Forecast for New Construction

There was recently an article about the Presidio development in the Arizona Daily Sun. The developer says they hope to build 50 homes in 2008, starting in March. Based on past performance, and the information in the article, I think it's reasonable to be skeptical about that projection for home development this year.

Other builders in Flagstaff, notably Empire Residential Sales - which was the major builder in Bellemont in the past -- have slowed their development plans to clear out existing inventory before proceeding. Building permits in Flagstaff are down and likely to remain down for the rest of 2008. This is part of the natural cycle of recovery for the housing market, but it means we'll see  few new Flagstaff homes starting up until 2009. There are some townhomes under construction on 4th Street, south of the new bridge.