Gilbert among 10 fastest-growing cities

July 10, 2008 - 7:14PM

Blake Herzog, Tribune

Once again, the U.S. Census Bureau has named Gilbert one of the 10 fastest-growing cities in the nation. What's perhaps more surprising in today's economic climate is a jump in the number of new housing permits being issued by the town over the last two months.

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Those selling real estate in Gilbert also report a somewhat improving picture, though home prices don't appear to be following suit just yet.

"It's not a bad time to be buying a house, with these prices that have adjusted so much," said Jim Nawrocki, a real estate broker with Remax Alliance Group in Gilbert.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that Gilbert was the eighth-fastest-growing city with a population larger than 100,000 in the United States from July 2006 to July 2007, gaining 11,308 or 5.8 percent. The only other Arizona city that made the top 25 on this percentage-based list was Peoria, No. 23 at 3 percent.

The plummeting housing market of the last six months may have led some to wonder whether Gilbert will sustain that level of growth, but officials saw a substantial jump in the number of single-family housing permits pulled in recent months: 170 in May and 156 in June, compared to 87 in April and 43 in January.

Numbers such as these spurred the Town Council to eliminate 22 jobs and lay off 12 employees while putting together the budget for the fiscal year which has just begun.

Most of the affected positions were in the development services department, and despite the recent uptick, "We don't need to replace them yet; the numbers aren't that big," Town Councilman Don Skousen said.

Bobbi Smith, a member of Gilbert's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, said that lulls in growth aren't always welcome in cities that have been scrambling to keep up with demand for services from new residents.

"The one good thing that has come about is that it's a good environment to buy land," she said.

Gilbert development fees run between $16,000 and $19,000 for single-family homes, town spokesman Garin Groff said. These cover the anticipated cost of new parks, streets, sewer capacity and other items the town will need to build.

Sales of existing homes don't bring the same immediate cash infusion into the town budget, but new residents do generate additional sales tax, utility fees and other revenue for the town.

Ken Boltz, a real estate agent at Remax Alliance Group, said "in the last three months I have seen a dramatic increase in sales," which could point to a recovery but there are other factors involved. Summer is typically the peak homebuying season, and real estate professionals who have stayed in the field may be picking up some of the slack from those who left when the market crashed.

Nawrocki said that personally, "I've had a nice string of sales lately, but none of them are in Gilbert." Overall, sales in the south East Valley are somewhat outpacing those in the rest of the Valley according to Multiple Listing Service data. In June, just over 1,700 homes were sold in the south East Valley, and in May, 1,787. There were about 1,500 in April, he said, "so we've seen a fairly substantial increase."

Roy Jackson with Century 21 Platinum, another Gilbert real estate office, said he's also seeing a pronounced increase in interest in Gilbert homes, compared to areas further southeast, but this doesn't appear to be driven by people trying to move further into the metro area to accommodate soaring gas prices.

"You'd think so, but that doesn't seem to be the case," he said. "I live in Gold Canyon, so I think you just get used to where you are."

Nawrocki said most of his clients appear to be people looking to live in their homes or investors who intend to rent properties for a period of time rather than flip them to another buyer, and that's one of the first signs of a true recovery.

The town continues to hold mixers for new residents, a tradition since 2002. Groff said 60 to 80 people are expected at the next one July 19. It will be 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Southeast Regional Library at Gilbert and Guadalupe roads. A continental breakfast, maps and information about programs and volunteer opportunities will be provided. To reserve a seat, call (480) 503-6767