March 2009

Spam update

Technology

Three weeks ago I received 92 spam-emails in a single day, and quite honestly that felt like a light day.  I wrote about the difference between spammers and true emailers, and said I was going to unsubscribe zealously from every spam I receive. image of SPAM beach ball from Hormell’s SPAM website. Yesterday, exactly three weeks [...]

31 March 2009 Read the full article →

JP Morgan Chase Opens Loan Service Center in Phoenix

Foreclosures

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. opens a new loan service center today in north Phoenix and hopes to help area homeowners facing foreclosure and payments they can’t afford. The loan service center will “introduce new financing alternatives, reach out to borrowers to offer prequalified modifications, and initiate a process to review each loan independently before moving [...]

31 March 2009 Read the full article →

Keep It Simple

General Musings

For about 2 years now I’ve been trying to explain to seller clients why it’s not a good idea to “test the market” with a higher list price. Their logic is “we can always drop the price” or “they can just make an offer.” The response I have inside my head is, “Are you bleeping [...]

30 March 2009 Read the full article →

Sunday Stats

Sunday Stats

Holy Seller’s Market, Batman! Check out Surprise ZIP 85379 which has shrunk to a mere 3-and-a-half months’ worth of inventory. That’s a strong seller’s market. Six months’ is normal, which should give you an idea of how strong the sellers’ hand is in Surprise. If you’re trying to buy in this ZIP, expect to pay [...]

29 March 2009 Read the full article →

Where’s The Bottom?

Investors

There’s a painful truth about a market where prices are falling. It looks like this: Every guy who buys pays less than the last guy who bought. That’s pretty much the classic definition of a declining market. If you’re a seller, it’s better to sell now than later. Later equals less money in your pocket. [...]

25 March 2009 Read the full article →

Household Quickie – Spring Clean the Windows

Buyer Help

Metro Phoenix is a dusty place. Dust accumulates at a superhuman rate in your house, your car, on your patio furniture. It only takes about an hour for a thin layer of dust to accumulate on every place that’s vertical and doesn’t move. Our dust is actually superfine dirt – it’s brown, dry and totally [...]

24 March 2009 Read the full article →

a Photo Radar tip

General Musings

Watch your speed, but PLEASE DON’T STOP! The cameras are scattered across the Phoenix freeways, and stand as a constant reminder to watch your speed.  However, they don’t flash their lights and snap your picture unless you are going 11 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. For all the public outcry over the [...]

24 March 2009 Read the full article →

Surprise! The PhoenixAgents on Channel 3 News

Foreclosures

On Monday last week, The Phoenix Agents appeared on a segment of local news Channel 3′s nine o’clock news. Channel 3 picked up on a trend of booming volume in resales in the Phoenix suburb Surprise, Arizona, especially in ZIP code 85379. Click here to watch a web video of the the news broadcast.  Click [...]

21 March 2009 Read the full article →

The Foreclosure Effect

Market Analysis & Stats

Our current sales level is not too much different from 2002; it’s the makeup of the market which is different – significantly different! I took a look at the banks’ involvement in the market, pulling all closed sales of Single Family Residence (detached homes) in Maricopa County from January 1 – February 28 in 2002 [...]

19 March 2009 Read the full article →

Fed Funds Rate Unchanged

In The News

The Fed leaves short term interest rates alone and announces they’ll purchase more mortgage-backed securities and longer-term Treasury securities.

18 March 2009 Read the full article →

Moving Stills 54 – Desert Moon at Dusk

Photoblogging

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I was watching the sun set and the moon rise at the same time the other evening while driving on Loop 101, and felt compelled to take a picture of the full moon against the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale.  What I learned is that night photography is more difficult, and I still have a lot [...]

17 March 2009 Read the full article →

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