more good news for Tucson

Over the last few weeks we've had a sudden run of good news on the economic and real estate fronts for Tucson and for Arizona overall. I first started picking this up with my post Tucson, one of the hottest markets , then again in Arizona, the fastest growing state, and more recently in Real Estate USA, today where Ken Harney of The Washington Post concluded that the market correction had run its course. And now some very upbeat news from Arizona business leaders along with a buyer/seller survey predicting a 10% increase in Arizona property values in 2007. That's very upbeat news.
In an article in the Arizona Daily Star Richard Ducote reports on the results of a Compass Bank Arizona Business Leaders Confidence survey - Arizona business survey shows spike in confidence
Confidence in the economy is on the upswing among Arizona business leaders, a new quarterly survey showed. "Arizona's economy has continued to perform very well in spite of the downdraft from housing markets," said Marshall Vest, director of economic and business research at the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management. Tucson panel members were the most optimistic, registering the highest readings in five of the six categories, Vest said.
And from yet another survey, this one reported by RISmedia. Arizona Real Estate Buyers & Sellers Forecast 10% Increase in Property Values in 2007
'In Q4 2006, Arizona Tax Liens.com surveyed 5,000 buyers and sellers of Arizona real estate to determine what they expected of Arizona property values in 2007. The survey showed that buyers and sellers foresee an increase of 10% in Arizona property values in 2007 due to the large number of people immigrating to Arizona, which is being fueled by high tech and biotech job growth in Tucson & Phoenix, low housing costs and baby boomers buying their retirement homes. 52% of the buyers surveyed plan on buying in Tucson, 29% plan on buying in Phoenix, 12% plan on buying in Flagstaff, 4% plan on buying in Prescott and the remaining 3% plan on buying in other areas of Arizona'.
Kendra Todd nailed this early-on (early-on was just over a month ago - but it seems that conditions change that quickly) with her piece on Yahoo.com Best Places in The U.S. To Buy A Home. In naming Tucson one of the six best places in the US to buy a home she cited some key criteria: A strong local economy, A "wow" factor that attracts people, and Solid in-migration to the area - all of which have existed for some time, but are suddenly being discovered and ballyhooed by these more recent surveys and reports.