Two seperate reports came out in the past 24 hours of commercial real estate sales in the Phoenix area.

General Electric’s Arden Realty group announced the acquisition of two buildings totaling 196,501 square feet at the Airport Technology Center. Note that I’m unable to determine the specific price of the Phoenix properties because the reported $107.5 million price includes three commercial buildings in Southern California (Additional info).

Alexander & Baldwin (A&B) plunked down $24.7 million for the 9.4 acre / 138,500 square foot three-story Concorde Commerce Center, located approximately 11 miles from downtown Phoenix, AZ.

There are three major types of real estate; residential, land and commercial. They are different, yet similar in many aspects. People and businesses get involved in the three types of real estate transactions for similar reasons. Large commercial investments like this signify that someone, somewhere believes the Phoenix area is ripe for continued growth. This kind of money is not spent lightly nor without significant research.

Norbert M. Buelsing, an Executive Vice President of A&B said, “A&B is again investing in Arizona as a result of the area’s consistent job growth – which exceeded five percent last year – increasing population, commitment to expanding its transportation infrastructure, and a relatively low cost of living.  Phoenix continues to be an attractive investment market.” 

The factors Mr. Buesling notes for their decision to purchase commercial real estate in the Phoenix area are also applicable to residential real estate transactions. Fundamentals like job and population growth, especially when combined with a relatively low cost of living bode well for all types of real estate sales and purchases, be they commercial, land or residential.

[tags]Phoenix real estate, Phoenix commercial real estate sales[/tags]