Gilbert, AZ is the fastest growing large suburb in the country.

Maricopa County leads all counties in the nation in population growth.

Arizona is the fastest growing state in the nation according to the Census Bureau.

Given all that, it's really no surprise that the CoStar Group recently published that the Phoenix metro area leads the nation in retail construction:

At the close of second quarter, Phoenix led the nation with the most retail square footage under construction — 13.4 million retail square feet. The fast-growing MSA accounts for 6.4% of the nation's total retail square footage under construction and outranks the next-closest market, California's Inland Empire, by 1.78 million square feet. In addition, Phoenix boasts an impressive overall 82.8% pre-leased rate on these projects; the second highest pre-leased rate nationwide.

Phoenix also enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 2.9% (essentially full employment). 

In a far less glamorous postion, Arizona is now one of the top 10 states in the nation for foreclosures. Here's an article quoting the great Russell Shaw.

What does all this mean? Lots of people moving into the area, lots of jobs, and yes — even lots of foreclosures, means lots of activity in the Phoenix real estate market. If the population growth continues, and the unemployment rate stays low (and there are no indications these factors will radically change anytime soon) then the Phoenix real estate market has a lot to look forward to. Foreclosures are nasty nasty things to those involved in them, but for the market as a whole, the future looks bright.

[tags]Phoenix real estate, foreclosures, unemployment, population growth[/tags]