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Toll Brothers, Meritage Homes and Simon Property Group Joint Venture Purchases 5,485-Acre Land Parcel in Phoenix’s Northwest Valley
$312 Million Transaction Is Largest In Arizona History

HORSHAM, Pa., Jan. 12, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) — A joint venture consisting of Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL), which is the managing member, Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE:MTH), and Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) has purchased a 5,485-acre land parcel in northwest Phoenix from DaimlerChrysler Corporation (NYSE:DCX) for $312 million. According to research published by The Arizona Republic, this represents the largest dollar value land transaction recorded in Arizona history.

The Maricopa County property, which DaimlerChrysler currently utilizes as a vehicle endurance testing and development facility, is bound by 183rd Avenue on the east, 211th Avenue on the west, Dove Valley on the south and Joy Ranch Road on the north. DaimlerChrysler will continue to lease the property for the next few years, in order to plan and accommodate for the orderly transition of its testing operations.

Toll Brothers and Meritage Homes each plan to build a significant number of homes on the site. Simon Property Group, Inc. has the option to purchase a substantial portion of the commercial property. Other parcels may be sold to third parties. Initial plans call for a mixed-use master planned community, which will include approximately 4,840 acres of single-family homes and attached homes. Approximately 645 acres of commercial and retail development will include schools, community amenities and open space. Initial homes sales are tentatively scheduled to begin in 2009. According to the approved General Plan, the site allows between 15,000 to 31,000 homes.

Robert I. Toll, chairman and chief executive officer of Toll Brothers, Inc., stated: “We are thrilled to have been chosen by DaimlerChrysler and to have teamed up with two excellent partners to develop this fabulous piece of real estate. The northwest area of Phoenix has experienced unprecedented popularity and this particular parcel is a highly coveted site.

“The combined expertise of our team makes for a strong partnership as we move forward to develop this landmark community. Toll Brothers is a Fortune 500 Company and the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes. Meritage Homes is a Fortune 1000 home builder headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and Dallas, with great history, experience and knowledge in the metro Phoenix market. Simon Property Group is the largest publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) in North America and the country’s largest owner, developer and manager of high quality retail real estate.”

Steven J. Hilton, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Meritage Homes, stated: “Growth in and around the Phoenix area has been tremendous in the past decade. With more than 20 years of home building experience in the Phoenix area, Meritage Homes is proud to have participated in this development, which has contributed to our impressive growth rate for the past five-year period. We are very enthusiastic about this opportunity and look forward to working with Maricopa County and the City of Surprise, as well as Toll Brothers and Simon Property Group, to create an outstanding community in which to live, work, shop and play.”

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Normally I don’t just repost straight news stories. But I thought this one had some interesting data. So here it is. From CNNMoney.com….

Link to original article

Most Overvalued Housing Markets
Latest analysis of 299 markets: See how your hometown ranks.
By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
January 3, 2006: 2:33 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Sixty-five of the nation’s 299 biggest real estate markets are severely overpriced and subject to possible price corrections.

That’s according to the latest (third quarter) Housing Market Analysis conducted by National City Corp, a financial holding company, in conjunction with Global Insight, a financial information provider.

The report named Naples, Florida as the most overvalued of all housing markets in the United States. A single-family, median-priced home there sells for $329,970, 84 percent more than what it should cost — $180,956 — according to the analysis. {Jay’s note: I have no idea what “analysis” was done to determine what a median priced home “should cost”… I’d really like to see their “analysis”. Remember, there are “lies, damn lies — and statistics” — a quote frequently attributed to Mark Twain….and incorrectly I might add. But I digress}

National City arrives at its estimates of what the typical house in these markets should cost by examining the town’s population densities, local interest rates, and income levels. It also factors in historical premiums and discounts for each area.

Other markets deemed wildly overpriced included Merced, California (by 77 percent), Salinas, California (75 percent), and Port St. Lucie, Florida (72 percent).

Undervalued markets were College Station (-23 percent), El Paso (-18 percent), and Killeen (-16 percent), all in Texas. That state dominated the discounted markets list with nine of the 10 most undervalued housing markets. Montgomery, Alabama was No. 8 among the undervalued markets.

The data did produce some evidence of prices moderating, according to National City’s chief economist, Richard DeKaser.

In Massachusetts, for example, one of the hottest of housing markets over the past few years, each of the seven housing markets analyzed was still overvalued. Prices, however, had fallen in all seven. That would indicate the state is trending back toward normal valuations.

The same could not be said of Florida. The Sunshine State had 15 different markets on the list of extremely overpriced metro areas and all 15 had grown more overpriced during the quarter.

Amidst all these hot and cold markets there were a few judged, like Goldilock’s porridge, “just right.” They included Albuquerque New Mexico, Dayton Ohio, and Omaha Nebraska. In all those towns actually selling prices closely tracked the expected values.

Read on for a table listing cities and their ranking… » Read the rest of the entry..