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☆ Phoenix Dismantles a Homeless Encampment, One Block at a Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jack Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

PHOENIX — Rebecca Sutton has no love for her patch of “the Zone,” a sprawling homeless camp on the edge of downtown Phoenix. There are overdoses and shootings, the sidewalk where she sleeps reeks of urine, and someone once burned down her tent. But now, moving day was looming, and Ms. Sutton did not know where else to go. In March, a judge declared the Zone a “public nuisance” and ordered Phoenix to clear out the area by mid-July. The city is planning to do so block by block, carrying out what it calls an “enhanced cleaning,” starting with Ms. Sutton’s corner at Ninth Avenue and Washington.

☆ Brittney Griner Speaks to Reporters for First Time Since Release From Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kris Rhim | Alan Yuhas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

PHOENIX — Brittney Griner, the W.N.B.A. star who became the center of a geopolitical showdown between the United States and Russia last year, is expected to speak with reporters on Thursday for the first time since her release in December in a prisoner exchange. Mercury officials said that Ms. Griner would not discuss her time in Russia at the news conference. She has called for the release of Mr. Gershkovich and others classified as wrongful detainees by the U.S. government. She and Mr. Gershkovich have become the latest in a line of American citizens detained by Moscow under what U.S. officials have described as dubious accusations.

☆ Homebuyers hoping for better deals as prices drop are getting slammed as average payments just hit a record high
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyBut homebuyers' monthly mortgage payments still soared to a new all-time high. Housing affordability is as awful as ever due to the high rates and the lack of homes for sale. However, there's no such luck: as home prices retreated, the typical US homebuyer's monthly mortgage payment soared to $2,538, a new all-time high. Higher mortgage rates are freezing current homeowners, too. "The good news is that people who already own homes have locked in relatively low mortgage payments," Marr said in a September housing report.

☆ ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: A Visit With Mommy Dearest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid” is a supersized, fitfully amusing, self-important tale of fear and loathing. As the title announces, its protagonist, Beau Wassermann — a terminal sad-sack played by the invariably watchable Joaquin Phoenix — is anxious, well, about everything. Outwardly, “Beau Is Afraid” seems to be a departure for Aster, whose first two features center on horrific happenings and some seriously bad relationships. In “Hereditary” and “Midsommar,” Aster meticulously peels back the ostensibly ordinary surface of the world, its patina of normalcy, to reveal the annihilating malevolence beneath it. In “Beau Is Afraid,” Aster changes things up by making Beau difficult to cozy up to.

☆ Affordable housing is the best way to prevent heat-related deaths, Phoenix's chief heat officer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Phoenix's chief heat officer says more affordable housing will prevent heat-associated deaths. "It can be a little shocking," Hondula, director of the city's office of heat response and mitigation, told Insider. All these factors led Phoenix in 2021 to establish the country's first publicly funded heat office, with Hondula at the helm. Gallego told Insider in a statement that she and other city staff are working daily to address this issue. Hondula, for his part, said the heat office needs to be the biggest advocate for investments in affordable housing and homelessness services inside City Hall.

☆ Bidding wars no more: Regular people have a better shot at scoring a home as investors flee once-hot cities from Phoenix to Atlanta
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But investors have backed off, especially in formerly hot areas like Phoenix, Redfin found. The significant drop in investor purchases means less competition for regular homebuyers. Investors purchased approximately $31 billion worth of properties — equivalent to 48,445 homes —nationwide in the last three months of 2022. They include Las Vegas, Phoenix, the New York City suburb of Nassau County, Atlanta, and Charlotte, all of which saw investor purchases fall over 60% year-over-year, the report said. But the drop in home prices and investor purchases last year could signal even more dire conditions in 2023, some analysts and experts predict.

☆ The Phoenix housing bubble spectacularly popped in 2008. Countless signs point towards a similar struggle now. Here's how bad it really is.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Phoenix's housing market is quickly deteriorating as a pullback in demand triggers home price declines. And as Phoenix's housing market performs an about-face from the dramatic rise it had witnessed from spring 2020 through summer 2022, experts across the country are debating the possibility of the whole market imploding. And as of January 2023, area home sales are down 74% year-over-year, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. The Phoenix Valley — a sprawling desert metropolis that's home to nearly 5 million people — is no stranger to speculative real estate bubbles. Phoenix's housing market could be on track to normalizingDespite the numerous indicators of a weakening housing market, Phoenix may simply be facing a correction versus a crash, several experts told Insider.

☆ Kari Lake loses suit over her defeat in Arizona governor’s race
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

In a decision Saturday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, who was appointed by then-Republican Gov. While most of the other election deniers around the country conceded after losing their races in November, Lake has not. Lawyers for Lake focused on problems with ballot printers at some polling places in Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters. The defective printers produced ballots that were too light to be read by the on-site tabulators at polling places. Earlier on Friday, another judge dismissed Republican Abraham Hamadeh’s challenge of results in his race against Democrat Kris Mayes for Arizona attorney general.

☆ Don't expect a wave of short sales and foreclosures during this housing downturn — homeowners have too much equity
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today's market has tighter lending standards, more assistance programs, and historic levels of homeowner equity compared to downturns of the past. "Historically, normal foreclosure activity means about a single percent of loans are in foreclosure," he told Insider. These initiatives paired with high levels of home equity — roughly $29 trillion as of the second-quarter of the year, according to the Federal Reserve — are likely to prevent an upcoming wave of short sales and foreclosures, Sharga suggests. The spike in foreclosure activity between 2021 and 2022 stems from the expiration of temporary financial safety nets enacted through the CARES Act. But even with this prospect, Sharga suggests that a substantial uptick in foreclosures or short sales is unlikely as many recent homebuyers have positive equity in their homes.

☆ Did you believe falling home prices would make buying a house more affordable in 2023? You're wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Home prices are falling at the fastest rate in 15 years, according to data firm Black Knight. Higher mortgage rates offset any affordability that might be gained from slowing price appreciation. As the Fed raises interest rates in an attempt to bring the economy into equilibrium, mortgage rates have reached levels — peaking at more than 7% — not seen since the mid-2000s. Indeed, data from Realtor.com shows that the typical monthly mortgage payment is expected to climb by 28% in 2023. Buyers will have to contend with the still-high prices and higher borrowing costs.

☆ The 9 US cities where buyers have the best shot at scoring a home because home prices have dropped the most since the spring
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As homebuyer activity slows, home prices are falling in cities across the country. To get a sense of where home prices are falling the most, we examined home-price data Zillow sent exclusively to Insider. After digging through the numbers for dozens of housing markets, we picked out nine US cities where home prices have rapidly cooled in recent months. So what I expect in those markets is that prices will come down." Read on to see how much prices have fallen in these markets and where else homebuyers are seeing the most discounts.

☆ Midterm elections live updates: Pennsylvania races, New Hampshire Senate race too early to call
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brandy Zadrozny | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +109 min

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate and governor's races too early to call It is too early to call the Senate and gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedNew Hampshire Senate race too early to call The Senate race in New Hampshire is too early to call, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedPennsylvania Senate and governor races are too early to call After polls closed at 8 p.m. While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. According to the poll, 46% of voters said their family’s financial situation is worse than it was two years ago. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a "hiccup," it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. An adjucation board reviews ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center on Tuesday in Phoenix. John Moore / Getty ImagesIn 2020, Joe Biden won Maricopa County by about 6,000 of the more than 2 million votes cast there. When Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema won her seat in 2018, she did so with 50% of the statewide vote, including the 51% she took in Maricopa County. Maricopa County election officials responded that the tweet was inaccurate and "all voters are being served."

☆ Federal judge in Arizona rejects restraining order request, lets group monitor ballot drop boxes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Some voters have complained alleging voter intimidation after people watching the boxes took photos and videos, and followed voters. The attorney for Clean Elections USA had argued that such a broad restraining order would be unconstitutional. A second lawsuit involving charges of voter intimidation at drop boxes in Arizona’s Yavapai County has since been merged with the first one. “We love our country very much.”Cilano said The Lions of Liberty is in no way associated with Clean Elections USA. He said his group is connected to the Yavapai County Preparedness Team, but the team was not involved in ballot box monitoring.

☆ Arizona agrees not to enforce near-total abortion ban until next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

PHOENIX — Arizona’s attorney general has agreed not to enforce a near total ban on abortions at least until next year, a move that Planned Parenthood Arizona credited Thursday with allowing the group to restart abortion care across the state. A lower court had allowed enforcement of that law on Sept. 23, halting all abortions statewide. On Thursday, Planned Parenthood said services would resume statewide, including at clinics in metro Phoenix and in Flagstaff. Brnovich sought to place that lawsuit on hold until the court of appeals rules on the Planned Parenthood case. Arizona women seeking abortions have been whipsawed by the state’s competing laws since the high court’s decision.

☆ Twitter employees are leaving for tech rivals ahead of Elon Musk's planned takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, we're looking at a major side-effect of the drama surrounding Elon Musk's Twitter takeover: the employee exodus. Twitter is experiencing an employee exodus amid the Elon Musk deal. Meta and Google snap up Twitter employees. Amid the months-long saga between Twitter and Elon Musk, employees have been leaving in droves. Elon Musk pledges to close Twitter deal on time.

“And I will accept the result if I don’t.”Arizona Republican nominee for governor Kari Lake sign a campaign poster for a supporter on Oct. 7 in Scottsdale. Mario Tama / Getty ImagesLake has seized on Hobbs’ refusal to debate and centered it during recent campaign appearances. Kristi Noem, a Republican, in Scottsdale last week, Lake again sharply criticized Hobbs for eschewing a statewide debate. The Kelly campaign told NBC News the senator does not have any imminent plans to campaign with Hobbs. Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona Republican pollster, said there are some “traditional Republican voters that are going, ‘No f---ing way, I’m not going there.

☆ Opendoor is staring down losses after once boasting it wouldn't repeat Zillow's home-flipping fiasco. 5 properties from Phoenix to Atlanta show the trouble it's facing.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( James Rodriguez | Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The losses are mounting for Opendoor as home prices fall in previously red-hot markets such as Phoenix, Southern California, and Las Vegas. Opendoor cut the listing price three times, ultimately dropping it to $657,000 before the property sold. Opendoor has since cut the listing price five times, most recently advertising the property at $417,000. Records on Zillow indicate Opendoor has reduced the listing price six times. As for the homes Opendoor is buying today, Wu said executives "expect those to perform well and in line with expectations."

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