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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 1, 2021
For more community news visit SanTanSun.com
EV renters caught in housing price squeeze BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor
Valley renters are increasingly finding themselves caught between rapidly rising rents and soaring home prices that make buying a house next to impossible. Starter-home prices are rising seven times faster than a typical renter’s income, making saving for a down payment even harder, according to a new analysis by Zillow. The online real estate marketplace earlier this month said its analysis shows first-time buyers need a year longer to save enough for a 20 percent down payment than they did in 2017 and must put away an additional $369 per month in the coming year just to keep up with the forecasted growth in home values. But a report from Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service on July 19 carried depressing news for any buyer, let alone first-timers: Year-over-year sale prices in the Phoenix metro region rose a whopping 46.26 percent in June and the current average price of a home is $507,936. Realtor.com last week report-
This 3,661-square-foot home on W. Kitty Hawk at the Chandler Airport recently sold for $1.55 million. Besides coming with an airplane hangar, the 16-year-old, two-story home has vaulted ceilings, a glass wall leading to the swimming pool and numerous amenities. (Special to the STSN)
ed,“High demand for a limited supply of rental housing has resulted in skyrocketing prices across the nation – and desperation from those seeking more affordable housing options.” Zillow noted, “Monthly payments
can remain affordable even with a smaller down payment, and flexible work options are providing new opportunities for many to buy a home in a less-expensive city.” That likely doesn’t include the Phoe-
nix metro area, where various reports indicate that both rents and house prices are skyrocketing. The Cromford Report, one of the See
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Popular game store/restaurant coming here SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF
A unique “board game restaurant” is setting up shop in Chandler this year as it makes its first foray outside the Northwest. Since 2011, Mox Boarding House has combined game retail sales, in-house game events and an eclectic dining menu at locations in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Construction has already started on the 10,000-square-foot establishment at 1371 N. Alma School Road but the owners have not said when it would open. ”Mox Chandler will feature their signature retail, restaurant, and event space that customers have come to love from the Mox brand, all served with a unique twist for Arizona patrons,” the city said in a release, adding that it will also house two private rooms for rent and a large patio. Guests will be able to borrow games from the huge game library for free while eating in the restaurant. Mox offers over 1,000 game titles – including miniatures, board games, role-playing games, card games – and runs a kiosk to buy and sell Magic: The Gathering cards. Mox is the retail arm of Card Kingdom, the world’s largest retailer of The Gathering cards. “Stepping into a Mox Boarding House is an instant transportation to
Portland Mox also started offering cocktails. Its menu includes soyglazed Biang Biang Brussels and honey gochujang lollipop wings, a cumin-roasted Peruvian Porn sandwich and smoked brisket friend rice. “It’s easy enough to order online to bring home along with your stack of board games, Magic cards or Warhammer figurines. It’s such a pleasant place to spend time, however, that you might as well sit a spell and, well, cast a few spells,” the newspaper Left: Like its Seattle outlet, all Mox Boarding Houses maintain a large retail space where it sells games of wrote. every description. Right: Mox Boarding House in Portland offers a spacious dining area where patrons About Mox: Founded also can play games while eating. (Facebook) in 2011 by brothers John and Damon Morris, Mox vaulted ceilings and clean, heavy wood somewhere special,” stated Jorel Miller, Boarding House is part of tables for playing, it’s a convincing director of Mox Boarding House. the Card Kingdom family of brands, rebuttal to the false assumption that “Each of our locations provide an which was founded in 1999. opportunity to unplug and spend quality all gaming stores must be cramped and Last month the Mox Portland celedevoid of congeniality,” the newspaper time with others. We offer a sense of brated its one-year anniversary with a community packed with a vast selection reported. block party that included entertainers, “Customers can crack open a freshly balloon artists, giant board games, a of games, good food, and craft beveragpurchased game from the showroom es, for all seeking a unique experience in photobooth and game demos. or borrow one from the generous game an environment like no other.” It also offered a prize wheel spin and Willamette Week in Oregon last year library, then settle in at the expansive gave swag bags to attendees. bar and restaurant, with full service at a described Mox Portland as “a gilded The locations even offer a personal table in the adjacent dining room.” palace of geeky delight.” Along with a 20-handle tap list, the “With chandeliers hanging from See on page 24
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