Living In The East Valley

Market Statistics for Chandler

2008-08-20T16:49:00.007-07:00

With the new flexmls system that we have for the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS), we have the ability to pull market statistics in new ways. I am now able to pull market data for a specific city and will be doing that and sharing that with you monthly. Today's graphs are for Chandler.

The good news is that the total number of residential listings for sale has been going down steadily. It is necessary for this to happen in order to bring the market back into balance. We have dropped from 2940 in July 2007 to 2308 in July of 2008. This represents approximately 7 months of inventory currently on the market down from a peak of over 14 months of inventory in September 2007.

This data is supplied by the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. ARMLS, West USA, and Pat & Amy Monahan do not guarantee the accuracy of the data.

Rocket Scientists Weigh In On Saving Gas

2008-08-19T10:52:00.001-07:00

I found a pretty interesting article through Google Reader from Market Watch (The Wall Street Journal Digital Network). They interviewed some rocket scientists regarding whether it is better to drive with you tank full or half empty in order to save gas. It seems like the most common answer is the best thing you can do is make sure the tires on your car are inflated properly. Click on the link below to read the full article.

Gas Savings: It's Not Rocket Science

ADRE Posts List of Builders in Financial Trouble

2008-08-18T16:17:00.005-07:00

The Arizona Department of Real Estate has announced that they have posted a list of builders which are experiencing financial trouble on their website. It lists the builder/developer and the community/development they are building. If you are considering buying a property in a new development, you should check this list first. You do not want to give a down payment to a builder without an understanding of their financial ability to complete the home for you.

Arizona Home Builders in Financial Trouble

ADRE also recommends that you read Commissioner's Advisory Number 2 which gives information to home buyers and others that will be impacted by a builder discontinuing operations.

Please note that most home builders are meeting their obligations to their buyer's. ADRE provides this information as a service to Arizona's home buyers.

You should also know that you can have a real estate agent represent you when you purchase a home from a builder. However, that agent must go with you the first time you visit the community. An agent can help you understand the contract and to negotiate the home purchase with the builder.

Adopt a Desert Tortoise

2008-08-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

It turns out that dogs and cats are not the only pets being abandoned due to the high foreclosure rate on properties. This is also happening to desert tortoises. This is a different type of tortoise than we have as a pet. The desert tortoise is native to the area and will hibernate in the winter. There have been several articles in the AZ Republic about this, to read them click on the links below.

Help is Available if You Can no Longer Care for Your Pet Tortoise
The Tortoise and the Harried

If you are interested in adopting a desert tortoise you can get more information from:
AZ Game & Fish Department - 623-236-7767
Phoenix Herpetological Society - 602-550-7029

Where to run in the East Valley?

2008-08-17T17:39:00.001-07:00

Need help finding a place to run in the East Valley? Thousands of your fellow runners have mapped a route for you. Simply go to mapmyrun.com
and put in the city you are interested in running in. Next thing you know you'll have hundreds of places to run in any city in the US.

Chandler Police now hiring

2008-08-16T17:28:00.001-07:00

So you live somewhere cold and you'd like to live in Arizona. But, you need a job first? How about becoming a Chandler Police officer?

The Chandler Police are now hiring.

The Mesa Police are hiring too.

And so is the Gilbert Police Department.

And Phoenix.

If you don't want a job, but do want to find out crime stats for Chandler, visit the

Chandler Police Department website.

Phoenix Police Department website.

Gilbert Police Department website.

Mesa Police Department website.

Why no one is looking at your home for sale.

2008-08-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger image.

Showing homes to potential buyers start these days at the computer. Agents search for homes using criteria that is given to them by the buyer. It has to be in a certain city or it has to have four bedrooms. If you've bought anything, you've been through this process.

Realtors input this information into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). What most of them fail to realize is that each input is a possible connection with the buyer. The more you input, the greater the chance that the buyer's agent will find it in the MLS. If you put in a typo that the price is $3,500,000, instead of the correct price of $350,000 (one extra zero), than no one is going to see your home. If you leave a field blank, than it might limit the showings as well.

Here's an example. I have a client that needs a ground level unit that is one level. She's disabled and she cannot do stairs. I found 37 properties in the area she wanted to live in that were single level. Now, you can have a single level home on the 2nd floor. I then narrowed it to how many were ground level and found five. Now, I thought the number would be higher. So, I went back to the first search and manually looked at each listing. Sure enough, I found about 15 properties that were ground level, but wasn't listed as such. 15 agents that left the field blank and 15 agents that are getting less showings because of it. Look at the picture, there's other boxes that might need to be checked. All in all, there are hundreds of places for agents to mess up on.

If your home is listed for sale and you are not getting enough showings, I'd check your MLS listing to make sure it is accurate. If you are in the process of interviewing your next agent, ask him or her for an audit of your current listing.

Here's the five top things I'd check for:

1. Is the location correct in the MLS map? I was looking at a Queen Creek property the other day. When I clicked on location, the map showed dozens of properties pinpointed far from Queen Creek. One, was in Salt Lake City, Utah.

2. Can you get to the home with the written directions?

3. If you live in a condo/townhome is the level, shared walls, unit style correct?

4.Under features and room details is everything possible listed?

5.Are there pictures and virtual tours attached to your listing? Did you know that agents can choose to send only listing with these items. I've seen properties on the MLS for over a year and no picture of the home.

Firebird International Raceway

2008-08-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

There are folks in the east valley that have lived here for decades and don't really know that we have a world class facility on the Gila River Indian Community. What is it? Why it's the Firebird International Speedway. A dragstrip that holds national events, as well as, let's your neighbor speed down the strip. The National time trials were held in January, as well as, the Tire Pros Monster Truck Nationals in April. But, the coolest night at Firebird might be the Friday night "Street Drags". Here's the explanation from Firebird,

"Want to race like the super-stars of drag racing? Firebird International Raceway's Street Drag program is just the ticket. Speaking of tickets, why get one on the street when you can come out to the track and race legally, in a fun and much safer environment. Enjoy legal drag racing almost every weekend of the year. Be a part of the action and give it a try!
Who Can Run or be a Passenger? (Car must be 14.00 or slower to ride along)Any licensed driver 18 years of age or older, (OR) any licensed driver 16 to 18 years of age ACCOMPANIED BY A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN to sign a parental consent form (OR any licensed driver 16 years of age or older whose name appears on our current Parental Consent list."

Firebird International Raceway

Home Resales in Pinal County Increase

2008-08-13T14:34:00.003-07:00

The article, Price Dip Spurs Pinal's Resales, in today's AZ Republic indicates that ASU has reported that home resales in Pinal County were up 40% in the second quarter of this year as compared to the first quarter of this year. This is primarily being driven by the declines which have occurred in home prices to make the homes more affordable for buyers.

1975? 2008? Same Story on Energy

2008-08-12T08:07:00.001-07:00

I was going through some old things I'd saved from my youth this past weekend and found some interesting things. Some things I have no idea why I saved them and others were still meaningful. One of the things I found was a page of Jan. 23, 1975 Des Moines Tribune that my aunt had sent me. It was an article about the author of the Nancy Drew books. What was more interesting to me now was an article written by John Shuttleworth on the same page about energy. Read this and see if you think it could have been written this year,

As I've stated before in this column, last year's so called "energy crisis" was only a mild foretaste of the chronic, desperate and very real age of energy scarcity that now looms over the world. Tomorrow, in short, appears rather bleak. Or does it? Perhaps we're not really facing a scarcity of the power we need to turn our machines or heat out homes after all. Perhaps it's just been so easy to burn coal, gas, and petroleum all these years that we've overlooked a far richer - and pollution free - source of power.

He goes on to discuss the appeal of solar power. We all know that solar power never took off in a big way following the 70's energy crisis. Hopefully, this time we'll make more progress in our ability to capture and use solar energy.

Cheese Curds in the Valley

2008-08-11T16:32:00.003-07:00

If you are from Wisconsin and feel a little home sick, Culver's is now in the valley. Butterburger's, cheese curds and frozen custard are just some of the things on this restaurants menu.

CULVER’S

Where: 1909 S. Country Club Drive, Mesa (northeast corner of Country Club and Baseline Road)Open: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Prices: Salads $3.79-$5.99, burgers/sandwiches $1.79-$4.79, sides $1.49-$3.09, frozen custard $1.79-$3.49

Info: (480) 733-5330 or culvers.com

Big League Dreams

2008-08-11T16:26:00.004-07:00

Big League Dreams in Gilbert has improved their website. Now you can get schedules, results and standings for their softball and soccer games. Athletic types all over the valley are enjoying the luxury feel of the BLG facility. Ever want to play ball at Wrigley Field or the old Polo Grounds? At BLG in Gilbert you can.

BLG schedules, standings and game results

Facility photos

Others Seeing Positive Signs for Phoenix Real Estate Market

2008-08-11T10:49:00.003-07:00

An article in Sunday's AZ Republic, Some Positive Trends Are Showing Up in Metropolitan Phoenix's Housing Market, indicates that June statistics are showing some positive signs for the area. In my previous post, Slow But Steady Progress for Phoenix Real Estate Market , I also saw some positive signs for the East Valley market. We still have a lot of inventory of homes available for sale and it will take a while to work through that; but there is now a good selection of homes below $200,000 and condos below $150,000 for sale.

Stitch N' Pitch at AZ Diamondbacks Game

2008-08-06T13:17:00.005-07:00

Do you like doing needlework and are looking for a fun event? Consider going to the Stitch N' Pitch event at the Aug. 24 Diamondbacks game. Watch some baseball and work on a knitting, crocheting, or needlework project. Sit with a bunch of other fans doing the same thing. You get into the game early and attend to a needlework expo. You get a t-shirt as well. For more information, click on the links below. There is even a link to a pattern to knit your own baseball cap!

Info on buying Stitch N' Pitch tickets

AZ Diamondbacks info about event

Official Stitch N' Pitch website

Rules for Loans Change on October 1, 2008

2008-08-05T08:00:00.001-07:00

If you are thinking about buying a house in the next 12 months, you should really talk with a lender now. The new housing bill will have an impact on everything from down payment requirements to seller assistance. These are some things that will change on October 1, 2008 as I understand the bill:

The down payment requirement for an FHA loan will go from 3.0% to 3.5% of the purchase price.
For FHA loans, the seller will no longer be able to assist the buyer with the down payment through programs like AmeriDream and Nehemiah. (There are currently a lot of sales using these programs.)
Provides for a tax credit of up to $7500 for qualified home purchases between 4/9/08 and 6/30/08. This credit acts like an interest free loan in that it must be repaid over the next 15 years.

For more information: NAR Summary of Housing Bill Provisions

We recommend that you contact a lender to discuss the specific impact for your home loan and that you speak with an accountant for more information regarding the tax credit. We will also be happy to answer any questions that we can.

Newspapers - Are Classified Ads going away

2008-08-04T14:34:00.003-07:00

I frequently hear the statistic that about 80% of home buyers start their home search on the Internet. The impact of this change can be seen in the shrinking size of the real estate classified ad section of the newspaper. Even though we have an historically high quantity of homes for sale in the Phoenix area, the size of the real estate classified section in the AZ Republic has gotten much smaller in the last few years. Today, I read that the Los Angles Times printed it's final edition of their real estate section on Sunday. (Article - A Good Steady Market) I think that over time most of the classified ads in newspapers will be posted on-line only, and this is not just for real estate.

What this means is - if you are thinking of selling your home, make sure you hire a real estate agent that is experienced with Internet marketing.

Slow but Steady Progress for Phoenix Real Estate Market

2008-07-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

The real estate market in the East Valley is making slow and steady progress. The number of listings came down from May to June of this year. They decreased in June by 7.4% over June of last year. We still need significant reductions in listing inventory in order for the real estate market to come back into balance; however, the market does seem to be moving in the right direction. Additionally, the number of sales increased from June of 2007 to June of 2008 by 10%.

These statistics are for the homes listed or sold by members of the Southeast Valley Association of REALTORS® (SEVRAR). They will include sales of homes in the greater Phoenix area that were made by SEVRAR members. Even so, these statistics should be fairly representative of what is happening in the East Valley. SFD stands for Single Family Detached Homes.This data is supplied by the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. ARMLS, West USA, and Pat & Amy Monahan do not guarantee the accuracy of the data.

Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

2008-07-30T13:30:00.003-07:00

President Bush signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The link below provides a good summary of the act (provided by the National Association of REALTORS®). You should read this if you are considering purchasing a home, selling a home, or feel that you need to refinance an existing home loan.

Summary of Provisions

The Met!

2008-07-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

New condos in Chandler. Right near the Chandler Fashion Center. It's called The Metropolitan and it will be 13 buildings of retail and housing. There's no other place like it in Chandler. Many of the buildings will be 6 stories tall, the largest in the city.

Here's some of the amenities that The Met is including -

Pool/ Hot Tub/ Firepits

24 hour security

The Met Ride - shuttle to / from work within 4 miles.

World Class Fitness Center

200 Channel HD TV service

Fiber Internet

Movie and Billiard lounge

Prices start around $200,000 and go up to $600,000. Square footage is from 1100 up to 1700 and views from the upper floors should be incredible. If this sounds like the home for you, give us a call and we'll get you in "The Met."

New Type of Display for Search Results

2008-07-25T08:00:00.002-07:00

Sometimes teenagers can be good sources of information about the Internet. I recently learned about http://www.searchme.com/ from one. I don't think it will replace Google or other search engines for me but I do like it. Instead of displaying short descriptions of the search result matches, it displays an actual image of the web page.

Click here to see the results I got for African Spurred Tortoise. As usual there were some results that were useful for me and some that were not. I saved the pages that are useful into a stack.

Buy a Kiva in Chandler

2008-07-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

Every now and then I'll see something unusual when showing homes. Today I saw a Kiva for the first time in a Chandler backyard. Wikipedia does a better job of describing a Kiva than I do.

Now of course, I doubt this is an archaeological ruin. I guess I would call it a faux kiva. I doubt that it was used for religious purposes, but you never know. Might be worth getting the info from the past owner. After all, I'd hate to move into the home and find out I could not take it down.

If you need a home with a faux kiva, let me know. I know of a house that has one.

Cell Phone Lot at the Airport

2008-07-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

Planning on picking up relatives at Sky Harbor? Here's a great idea. The airport now has two lots with incoming flight info for you to wait in. No more having to circle the airport clogging up the road. Tell your friends to call you when then leave baggage claim. You pull into the lot up to 30 minutes prior to the planes arrival. Check out the board and wait. They get their bags and call you with what terminal they are at and you drive up to meet them. It's that simple. A great idea. Hey, don't forget to bring a book!

Lots of Lockboxes

2008-07-18T08:00:00.001-07:00

Normally, when I show homes, the lockbox is on the front door or nearby. But, when we show homes in a high rise, the lockboxes will be centrally located. This is the lockbox box at a high rise in Scottsdale. I've never seen so many boxes at once. The blue boxes are the new ones. The grey boxes are the old technology. I wonder if those REALTORS know that not all agents can access the old ones?

Personalized Radio

2008-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of the Internet radio site Pandora? You create your own personal music stations by starting with an artist or song. It then plays music which is similar to that which you selected. You can mark songs while they are playing with a thumbs up or thumbs down. The program uses this information to better tune the station to your tastes. The more songs you mark the more the station will be personalized to your taste. You can save the station for the next time you visit. You can create different stations to suit the different genres of music that you like. While the song is playing you can also display information about the artist and the album the music is from. It is also suggests similar artists that you might like.

There is now information about sharing a station that you have created with a friend. I haven't done that before but it could be fun.

What is really nice about this is that the music comes out of your computer speakers. You could even set up a station for listening at work without the need for a radio on your desk.

Free Rice for UN World Food Program and Fun for You!

2008-07-15T15:14:00.004-07:00

I read an article, Word Fun Becomes Feeding Frenzy, in the AZ Republic today about http://www.freerice.com/. I had also heard about this site from our daughter who has played it quite a bit. It is pretty simple and probably easy to get addicted too. It was originally created by a father to help his kids study for the SAT.

It is basically pretty simple, the screen displays a multiple choice vocabulary question, answer right and 20 grains of rice get donated to the UN World Food Program. You can keep playing and answering more questions which get harder as you get questions right. After you have answered a few questions, it assigns a starting vocabulary level for you to work upwards from. Apparently the highest level is 60 and not too many people make that. Will you be one of them? In the Options section you can select to save your total and vocabulary level from one session to the next.

The rice gets distributed in countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Uganda. The site's sponsors pay for the rice. 20 grains of rice may not seem like a lot but it adds up quickly. Just yesterday over 75 million grains of rice were donated through this program.

There is a lot more information on the FAQ button on the http://www.freerice.com/ website.