Think-Realty-Magazine-May-June-2017

COMMUNITY INVESTOR

SPOTLIGHT: PHOENIX/TUCSON

Joined By Progress PHOENIX AND TUCSON ARE SEPARATED BY 100 MILES OF ARIZONA DESERT, BUT THE GAP IS QUICKLY CLOSING.

BY CAROLE VANSICKLE ELLIS

IN ARIZONA, WHERE MORE THAN a quarter of the land is owned by Native American tribes and close to two-thirds is controlled by the state or federal govern- ment, the less-than-20-percent remaining real estate is a pretty hot commodity. As Phoenix and Tucson housing and economic markets indicate, the law of scarcity is still in full effect in the Grand Canyon state in 2017. Although the two metro areas are separated by a little over 100 miles, both cities’ growth has begun to encroach far out on Interstate 10, the highway that links them. Myriad high-tech companies seeking an escape from prohibitively high West Coast taxes and costs of living are flocking to the land between the two metro areas, creat- ing a burgeoning “technology corridor” that local investors have begun to refer to as the “secret” or even “real” Silicon Valley. That corridor is shaping up as a prime ex- ample of effective master-planning on both state and local levels, public and private. And much of the area is still wide open for investors with an eye for the future and those who prefer properties in more “established” markets, which are also available (and accessible) in spades in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.

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