It's Wednesday. Feels like Tuesday though.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 106.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Richard Bullard!

Today's newsletter is 911 words, a 3.5-minute read.

The Valley is one of the biggest markets for institutional investment landlords — that is, professional investors managing huge pots of money who buy up single-family homes, per a new study.

Why it matters: Housing affordability in the Phoenix area is already a problem, and the prevalence of corporate landlords makes it only harder for the average resident to afford a home.

• Phoenix has been transformed "from a place where ordinary families have a shot at owning a home to one where they are more likely to become permanent corporate tenants," says the study, released Wednesday by the nonprofit American Economic Liberties Project (AELP).

By the numbers: In 2022, institutional investors owned more than 38,000 single-family properties in Phoenix, second only to Atlanta.

• As of 2024, they owned about 13-14% of the Valley's single-family rental market — between 33,000 and 72,000 homes.
• Mesa's 85209 ZIP code has 3,251 investor-owned properties, the most in the Valley.

Flashback: Phoenix "was part of the rise of this business model from the beginning," says study author and AELP research manager Laurel Kilgour.

• As big banks and big homebuilders edged out more locally focused counterparts, investors could snap up properties and sit on them for years.
• In 2012, Invitation Homes purchased its first single-family rentals in Phoenix. A year later, in a first for Wall Street, it securitized a batch of properties, allowing investors to buy and sell shares in it as a financial product.
• At one point during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study says, institutional investors bought "up to 31%" of Arizona single-family rentals, "the second-highest share in the nation."

The intrigue: A more recent phenomenon involves build-to-rent properties, particularly whole housing developments not intended for purchase at all.

• More than 25,000 build-to-rent units came online in the Valley over the past five years, the most in the nation.

State of play: The study recommends several measures to rein in institutional investors, which have attracted the attention of President Trump.

Possible solutions

The Phoenix City Council is looking to bring back the local vendors who formed much of the heart and soul of First Fridays before street closures and markets became things of the past.

Why it matters: Vendors selling local goods were a big part of what made First Fridays on Roosevelt Row special, and the events haven't been the same without them.

State of play: The council is scheduled to vote today on a one-year pilot program that would allow businesses along and around Roosevelt Row to apply for permits allowing vendors on their property.

• Businesses could allow vendors to set up shop in parking lots, landscaped areas, patios and other outside sections they control, though sidewalks would stay clear.
• Vendors would be permitted to sell only locally produced arts, crafts and food items, including paintings, prints, posters, stickers, magnets, jewelry, clothing, ceramics and glass work.

Between the lines: Organizers wanted to "come back to more of the arts roots" of First Fridays and asked the city to create a pilot program that would help accomplish that, deputy city manager Alan Stephenson tells Axios.

Yes, but: There's no discussion of bringing back street closures, Stephenson says.

Catch up quick: First Friday organizers in May ended the event's trademark street closures and vendor markets, citing a string of "ugly" and violent incidents.

Take an art walk

⛔️ The historic Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA and its adjoining low-income housing will close Sept. 30 after nearly 75 years. (AZCentral)

🥚 Hickman's Egg Ranch will deliver 2 million eggs to Valley food banks as part of a price-fixing settlement with the AG's Office. (KJZZ)

👀 Activists are criticizing an ICE immigration raid at a Phoenix Home Depot over the weekend. (Arizona's Family)

🎶 Crescent Ballroom will hold an all-day party featuring 10 bands on Oct. 3 to celebrate its 15th anniversary. (Phoenix New Times)

College football's top tier is on track to set an attendance record of 39 million this season.

Why it matters: Total attendance at Football Bowl Subdivision games last season was just a few big games short of California's population.

Pre-pandemic crowds are back (up 3.7 million since 2021) across FBS games, and then some, according to NCAA data.

• College football attendance at all levels nearly hit 50 million in 2024.

Catch up quick: Attendance at 28 stadiums averaged at least 100% of their listed capacities in 2025, according to D1.ticker. Michigan led the nation, averaging 110,842 fans per home game, or 103% of "The Big House's" capacity.

Zoom in: Arizona State's home turnout jumped 11.2% from 2024 with an average of 54,444 fans per game. Mountain America Stadium's listed seat capacity is 53,599.

Yes, but: The FBS expanded from 120 teams in 2009 to 136 teams in 2025, contributing to the attendance increase. Average attendance remains roughly 5,000 below the peak during the 2005–2011 seasons.

What's next: Week 1 will give 2026's attendance numbers an early jolt: Ten of the nation's 11 largest stadiums will host games — easily bringing more than 1 million fans through just those schools' turnstiles.

🥯 Jeremy finally got his Bagelfeld's fix — the everything bagel with pepper and garlic cream cheese can't be beat.

🗓️ Zach is out this week.

This newsletter was edited by Astrid Galván.