Gilbert real estate ‘mini-boom’ is dubious
Author:Date: October 29th, 2009
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Today, The Arizona Republic is reporting that Gilbert real estate is experiencing a “mini boom” because the town – once the fastest growing municipality in the nation – has issued nearly 1,000 building permits for new homes so far this year.
The story goes on to cite more evidence from September, when Gilbert issued 116 new-home permits – more than any other Valley city except Phoenix, which logged 109.
That’s a difference of seven permits – hardly a “mini boom,” but then again, any kind of movement in this economy is a boom of some sort.
Still, we prefer to stand by our scoop this month about the influence the East Valley’s new Mormon temple has had on Gilbert real estate. The story by Jim Fickess, dubbed “The Temple Effect,” talks about how a new temple near the southeast corner of Greenfield and Pecos roads is propping up home sales and real estate values around it because prospective buyers view it as an amenity.
Check out this excerpt from a new buyer:
“We didn’t know about the temple when we first inquired about the house,” says Tim Penrod, a Mormon who moved to Gilbert with his family from Mesa after getting a deal on the 6-bedroom, 5-bath mansion with a 3-car garage and guest casita for “considerably less” than the $999,000 listing price. “But we learned about it as negotiations went on, and it was a plus.”
A multimillion-dollar Mormon temple project in a region with a large population of Mormon worshipers probably has some correlation to the “mini boom.”