July 2009

Hot

In The News

Joyfully, I bring you the weather forecast for metro Phoenix for the coming week. Pay attention to Friday’s predicted high of a mere 98 degrees. (click on the pic to embiggen) Ninety-eight degrees! I’m so happy I’m bursting! It’s been HOT here in Phoenix lately. Brain-fryingly hot. Cranky-making hot. We’ve had high temps in the [...]

19 July 2009 Read the full article →

More REO Fun

Foreclosures

Dealing with REO purchases is just. So. Much. Fun! Two weeks ago my buyer clients and I received a bank’s verbal acceptance of our offer on their house for sale.  The parties verbally agreed to close August 3. Last week the bank sends back signed docs. Closing date is now August 18. First we heard [...]

18 July 2009 Read the full article →

Real Estate Glossary, Starter Home

First Time Buyers

This isn’t an official definition. I’m not sure there is one. It’s just what I use as shorthand for a certain type of property. 3-4 bedrooms 2 bathrooms about 1200 to 1600 square feet small yard usually no pool usually located about 20-30 miles from anything you can reasonably call ‘downtown’ almost always in a [...]

17 July 2009 Read the full article →

Do I owe my Agent a Commission?

Buyer Help

A real-life question from our email in-box. Question: Hi, I actually am looking for a bit of advice from a realtor, and I’m hoping you can give me your opinion on this. My cousin who asked a realtor to show her some houses around the city recently found a house that she likes on her [...]

17 July 2009 Read the full article →

Prescription Drug Disposal Event

Homeowner Help

Face it, you’ve got old prescription drugs lying around the house. They’re expired, the medical reason you needed them is gone, and you’ve never quite known what to do with them. Flush ‘em? Ruin the water supply in the process. Throw ‘em in the garbage? Kids and animals might get into your garbage at the [...]

16 July 2009 Read the full article →

Moving Stills 67 – Urban Farming

Photoblogging

I was driving across Glendale yesterday on Northern Ave, and remarked on the changes we’ll see over the next decade.  Two miles away, and easily visible, was Glendale’s Stadium District – Westgate, University of Phoenix Stadium, and a ton of development – hotels, condos, commercial & retail space.  Yet I was driving across farmland; farms [...]

16 July 2009 Read the full article →

Phoenix and Northwest Valley home prices

Market Analysis & Stats

Today’s local real estate market is a strange place – very difficult to figure out exactly what’s going on, whether you’re recounting first-hand experiences from out in the field, or you’re reviewing numbers & statistics on a spreadsheet.  Either way, it’s a strange time in our history. I’m comparing our current environment to 2003 – [...]

14 July 2009 Read the full article →

Landlords, Need Help?

Real Estate Investing

Landlord:  “Why didn’t you pay the rent on time this month?” Tenant 1: We all had swine flu and we like you so much we didn’t want to give it to you so we didn’t mail the check. Tenant 2: I don’t have time for this now. We’re all going to see the new Star [...]

14 July 2009 Read the full article →

Making Gmail Work Better – Notes from the Tech Desk

Op Ed

More and more people are making the switch to Gmail as a full-time, business and personal, email program.  (There are plenty of reasons to use Gmail, but that’s a topic for another post!)  Instead I thought I’d share a few of the tricks I’ve learned which help make Gmail work better/smarter/safer. The first three have [...]

13 July 2009 Read the full article →

Are Investors Driving the Market?

Market Analysis & Stats

For four months running, nearly 20% of properties sold in metro Phoenix have been sold to investors.  Is that enough to drive the market? Twenty percent seems like a significant minority but I suppose you could argue the question seven ways till Sunday. It’s commonly accepted wisdom that “investors created the housing mess by buying [...]

13 July 2009 Read the full article →

Sunday Stats

Market Analysis & Stats

To mix it up from the usual Sunday Stats, I’m posting a SnagIt picture from a Cromford Report analysis of the Valley’s real estate market. This chart shows only bank-owned homes (commonly called “REOs”) sold through the Multiple Listing Service. click this pic to embiggen it The numbers that caught my eye tonight are the number [...]

12 July 2009 Read the full article →