Investing in Land

The first thing I ever heard about Phoenix was that it was hot.  But, quickly added, it was a dry heat.  According to recent reports, development in Arizona’s Valley of the Sun is heating up once again.  Perhaps in advance of the rest of the nation’s housing market.

The Arizona Republic, in reporting on the “2050 Vision for the Valley,” starts out this way:  “Picture new Phoenix-size cities beyond the mountains to the far south and west of the Valley, and you get a glimpse of how the region’s future might unfold over the next half-century.”  Phoenix-size cities?  Phoenix proper has 1.6 million residents.

Many of the details can be found in the activity reports of the Maricopa (County) Association of Governments.

For development companies, like Walton International,  that focus on raw land investing the move by local government organizations to set a path for growth is good news.

A recent story in the Calgary, Alberta, Canada Herald highlighted a subtle but significant shift in the approach one developer is taking to meet its needs and the needs of the market.  Even as signs of life in the housing market begin to surface, particularly in places like Texas, developers and land investment firms are open to new things.

The Herald story focused on Walton Development and Management, a unit of long-standing, raw land investment company, Walton International.  Both are based in Calgary.   Here is the nub of the story:

“‘This spring, we made the decision to essentially lower our lot pricing,’ says John Plastiris, president of the fledgling company under Walton International.

‘In part, it was because it was a new community and we wanted to achieve momentum and an increase in the northeast market share. It’s a value and price-driven market.’”

It is refreshing to see companies open to change in the face of changed circumstances.  Let’s keep an eye out for a trend.

A story posted to the Real Estate Channel, a self-described “Internet News & Property Information Network that distributes relevant and timely real estate news stories, market reports, expert industry opinions and property video profiles to real estate audiences – worldwide” has put a spotlight on the work of Walton International.

Walton, as readers of this blog know, is a Calgary-based raw land investment company.

According to REC, Walton’s “most recent transaction covers additional acreage for the 1,375-acre master planned Cottonwood project in Scottsdale, AZ.”  This is one of a continuing string of such announcements from the company that seem to paint a brighter economic picture than we see elsewhere.