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The first article County gained 313 people a day since 2000, from the Arizona Republic reports that Maricopa County is home to 3.7 million people and has been growing an average of 313 people a day since the 2000 census.  Based on an $8.1 million survey, the figures released Monday by the Maricopa Association of Governments are the first official population calculations in 5 1/2 years.  The county has added 628,367 residents in that time, for an increase of 20.5 percent.  The figures will be the basis in the next five years for the county, its cities and towns to receive their share of about $1.7 billion a year in taxes distributed by the state largely on the basis of population.  Phenomenal growth swept some of the Valley's smaller cities and towns.   The state Department of Economic Security's estimate for the county, dated three months earlier, was short of actual growth by 52,000 people, or 8.3 percent.

 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0627census0627.html

The second article Real estate execs remain optimistic, from The Business Journal of Phoenix reports that despite higher rates, most real estate professionals still feel good about their industry, according to a Bryan Cave survey of real estate professionals nationwide.   Sixteen percent of respondents expect the housing market to strengthen over the next 12 months, while 47 percent think it will stay the same.   However, 35 percent foresee a slowdown and the rest don't know at this point. Nearly one-third of these real estate executives say they plan to make an investment in the northeast portion of the country, and 15 percent are looking in the Southwest. Most are interested in investing in city office buildings and high-rise residential buildings.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/06/26/daily2.html?surround=lfn