New home sales plunged to a 9-month low in December, according to a government report issued Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales dropped 7.6% to 342,000 last month, compared with a revised rate of 370,000 in November, the Census Bureau said.

Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com had expected December sales of new homes to hit an annual rate of 366,000.

“This is not a very encouraging number,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research. “You’ve got aggressive competition from banks and lenders trying to unload foreclosures, and many people are going to the existing home market because that’s where the bargains are.”

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By Bruce Colbert / The Daily Courier
July 13, 2009

PRESCOTT - A new countywide program could bring fame and recognition to some scenic and historic roads in Yavapai County.

In April, the Board of Supervisors approved the county Scenic/Historic Route Program, and the advisory committee is reviewing the county’s first road nomination.

“This is essentially a grass-roots program modeled after the state’s scenic and historic roads program,” said Chris Bridges, county transportation planner.

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By Michelle R Meissner / Examiner.com
July 13, 2009

The sun has negative impacts and positive ones as well.

As the need for alternatives to fossil fuels suddenly becomes an urgent matter- our political reps are finally taking notice of the natural energy source that has blistered our backsides for eons… the sun!

Solar power has finally come to mean something more than a passing phase. It has become a necessity. Our impact on the enviornment has caused enough damage, it is hard to tell if there will be any way to save it now. However, giant leaps will be made if solar power takes over.

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Phoenix Business Journal

Arizona State University is partnering with Sam’s Club through a $60,000 grant from the retailer to the Sustainable Cities Network.

The network, which includes 25 Arizona cities and towns, three Indian communities, the Maricopa Association of Governments and ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability, seeks to bring the groups together to better incorporate sustainability into local and regional planning.

Sam’s Club, a division of the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), presented the grant as a contribution from its 13 locations in Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott.

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By Catherine Reagor / The Arizona Republic

Here are some more positive signs from metropolitan Phoenix’s housing market, which may not be recovering but doesn’t appear to be deteriorating any more.

Home sales climbed again in June to reach 9,614, according to the Information Market/Cromford Report survey. That’s an 11 percent increase from May’s home sales. June is the sixth straight month home sales have climbed in the Valley.

The median Valley resale-home price also climbed in June, the first monthly price increase since late 2007. Last month, the median ticked up to $125,000 from $122,000 in May.

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Business Wire

SACRAMENTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Foreclosures headed downward across the country in the second quarter as moratoriums, bailouts, reforms, and negotiations help strapped homeowners hang on to their properties, according the latest U.S. Foreclosure Index from property information specialists ForeclosureS.com.

Nationally foreclosures dropped 11% in the second quarter (205,031) over the first quarter this year, with the decline in some regions even stronger. In the Northeast, 32% fewer homeowners lost their properties to foreclosure.

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Phoenix Business Journal

Arizona’s American Indian tribes will receive about $8.2 million in federal stimulus money for a host of water-related projects.

The money is part of $90 million in announced disbursements from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian Health Service.

Laura Yoshii, the EPA’s acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said the money will fuel jobs and bring in needed amenities.

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By John Miller / The Associate Press

MERIDIAN, Idaho (AP) — Developer Frank Varriale hoped his plans to build shops, apartments and a hotel in this sprawling Boise suburb would have become reality by now. Instead, about the only things standing on his land are knee-high wheat and corn.

But the city has taken steps to help revitalize those projects by eliminating what are commonly known as “impact fees” — charged by municipalities nationwide to pay for the additional services that come with increased development, such as schools, sewer lines and roads.

Meridian is among a growing list of hard-hit communities across the country that are lowering or suspending impact fees. Measures have been debated in Washington state, Texas, New Mexico, New Hampshire, California and elsewhere. Florida made it easier for residential developers to challenge fees; Arizona lawmakers froze them for two years.

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Phoenix Business Journal
July 7, 2009

Salt River Project customers now can receive up to $6,000 from the utility for improvements to their home’s energy efficiency.

The utility announced on Tuesday that it is increasing its cap from $4,000. With federal stimulus money factored in, a homeowner in SRP’s service area could get up to $12,500 for energy efficiency renovations.

“Increasing the funding level for individual homes will result in more comprehensive energy-efficient improvements,” said Debbie Kimberly, SRP’s manager of energy efficiency and policy analysis. “The customers who participate in this program will have lower electricity bills and experience improved comfort levels throughout their house.”

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By Jon Hutchinson / CVBugle.com
July 7, 2009

COTTONWOOD — A new 6,500-square-foot Community Health Services clinic is coming to Cottonwood, thanks, in part, to a federal stimulus grant. In fact, the Yavapai County Health Department and the Prescott Free Clinic, which are partners in the Yavapai Community Health Service operations, have been trying to work out plans to build a new clinic in Cottonwood.

Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick said, “Rural Arizonans are being underserved by our current health care system and this sort of investment helps us reduce our costs and improve our quality of care.”

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