northeast and Midwest,” he said. “The lull in contract signings in January from the large East Coast blizzard, along with the slump in the stock market, may have played a role in February’s lack of closings. However, the main issue continues to be a supply and affordability problem. Finding the right property at an affordable price is burdening many potential buyers.”

According to Yun, job growth continues to hum along at a robust pace, but there appears to be some uneasiness among households that the economy is losing some steam. This was evident in NAR’s latest quarterly HOME survey – released earlier this month – which revealed that fewer respondents believe the economy is improving, and a smaller share of renters said that now is a good time to buy a home².

“The overall demand for buying is still solid entering the busy spring season, but home prices and rents outpacing wages and anxiety about the health of the economy are holding back a segment of would-be buyers,” says Yun.

The median existing-home price³ for all housing types in February was $210,800, up 4.4 percent from February 2015 ($201,900). February’s price increase marks the 48^th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Total housing inventory⁴ at the end of February increased 3.3 percent to 1.88 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 1.1 percent lower than a year ago (1.90 million). Unsold inventory is at a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.0 months in January.

All-cash sales were 25 percent of transactions in February, down from 26 percent both in January and a year ago. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 18 percent of homes in February (17 percent in January), matching the highest share since April 2014. Sixty-four percent of investors paid cash in February.

“Investor sales have trended surprisingly higher in recent months after falling to as low as 12 percent of sales in August 2015,” adds Yun. “Now that there are fewer distressed homes available, it appears there’s been a shift towards investors purchasing lower-priced homes and turning them into rentals. Already facing affordability issues, this competition at the entry-level market only adds to the roadblocks slowing first-time buyers.”

The share of first-time buyers fell to 30 percent in February (matching the lowest share since November 2015) from 32 percent in January, but is up from 29 percent a year ago. First-time buyers in all of 2015 represented an average of 30 percent.

According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage declined from 3.87 percent in January to 3.66 percent in February, which is the lowest since April 2015 at 3.67 percent. The average commitment rate for all of 2015 was 3.85 percent.

Properties typically stayed on the market for 59 days in February, a decrease from 64 days in January and below the 62 days in February 2015. Short sales were on the market the longest at a median of 126 days in February, while foreclosures and non-distressed homes each took 57 days. Thirty-five percent of homes sold in February were on the market for less than a month.

NAR President Tom Salomone, broker-owner of Real Estate II Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida, says many Realtors® are saying instances of multiple bids and affordable homes going under contract quickly are common in their markets. “With low supply this spring buying season, it’s easy for buyers to get discouraged when their offer is rejected in favor of a higher bid,” he said. “That’s why it’s important for buyers to stay patient and work with a Realtor® to develop a negotiation strategy that ensures success without overstretching their budget.”

Matching the highest share since May 2015, distressed sales⁵ – foreclosures and short sales – rose slightly to 10 percent in February, up from 9 percent in January but down from 11 percent a year ago. Seven percent of February sales were foreclosures and 3 percent were short sales. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 17 percent below market value in February (13 percent in January), while short sales were discounted 16 percent (12 percent in January).

For full article go to NAR here.

PHOENIX, AZ – Cushman & Wakefield, a global leader in commercial real estate services, announced today that 176 units of the Casas De Soledad apartment project have been sold to an Arizona investor.

The 256-unit apartment community was built in 2004 and is located at 3901 Sonoma Springs Avenue in Las Cruces.  Casas De Soledad offers Class “A” apartments within the Sonoma Ranch master-planned golf community.  The property is situated adjacent to the Sonoma Springs Golf Course.  Clear Sky Capital (Marcus Kurschat-Principal) of Phoenix purchased 176 units of the apartment development.  The remaining 80 units were individually sold at an earlier date.  The property offers substantial amenities, including a clubhouse with kitchenette, gated access, a resort-style swimming pool and spa, state-of-the-art fitness center, a putting green, barbecue grills and access to walking and biking trails.  The units have varying features, some of which include garages, nine-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, garden-style tubs, and first floor patios or solariums.

Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Directors Steven Nicoluzakis and David Fogler of the Phoenix office worked with Managing Partner Brett Preston, SIOR, CCIM of Cushman & Wakefield affiliate Pires International in New Mexico and represented the Seller to negotiate the sale transaction.  Clear Sky Capital purchased the property from CS Las Cruces Investco, LLC (PEM Real Estate Group, Paul Mashni-Principal) of Scottsdale, AZ.

“This presented a great value opportunity,” said Mr. Nicoluzakis.  “The Casas De Soledad property features all of the high-end amenities that today’s residents want, while offering the buyer below replacement cost pricing with an attractive in-place yield.”