Modern Phoenix Week & Home Tour 2013 – Left of Central

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The 9th Annual Modern Phoenix home tour is coming up soon, and features Phoenix's fabulous West Side neighborhoods such as Starlite Vista, SunView Estates, North Central Avenue and the Midtown Garden Apartment district. This self-guided tour will take visitors through vintage modern homes by Ralph Haver, Charles Polacek and Robert Starkovich as well as contemporary remodels by The Ranch Mine, Mod Architecture + Planning, JNL Homes, JoBuilt Construction and Modern Design Environments LLC. Contractors, homeowners and architects will hang out on site to interact in a casual and fun setting. Modern Phoenix Week is so much more than a tour, … [Read more...]

March 2012 Phoenix Real Estate Market Report and Trends

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I see a light at the end of the tunnel, it's bright and fast approaching. We are now entering into prime home buying season for Phoenix, and things are looking busier than ever.  The latest data and report from  Mike Orr of ASU's Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice shows an existing extreme shortage in current supply, high demand, and is forecasting things to not change much in the near to medium term future.   When you consider the factors that can lead to noticeable increase in supply, or the things that can lead to a noticeable decrease in the demand....there's not a whole lot near term to balance the market out, leading many to … [Read more...]

2012 Windsor Square Historic Home Tour & Festival

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Spring is a busy season for historic home tours in Phoenix. We have the Coronado Historic Home Tour coming up this weekend, and soon after the next one to keep on your radar is the Windsor Square Historic Home Tour. Windsor Square Historic Neighborhood is a nicely kept north-central neighborhood with 260 homes total, tree-lined curving streets and is considered one of the first suburbs of early Phoenix. The tour will feature 12 beautiful homes ranging from the 1920's through to the 1940's. This tour only happens every other year so make sure you don't miss it or you'll have to wait till 2014…and… or who knows…this could even be the last … [Read more...]

Desert Living Today

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Wanting to send a big thank you to the Desert Living Today team for giving me the opportunity to become a contributing guest blogger for their site.  Desert Living Today is a locally run online magazine and I know you're thinking... great, not another blog to follow...as reading multiple news, gossip and fashion sites, countless blogs, and numerous newsfeeds takes a lot of time. That’s what they're here for!  They are an "up to the minute tip-sheet covers anything and everything that is cool, stylish and newsworthy with features that emphasize design, architecture, fashion and art."  They read it all so you don’t have to.   They … [Read more...]

100 Years of Arizona

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As some around the world were celebrating Valentine's Day, in Arizona we were commemorating our state's 100th anniversary of becoming a state.  Arizona is relatively young compared to the rest of the U.S., but there's still a good deal of history that can be celebrated making it interesting to look back on how thing's have changed.   In honor of Arizona turning the ripe old age of 100, here's a look at some beautiful homes for sale on the market either representative of their era or unique in style, with the age in which they were built spanning a full 100 years and 2 homes showcasing each decade. All data current as of February 20, 2012 … [Read more...]

February 2012 Phoenix Real Estate Market Report

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Good news...we are seeing prices moving up rapidly across much of the lower price ranges in our market while mid range prices are seeing a fair amount of stabilization. Bad news...the strong upward moving pricing is due to many months of a declining supply and increasing demand.  This all bodes well for pricing and things look like they are well on their way to housing market recovery locally in Arizona. All of this strong activity and extreme (can't emphasize enough the word extreme) shortage of homes makes it a very challenging time to be a homebuyer.  Multiple offer situations in recent years were seen every now and then depending on … [Read more...]

Coronado Historic District Home Tour 2012

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There's something genuinely beautiful about blending the old with the new in home design, maintaining the historic nature of something while giving it a contemporary or modern twist. This synthesis of old and new can be found throughout many of the historic districts we have here in Phoenix. If you have never had the pleasure of touring some of these neighborhoods and homes filled with character and charm, now is your chance! Coronado Historic District is having their 25th Silver Anniversary Home Tour: Then and Now. This home tour will mark 25 years of Coronado home tours, explore how far the neighborhood has come over the years, and … [Read more...]

Building Permits Rising Nationwide; Housing Starts To Follow

Single-Family Housing Starts fell for the second consecutive month, dropping to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized 417,000 units in August 2011. A “Housing Start” is defined as a home on which ground has broken. We shouldn’t put too much faith in the findings, however. Although housing starts were lower last month, as noted by the Census Bureau, the margin of error in the August Housing Starts report exceeded the actual result. From the official report: August’s Published Results : -1.4% from July August’s Margin of Error : ±10.3% from July Therefore, August’s Housing Starts may have actually increased by up to … [Read more...]

One way it’s different this time

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Those of us in Arizona can still recall those days when real estate prices were booming back in 2005/2006, and it seemed like prices would never go down.  The out of control and unsustainable rise in home values and subsequent bust, was a factor of many things...to include poor lending practices by banks, over speculation from investors, prices outpacing the increases in general population's salaries/earnings, and buyers overleveraging themselves with too much debt. Investors were buying multiple properties with little to no money, down financing themselves into debt oblivion.   They were more concerned with making quick and easy … [Read more...]

Tips for Choosing Your Real Estate Partner

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As anyone who’s ever listed a house on the market can tell you, finding a real estate agent isn’t hard. Finding the right one is hard. With so many agents vying for your time and money, how can you pick the right one for your home and situation? Here are a few tips to get you started. Use a REALTOR® (not just an agent). A “REALTOR®” is a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. In many cases, this code extends beyond what is legally required. A REALTOR® brings the highest standards of professionalism and accountability to your purchase or … [Read more...]

Market Report June 2011

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"Housing Prices Fell in March for 8th Straight Month" "Housing Imperils Recovery" "U.S. Housing Market in Double Dip as Prices Fall to Fresh Lows" "Home Prices Continue on their Downward Spiral With No Relief in Sight" Those were a few of the latest real estate headlines from national media sources reporting statistics from the S&P Case Shiller Index tracking national home prices.  Based on those headlines you would think housing nationwide was in free fall, with no sign of any housing recovery in sight. Now let's look at what's happened in Maricopa County over the last 8 months for median sales price of homes: $120,000 - Oct … [Read more...]

Long Term Benefits of Home Ownership

“The market is great!  Interest rates are still low!  It’s a buyer’s market!”  We’ve all seen plenty of hype about how NOW is the best time to buy a home.  A lot of that hype is actually valid advice if you’re wondering when to buy, but it won’t do you a bit of good if you’re still wondering whether you should buy a home at all. To help you make the choice that really works for you in the long run, here are some good reasons to buy a home—in any economy. Equity The days of flipping houses for magic money are gone.  If you buy a home today, don’t expect to get your money back any time soon unless you’re … [Read more...]