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BUSINESS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | JULY 10, 2022
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Valley housing market dashing toward balance BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
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he Valley’s leading analyst of the Phoenix Metro housing market is predicting the entire region could see a balanced market – with supply meeting demand – by September. Buckeye is already there and Queen Creek and Maricopa should be this week, the Cromford Report said last Friday. And Mesa and the rest of the East Valley are heading toward equilibrium because of an overall cooling in the market. “Their markets are cooling rapidly and look likely to move into the balance zone within a matter of weeks rather than months. Unless the current trends change, we could be in a buyer’s market across much of Central Arizona by the beginning of September,” Cromford said. The trend is a stunning reversal for a market that began the year – and domi-
While a sudden flood of new listings might be welcome by prospective buyers, the Cromford Report said they may be in for more heartache – and that sellers will be grabbing their crying towels along with them. That’s partly because home prices remain at record levels and This 9,400-square-foot house on E. Kenwood Street in Mesa, built in 2008, recently sold for $3.5 million. The two- rising interest story home has a 413-square-foot guest house, six bedrooms, a kitchen with high-end appliances, a classical theater, rates appear to a wrought-iron curved staircase and a number of other amenities. (Special to the Tribune) be dousing buynated 2021 – with buyers at the mercy making other concessions to sellers in a of bidding wars, foregoing inspections or desperate effort to secure a home. see MARKET page 19
Downtown store ‘inspires’ wholesome food fans BY MARK MORAN Tribune Managing Editor
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nspire Farms, Tiffiny Lilley’s thriving organic food and feed business, is really just a homeschool project gone bad. Monty and Blondie, the black and tan chickens roaming the floor of her downtown Mesa shop? A would-be science project for her kids. “I thought ‘great! Cycle of life,’” Lilley said. “Learn how to grown your own food.’ Just lots of lessons, right? Well, after one year they could care less. They weren’t into chickens anymore and here we are 16 years later and I still love chickens.”
Monty and Blondie are long forgotten classroom-examplesturned store- mascots. They seem happy wandering the store’s gray tile floors, making their way through a maze of shelves, products and people, basking in the attention of picture snapping customers and pecking at the floor for seeds or other goodies. Inspire Farms is a cozy shop in the former U.S. Auto building on East Main Street in downtown Mesa. With its homey feel and a bit of a laid-back, hippie vibe, the place feels like a throwback to simpler times, even though the sleek and ultra-modern
light rail whizzes by just a few steps outside the front door. “We have a 50-50 market,” Lilley said. “50-percent of our customers have farm animals and chickens and need to feed them and the other 50-percent want what the animals’ produce or don’t want the animals or can’t have them. “We’ve got chicken eggs, duck eggs, turkey eggs, quail eggs. All corn, free, soy free organic fed. We have raw milk, raw butter, raw cheese, refrigerator pickles, grass fed beef, Berkshire pork and corn free, soy free organic chicken meat.”
see INSPIRE page 20
The owners of Inspire Farms in downtown Mesa are Van Curry and Tiffiny Lilley. The shelves at Inspire Farms are stocked with organic feed for livestock and domesticated animals as well as organically raised food for people to eat. (Mark Moran/Tribune Staff)
