Through July 2025, the U.S. hospitality sector is defined by pronounced divergence in market performance. Out of 172 markets tracked by STR, 87 have posted year-over-year declines in occupancy, highlighting a landscape where larger U.S. economic volatility and local dynamics are shaping outcomes more than ever. Across the 172 U.S. hospitality markets tracked by STR, average year-over-year occupancy remains virtually unchanged
Spoiler: It’s not going to happen this year. VAI Resort, which promises an 11,000-capacity concert amphitheater, artificial beaches and restaurants including a celebrity chef’s first concept in Arizona, was scheduled to open in 2025. The opening was pushed back from 2024, after resort staff cited “delays in our timeline.” Now, it no longer lists an opening date. The new destination resort is highly anticipated because it aims to redefine tourism in the
Momentum around commercial real estate cap rates is building as the Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting cycle begins to influence debt costs and investor sentiment across asset classes. At a recent CBRE webinar, capital markets specialists and sector leaders offered a common view: declining rates are already leading to more investment in risk assets, setting the groundwork for renewed pricing
Ulysses Development Group is hitting milestones on two affordable housing complexes in Phoenix next week. Dahlia Village at 3620 S. 12th St. opens Sept. 22, while Wild Rose Flats at 2949 N. 43rd Ave. begins construction Sept. 23. The combined developments will total 198 workforce housing units. It’s not easy to build low-cost residences — or anything, for that matter — said Ahmed
A company that supplies gloves, boot covers and other similar products to life sciences and advanced manufacturing firms is planning to build its new headquarters near Sky Harbor International Airport. The 45,000 square-foot planned facility from Phoenix-based Valutek would include 5,000 square feet of office space, 5,000 square feet of clean room manufacturing space and a 35,000 square-foot
Location: 5250 E. Deer Valley Drive, along the northern block, just east of Marriott Drive in Phoenix. Description: A new high-end condominium community called The Luxe at Desert Ridge is in the final stages of development. When complete, the complex will have 223 units across six four-story buildings near the Desert Ridge shopping center and JW Marriott
The Arizona Republic is moving into a new office space and out of a downtown Phoenix building it has occupied for roughly 30 years. The newspaper and its digital arm, AZ Central, are moving into the newly redeveloped Park Central midtown complex and will occupy a 17,000-square-foot space. The Republic is currently leasing approximately 100,000 square feet
Retailers are navigating a complex landscape marked by rising costs from elevated tariffs as increasingly cautious consumers pull back on spending. However, retailers also keep leasing space at a torrid pace, underscoring the strategic importance of securing desired locations in a supply-constrained environment. During their latest earnings calls, a number of national retailers expressed concern over reduced spending by a more discerning consumer and
Donald Trump’s latest pressure campaign on the Federal Reserve has rattled markets, with critics warning that efforts to force deeper rate cuts could undermine confidence and steepen the U.S. Treasury yield curve, raising longer-term borrowing costs. The President has repeatedly criticized the Fed for acting too slowly and has threatened to reshape its leadership, from earlier attacks on Chair Jerome Powell to more recent remarks about
Northern Arizona is beloved by many Arizonans as a shaded retreat from the desert heat, where Ponderosa pine trees and small-town charm define daily life and weekend trips. In recent years, the region, stretching from Flagstaff’s high-altitude innovation corridor to the fast-growing communities of Show Low, is turning its attention to making a larger impact on Arizona’s economic landscape. Strategic investments in infrastructure, housing and
Utah-based America First Credit Union is expanding its footprint in Arizona with plans to open eight new branches in the state by 2027. America First Credit Union’s expansion kicked off this week with the opening of a 3,000-square-foot branch at 15725 W. McDowell Road in Goodyear. The branch has seven employees and offers a variety of banking, mortgage and wealth advisory services. America First ranked No. 2 among the largest regional credit
The developer of Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace is proposing a new commercial development in north Phoenix, planned to include four hotels, a fitness center, retail and restaurants. Vestar, a Phoenix-based developer of open-air retail centers, submitted an application to rezone about 112 acres of land near Interstate 17 and Sonoran Desert Drive to build a commercial center called Dove Valley Towne Center. “Vestar is excited to be
Building housing that families can afford has continued to be a challenge in Arizona, especially as the cost of construction materials and labor has continued to steadily rise. But one developer is proposing a different solution: build the housing in Mexico, where materials and labor are significantly cheaper, then ship and assemble them to the United States. The company, Tudo Capital, recently completed construction on its first apartment project in Arizona
Recent performance in Northern Arizona’s hospitality market is shaped by a pronounced decline in Canadian inbound travel, the disruptive impact of the North Rim fire and the region’s distinctive hotel inventory mix. According to the International Air Travel Statistics Program APIS I-92 Data, Canadian arrivals to Phoenix fell by 24% year over year as of July, following a string of monthly contractions that began in April. Airlines have shifted schedules, and industry contacts
Institutional investor appetite for single-family rentals has notably cooled, yet the purchasing power of these investors remains a pivotal force, keeping certain segments of the market out of reach for traditional consumers. Even as the market resets, investor firepower continues to help buoy prices despite rising for-sale inventories and a growing trend of price reductions in both single-family and multifamily sectors, according to Ivy Zelman—who, as executive vice president
Sunbelt Investment Holdings, Inc. (SIHI), a leading retail developer and owner, has experienced substantial leasing progress at Buckeye Commons West, a key extension of its Buckeye Commons development. The project has achieved significant milestones with sitework now complete. Pads have been delivered to a strong lineup of major brand tenants, emphasizing a drive-thru pad tenant format. These include highly anticipated national brands such as In-N-Out
One highlight from this month’s Office Report from CommercialCafe reveals that Phoenix saw its first increase in sales price per square foot in more than three years. Vacancy rates remained above the national average of 19.4% in most of the Western U.S. markets we surveyed. In July, the highest vacancy rate in the region was in Washington state, where 27% of office space in Seattle was unoccupied. San Francisco was not far behind, however, as data showed
Land buys in the West Valley represented 53% of all land transactions across metro Phoenix, representing $3.234 billion in sales over the past 12 months, according to a new study by Land Advisors Organization. The East Valley represented 33% of land transactions totaling $2.03 billion, while Pinal County took 14%, representing $829 million, according to the firm’s research. Breaking out land transaction volume by category, 47% of the land
A weakening labor market is making consumers increasingly worried about their continued employment prospects, while higher prices are making it more difficult for some to make ends meet, adding to crumbling sentiment and threatening their ability to weather leaner times. A handful of recent surveys reveals the growing unease, after the release last week of revisions to payroll growth that wiped away more than half of the jobs initially estimated
The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points Wednesday. The widely expected move was the first bit of relief the Fed offered to borrowers this year. It comes amid signs of a softening economy that has left the central bank grappling with both sides of its dual mandate of maintaining maximum employment and price stability. All but one member of the Federal Open Markets Committee voted in favor of Wednesday’s decision
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plans to expand in north Phoenix could give the technology giant a footprint of more than three square miles. The chipmaker signed on to a zoning application for 6,400 acres of land south of Loop 303 at Interstate 17, directly south of where the company is already building its massive campus. TSMC would specifically be eyeing the roughly 900-acre “innovation corridor” in the proposed
A site formerly slated for a courthouse in Glendale has a developer signed on to repurpose the property for a new retail center. Roughly 16 years ago, the city of Glendale prepared a site at the southwest corner of 47th and Glendale Avenues for a new courthouse, with an underground parking garage constructed first. Then the 2008 recession hit, and the project was abandoned. Years later, the garage was found structurally unsound
Investors are seeing opportunities in multifamily markets with durable job growth and limited new deliveries, but they remain highly selective about where they choose to invest, according to Crexi’s August 2025 report. Median cap rates for multifamily properties sold rose slightly to 6.36% while asking cap rates slipped to 7.19%. The spread between the two indicated ongoing price discovery and selective bidding for quality “even as multifamily proves to be a less risky
Nearly 900,000 square feet of industrial space across more than 40 Phoenix-area buildings has been acquired in a $168 million transaction. Institutional investor BKM Capital Partners, which focuses on multi-tenant light industrial real estate, bought the Valley portfolio alongside Kayne Anderson Real Estate, according to a Sept. 10 announcement. An affiliate of Equus Capital Partners Ltd. was the seller of the portfolio, which includes eight properties in Phoenix and Tempe. CBRE’s
The Phoenix multifamily market is in a persistent state of fundamental imbalance, keeping vacancy elevated and rents on the decline. The average asking rent at Valley apartment properties decreased 0.5% in August, matching the decline in July and marking the seventh-consecutive month with flat or negative rent movement. Last month’s underwhelming performance brings the year-to-date rent change to negative 1.4%, a meaningful weakening compared to 2023 and 2024