Southeast Valley

Hiking tips for Phoenix, Scottsdale visitors

Lifestyle

It’s gonna be a hot one today, folks! The metro Phoenix area is slated to see 98 degrees Farenheit today. If you’re visiting the metro Phoenix-Scottsdale area and you’re considering hiking some of our beautiful mountain trails today, take note…  it’s hotter than you think, and the trails are steeper than you think. Remember that [...]

1 April 2011 Read the full article →

Recommended blog and handyman

Homeowner Help

Psst…  I found a really outstanding blog and an excellent craftsman who does home remodeling projects in the Greater Phoenix area: The RemodGeek. I can’t say enough good stuff about him, but his resume actually speaks for itself: …spent years in construction, residential and commercial, and remodeling from foundation to punch list. I have been [...]

10 June 2010 Read the full article →

Housing Starts and screaming headlines

In The News

Chris often writes about how the media causes confusion among consumers by shouting over-generalized headlines. No surprise, it happened again this week. On Tuesday The Atlantic reported “Housing Starts Rise as New Permits Fall”, sowing confusion and possibly fear in the minds of consumers. If housing starts are up, that’s good, right? But if new [...]

20 May 2010 Read the full article →

REOs Rule, But Not Everywhere

Foreclosures

Image courtesy of Stock Exchange user svilen001 Just a little blurb from one of our favorite title/escrow officers, Maggie Clark of Equity Title. This gives a good picture of just how much the REO (“real estate owned”, i.e. bank owned foreclosure) properties are driving the market lately. Southwest Valley – REO active listings represent 16% [...]

21 September 2009 Read the full article →

Builders Resurface

Buyer Help

Builders are back! New home builders in the metro Phoenix area can arguably be blamed for some of the mess we’re all in. Many people do argue that, in fact: builders overbuilt, didn’t stop building spec homes quickly enough when buyer demand flagged in 2006 and allowed investor owners whose tenants dragged down property values. Blame [...]

10 September 2009 Read the full article →

Getting Smart About Short Sales

Listings

Are home buyers getting smart about short sales in metro Phoenix? The tale of this particular home seems to indicate yes. Read on…. Cute home, no? Three bedroom, two bath, 1500 square feet. Nice neighborhood, good schools, newer homes. In winter 2005 it sold for $242,000. This house was listed as a short sale for just [...]

2 July 2009 Read the full article →

Phoenix is a Big Grid

Phoenix By Area

Here’s a bit of handy introduction-to-the-Valley sort of info about Phoenix’s street system. (click to enlarge/”back” to return) Thoughtfully, our Phoenician forebears laid out our fair city on a big grid. Nearly every street is straight and major streets are 1 mile apart. Numbered streets go north & south, named streets go east-west. lost already? [...]

19 June 2009 Read the full article →

Friday Fun

Lifestyle

Uber blogger Theresa Boardman does a Fridays are for Fun series. Since I’m totally exhausted this week, I’m shamelessly copying her style. Henceforth (or at least until I forget I made this mini-resolution), Fridays are for Fun here at the North Phoenix Agent blog. As a Realtor, I drive a lot. I mean A LOT. [...]

5 December 2008 Read the full article →

Chandler and “Dangerous Schools”

Buyer Help

The Chandler Unified School District is voting this week on a proposal to notify and allow parents of students who attend “dangerous schools” to transfer out.  They consider a “dangerous school” to be one in which four or more firearms are found in a year, or four gun-related incidents have occurred.  If passed, parents of [...]

26 April 2007 Read the full article →

Small Private Tempe School Goes Synthetic

Buyer Help

It’s hard to imagine a school without a grassy play area for the kids. But the grass comes with a price… Green, winter rye grass tends to always be wet. Dormant bermuda grass gets dust and “hay” everywhere. Rain, though infrequent in our city, makes mud. Springtime brings new bermuda growth, and lots of allergies! [...]

31 January 2007 Read the full article →