Market Statistics - Number of Sales

Here are some additional statitics for you to consider. Today's charts represent the number of sales each month from 2003 through 2007. These listings are those held by members of the Southeast Valley Association of REALTORS. They may include sales which these agents had in the greater Phoenix area outside of the Southeast Valley. However, they should be fairly representative of what is happening in the Southeast Valley.

The first chart is for single family detached homes. The second chart is for condominiums. 2003 represents a more normal real estate market. 2005 was an an abnormal market when the big boom in sales occurred that drove up prices dramitically. For this year, we would like to see an increase in sales volume over last year and at the same time a reduction in the total number of listings. We have seen signs that the volume of sales may be picking up; however, this may just be the normal increase in the new year following the holiday season. January 2008's statistics will be available around mid-Febraury. We will post them when they become available.

Tubac, Arizona

Part of the beauty of living here, is all the great places just a few hours away. Our family tends to go to the north during the summer to get to cooler areas and to head south during the winter months, since it won't be too hot.

Several years back we went to Tubac. Just south of Tucson on the way to Mexico it's about 20 miles from the border. It's an arts community. Block after block of businesses owned by artists doing there thing. We saw sculptures, pots, paints, you name it. I really liked a lot of the wrought iron work. We have some wrought iron geckos gracing the wall near our pool.

It's also the site of the Tubac Presidio, the first state park in Arizona. This is a spanish fort built back in the days when Arizona wasn't Arizona yet.

And finally, if you are into hiking, birding, golfing or just enjoying the weather, Tubac is a great place to be.

Here's a question for you. The Anza Trail head is behind the Presidio. It starts on the Mexican border, but where does it end?

Energy Star Home Advisor

We are always looking for ways to reduce our energy bill. This time of year in Arizona it is not too bad; but, in the summer the air-conditioning bills can get pretty high. Energy Star offers a Home Advisor on its website, just click the link below. You answer just a few questions and it provides some recommendations for your home. A lot of the recommendations are pretty basic; however, it can still be a useful tool. For us, we should probably take a look at how much insulation we have in the attic.
By entering your ZIP code and some basic information about the types of fuel used to heat and cool your home, the ENERGY STAR Home Advisor can provide you with recommended home improvement projects to increase energy efficiency and comfort in the area where you live.

Metro Light Rail

Phoenix will soon open the starter line for light rail. It will go from Bethany Home Road north of downtown Phoenix past the Diamondacks and Suns homes to the airport. From there it will go to downtown Tempe and ASU. Ending up in the west part of Mesa. I lived in St. Louis when the light rail opened up and it was a huge success. I look for the same kind of results here in the Valley of the Sun.

Now Metro Light Rail has scheduled two meetings to discuss a second line into South Tempe and West Chandler. If you'd like to know more about it, you should attend or stop back here for a recap of the meeting from me.

The Meetings:

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

6-8 pm

Corona Del Sol High School

1001 East Knox Road

Tempe, AZ 85284

Just north of Ray on Rural Road.

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

6-8 pm

Tempe Public Library

3500 South Rural Road

Tempe, AZ 85282

Just north of I-60 on Rural Road at the

corner of Southern.

I'd love to see a line go down Rural to Chandler Blvd, then east past Chandler Fashion Center to downtown Chandler.

UPDATE

I attended the meeting at Corona Del Sol HS last night. Metro did a great job having many display boards and information packets that we could take home. I would say there were about 50-100 people at the meeting. Lots of folks from Metro, Tempe and Chandler to answer questions. The jist of the meeting was to let the citizens know that they are considering four different routes for light rail and/or commuter rail. The Tempe branch of the Union Pacific Railroad, Mill Av/Kyrene Rd, Rural Road and McClintock road with extensions to hook up with the Chandler Fashion Center.

The Scoping Brochure, that we all received goes into more detail and I recommend you read it for yourself. There's six extensions throughout Maricopa County that are being considered and you can find information about all of them on Metro's webpage.

Several people asked questions about commuter parking, impact on their neighborhoods, impact on automobile traffic and the roles of each city in determining the final route. There was a court reporter taking the minutes which I'm sure will be available from Metro soon. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here and I'll try to get an answer for you, or of course, you can ask Metro directly.

Photo Hunt 94: Old Fashioned

If you read a lot of blogs you might have come across photo hunts or picture of the day blogs. They're pretty cool. You can see photos from all over the world from amateur and/or professional photographers. Here's two you should check out. The first one is called: Tnchick.com. Each Friday she has a theme and people from all over the country will put pictures on their blogs. Today it is "Old Fashioned" and I have these three pictures:
This is the old church in the town of Guadalupe, Arizona. This is a small town next to Tempe. I think this is the prettiest church around. I hope you do too.
Just to the north is the Double Butte Cemetery. What most people don't know is that there is a cemetery on the east side of the highway. Only flat markers are allowed and the entire plot is gravel. Very Arizona. Looks like most of the people died around 1978.

Finally, back in Guadalupe are two shrines on a hill. I took all three pictures with my camera phone, so sorry about the quality.

The second blog I like is a "Picture of the Day" blog from a Chandler, Arizona resident. If you want to see pictures from all around Arizona and in particular the South East Valley, this is a great blog.

Enjoy.

Market Statistics - Number of Listings

You see a lot of different statistics being quoted about the real estate market in the press. Sometimes it can be difficult to make sense of it all. So, we've prepared some charts for you. Today's charts represent the number of listings each month from 2003 through 2007. These listings are those held by members of the Southeast Valley Association of REALTORS. They may include listings which these agents hold in the greater Phoenix area outside of the Southeast Valley. However, they should be fairly representative of what is happening in the Southeast Valley.

The first chart is for condos. The second chart is for single family detached homes. 2003 represents a more normal real estate market. You can see in 2004 the number of listings dropped dramatically. They then built back up again by the end of 2005 to approximately the same number as there were at the beginning of 2004. Then in 2006 and 2007 the number of listings climbed steadily with some variation for seasonal shifts.

When the number of listings were low in 2004 and 2005, sellers had the market advantage. Currently, while the number of listings is high, buyers have the advantage. The market will be more balanced when the number of listings drop down closer to 2003 levels. Keep in mind that location is still a factor and that the market may look different by neighborhood.

To complicate things further, ARMLS changed the way it counted active listings in April 2005. According to ARMLS this change caused an increase in the number of active listings reported in April 2005 and subsequent months.

You can get more statistics at ARMLS Statistics.

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.

Just a bit of staging goes a long way

You may have seen pictures of homes that were staged for sale. They have the nicest furniture, beautiful artwork, trendy area rugs and it cost the seller a fortune too. But, can you stage a home for under $150?

We think you can. It starts by looking at the empty home and deciding which rooms need the added touch. This townhouse has off white walls and neutral flooring, so we decided to add some things in the kitchen and bathrooms for color and warmth. First, we went to Goodwill. Why buy new, if you can find attractive items that don't look dated. You can find placemats, dishes, glasses, baskets and nic-nacs that look great. We spent under $35 and made the kitchen feel warmer. We then went to Wal-mart and bought some shower curtains, soap dispensers, towels and kleenex for the bathrooms. A little bit more expensive, but we can leave these items with the home for the new home owner. Just a shower curtain in a bathroom adds so much. All in all, we spent less than $130.

I've seen other homes staged with used furniture and old TV's. I don't think they add to the look. I've seen plant shelves with baskets of artifical plants and fruit that look good. I think the object is to make the house a home, without distracting from the mission of viewing the home for a possible purchase. Plus, adding toilet paper, kleenex, soap, hand towels and leaving the water on will prevent anyone from leaving the bathroom a mess. You know, they use the bathroom if they need.

Do you have any suggestions for staging a home for sale? We'd love to hear some great ideals.

Places to shop for staging your house:

-Goodwill or any thrift shop.

-Wal Mart or Target. Look for the Clearance Items.

-Garage Sales.

Super Bowl Rentals?

Thinking about renting out your home for the Super Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, FBR Open or any game on a day to day basis? Make sure it's the right thing to do.

Check your insurance company policy to make sure you're covered.
Check to make sure the security deposit covers the victory party.
Check to make sure it doesn't get rented out to another party.
Check to make sure your personal property is covered.
Are you moving out all your clothes, jewelry, personal documents or just locking one room up?


Oh, you have a rental unit. Too bad it's already rented out. But, check to make sure your renters aren't renting it out. I can just imagine an out of town investor with a renter in place for the next 10 months finding out that the property was rented out and the long term renter made more money than the investor.

Finally, make sure there aren't going to be any illegal activities taking place in your rented home. You might come home from that free vacation to find out that your home is now owned by the Maricopa Sheriff's Department.

Now, if you decide to rent your home out, read this KPHO article before you do. The suggestion I like best is to have daily maid service and think about doing it yourself, so that you can check the property out.

This just in. . .

We received word from the Arizona Department of Real Estate that they have a cease and desist order against Super Brokers XLII for practicing real estate in Arizona without the proper licenses. This company was attempting to rent properties for Super Bowl Week. Hopefully, no one will lose any money from their activities.

Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve Board today announced that it is cutting the federal funds rate by .75 percent, from 4.25 to 3.5 percent. This could affect the interest rate you pay on: a home equity line of credit, a variable rate home loan, credit cards, and other debt. This should also trickle down to help buyers taking out new loans to purchase homes. To learn more, use the link to read an article from CCN Money.

"Shortly after the Fed announced a reduction of its federal funds rate to 3.5 percent from 4.25 percent, most major banks reduced their prime lending rates by the same amount. Since the Fed rate affects how much consumers pay on credit card debt, home equity lines of credit and auto loans, consumers' monthly debt obligations should slide along with the rate cut. ..."

Short Sales and Foreclosures

What's right for you? If you are having trouble making your mortgage payment and you are ready to give the home back to the bank, you might have thought about a foreclosure or short sale.

What's a short sale? It's when the bank or investor accepts less money for the payoff than what is actually owed. If you owe $300,000 on your home, but it can only sell for $250,000, then you might ask the bank to take less money so that you can sell. This is better than a foreclosure, but will not keep your credit spotless.

But, you can't just assume the bank will be willing to take less. Most banks require you to be behind in your payments due to a job loss, relocation or other significant income loss. The bank has to see the short sale of your home to be the lesser of two evils for them. It all comes down to how the bank can lose the least amount of money.

If you decide to go forth with a short sale, you'll need to contact a REALTOR that is experienced with such sales. That agent will have to contact all your lenders. The lender that has the 1st loan. The lender that has the 2nd loan. Even the lender that helped you build a pool or other home equity addition. The agent will have to sell the bank on allowing a short sale to take place. Many times this requires talking with several bank departments. Starting with the Loss Mitigation department and moving up the ladder. The process can take several months. For most agents, this is unusual, doing so much work before the home is even on the market and the entire time you the seller are in a race with foreclosure. Who'll win, the efficient agent selling your home or the foreclosure process?

So, if you are behind in payments, it's no time to experiment with your nephew that just got his real estate license. You'll first have an agent come into your home and do a market analysis. Then the agent will do an audit of your present condition credit wise. That agent will devise a plan to get your home sold before it's sold on the courthouse steps.

If you're in this situation, first ask your agent if they can do the market analysis and credit audit right away. If they can't or don't know what you're talking about, call me.

I'll do the market analysis and credit audit free of charge, whether you decide to use me as your agent or not. It's even possible that you don't need to sell short and that you can sell your home and walk away with a check in hand.

Housing Market Facts

The National Association of REALTORS® has launched a new site http://www.housingmarketfacts.com/. This site helps to bring perspective to the housing market. Historically the housing market has had its ups and downs but in the long term home ownership can be very worthwhile. Here a few facts from the site:

• Over the past 30 years home values have risen an average of 6% annually.
• 60% of the average home owners wealth comes from their home equity.
• For buyers who qualify for conventional financing, mortgages are available at near historically low rates. You can click to see a chart of monthly rates over a number of years. The average rate in 2007 was 6.34. The average rate in 1990 was 10.13. The highest rate listed was 16.63% for 1981 - ouch!

Check out the site to learn more.

Fixtures and Leased Items Not Included

That's what it says on line 48 of the AAR Residential Resale Contract. There's a space to put in those items. But, how does the buyer and/or buyer's agent know if there are any. I was taught by my broker, to write, "to be disclosed during the inspection period, if any".

Security systems and soft water systems are sometimes leased. Window coverings, ceiling fans, microwaves and all kinds of things are dear to the seller and don't always convey.

I've heard many a time, " Oh, they wanted to take that." Or, "it says does not convey on the mls plano."

The mls plano or fact sheet does not become part of the contract. Therefore, the seller needs to disclose these things right away, not at close of escrow.

Your New Mail Box

Your New mail box down the street is someone's old mail box.

I, often times advise people to have the keys changed when they move into a new home. You just never know who has the old keys.

Did you know that you can also get your mailbox key changed? If it's a cluster box owned by the post office, USPS will have it re-keyed, give you 3 keys and do it pretty fast. Often, the next day. It costs $40, but it's well worth it.

Click here to find the nearest post office.

Bought Diamonds since 1994? Get Money!

There was an article in today's Arizona Republic about a class action suit against De Beers. Basically, if you bought any jewelry with diamonds as part of it or loose diamonds between 1/1/1994 and 3/31/2006, you may qualify for a portion of the settlement. For more information:

Diamond Buyers Can Get Refunds - AZ Republic

Official Website for the Diamond Class Action Settlement

Home Buyer's Bill of Rights

In the Governor's speech yesterday, she talked about the new Home Buyer's and Home Renter's Bill of Rights. This was created by the Arizona Department of Real Estate working with people in the industry and the public. If you are thinking about buying a home in Arizona we encourage you to click on the link and read the information. It is a list of 13 things you should know before you by property. There are links to additional information for most of the points. A lot of this information is also contained in the Buyer's Advisory. We provide a folder of information to buyer's when we start working with them. Among the many informational brochures included in our folder is the Buyer's Advisory, Answers to Your Questions About Title Insurance, and Top 10 Things the Home Buyer Should Look for in the Purchase Contract.

Beautiful Weather

I was reminded yesterday of why so many of us chose to live here. Pat was running in the P.F. Chang's Rock'N'Roll Marathon and the weather was great for runners and spectators. Around noon it was in the high 60's and sunny. I was comfortable in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. I had brought along a sweatshirt just in case but didn't really need it. I saw many runners in shorts and sleeveless tops. If they were like Pat, they probably started the race with sweats on and discarded them along the route. It was colder when the race started at 8:30am. Also, our understanding is that discarded sweatshirts and similar items are picked up by volunteers and donated to charity - so they don't end up in the garbage.

To find out more about Pat's run - visit his blog - Pat's Running Blog.

To find out more about the P.F. Chang's Rock'N'Roll Marathon - visit - http://www.rnraz.com/.

West USA Realty Phone Numbers

One of the things I like best about West USA Realty is that we are one of the few agencies in Arizona that has a central switchboard for the entire Phoenix Metropolitain area. I recently needed to get ahold of an agent at another large firm and didn't know his exact office location. It took me 3 calls. The first number was another office and wasn't affiliated with his office. The second one, was and they were able to give me another number to call. On the third try, I reached his office. Of course, they don't take messages, but they could give me his cell number. I had to then call his cell number.

With West USA's switchboard, you can call an office 26 miles away from mine and they'll either connect you to me or take a message and page me. One call. I think that makes things easier for Realtors and our clients.

Try it. Call any number below and ask to be connected to Pat Monahan.

West Usa Realty -Metro Office (20 miles away)
Office Number: (602)942-1410

West USA Realty - Ahwatukee Office (7 miles away)
Office Number: (480)893-0600

West Usa Realty-Mesa Office (my office)
Office Number: (480)820-3333

West Usa Realty-Scottsdale Office (18 miles away)
Office Number: (480)948-5554

West Usa Realty-Arrowhead Office( 26 miles away)
Office Number: (602)375-3300

Where Have All the Realtors Gone?

Oh, there's still plenty of us around. But, not as many as a few years ago. I just read an interesting blog post from John Hall & Associates about how there are less and less Realtors renewing their memberships in Real Estate Associations and their ability to use the lockbox system.

Now, you can quit doing real estate activities like showing homes, listing homes or advising clients on a day to day basis and still keep your license current and many do. It's easier to keep your license available to use and not real expensive. If you quit the associations and lose your license you'll have to jump through hoops to become an agent again. But, why pay for your lockbox privileges when you don't plan to use your key. You can renew your key much easier and quickly. Therefore, it's probably a better indication of people leaving the day to day real estate world.

The blog I mentioned talked about 17.7% of the agents not renewing a vital tool for their business. That's about 1 in 5 agents quitting the business. That's one in five in Chandler real estate. That's one in five in Tempe real estate. That's one in five across all of Maricopa County. Kind of interesting.

Hopefully, it's good for the buyer's and seller's looking for an experienced agent. What do you think?

Tax-law Changes

I read an interesting article in the AZ Republic today about tax law changes for 2007. If you originated a new loan in 2007 through the purchase or a home or refinancing, you should read the article to see if the deduction applies to you. Additionally, you need to read the article if you had a home which was sold short or foreclosed upon. As always, we recommend that you consult an accountant with any tax questions.

AZ Republic Article - Mortgage Mess Spurs Tax-law Changes

What Is Web 2.0?

At the National Association of REALTORS® Conference in November, we heard a lot about Web 2.0. So what is Web 2.0? My understanding is that it is not a new version of web software. Instead it is a way of using the internet to increase communication. The increase in communication can be between business and their customers, between people with similar interests, or other types of groups. This increase in communication can be accomplished through various internet platforms such as blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, and many others. One example of increased interaction is the ability of customers to post reviews of products at sites like Amazon. We have made real connections with people through blogs and I have friends who have also made new friends through their blogs. Just start a blog about something that interests you and comment on blogs written by people with similar interests to yours and before you know it, you may deciding to meet some of these people face to face.



More information about Web 2.0:



"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform." [4] . . . Web 2. 0 From Wikipedia



For the past three years, the Web 2.0 Summit has explored ideas which have already begun to slip into the mainstream. This year, we'll highlight news from unusual suspects—the enthusiasts and dreamers touching the edges of spaces not yet conquered by the Web, as well as established players who are looking to expand into new and previously unimaginable realms. . . .



You TUBE Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us



Web 2.0 Directory

Before You Hire a Contractor

The Arizona Department of Real Estate Buyer Advisory has a lot of good information for buyers and for home owners. When we need roof repairs a few years ago, I looked at the Buyer Advisory information regarding roofs. It provided a link to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. This site provides information that is very help to read BEFORE you hire a contractor to do any work on your home. It includes a feature that allows you to check on a contractors license to see if there have been any complaints filed in the past and if they were resolved. Contractor License Search I was able to take the Yellow Pages, yes the old fashioned ones, and look up the roofers, their license number was frequently listed in the ads, and make a list of who I wanted to call for bids. I considered length of time in business as well as the complaint record. You can also do a search based upon the name of the company.

There is a lot of other useful information on the Buyer Advisory. You might want to take the time to read it even if you already own your home. It is only nine pages long and doesn't take very long to read.

Energy Efficient Homes

Did you know that in Maricopa County you can call The Salt River Project (SRP) and Arizona Public Services (APS) and find out the untility bill for any residence? Let's say you like the home on Elm and the home on Ash. You're weighing the pro's and con's of each home and you want to know how much the electric is going to cost you. One home is larger and is a two story. You can ask the homeowner, ask to see past bills or call the utility company. They'll tell you what the high and low bill are for the year. Sometimes they'll have the average for you too.

Once you have these numbers, you then need to figure out if the home was lived in all year, how many people lived in the home and any other particulars. Now, if the one on Ash was vacant all year, the figures won't be very useful. However, if the home next door has the same floorplan you can call about that home.

SRP : (602) 236-8888

APS : (602) 371-7171

What else can you do to get an energy efficient home?

1. Look for Energy Star appliances.
2. Look for a programmable thermostat.
3. Look for dual pane windows. You can usually see a black rubber gasket between the glass.
4. Look for sun screens. Especially on the south and west windows.
5. Look for ceiling fans.
6. Look for an attic fan.
7. Look for tall trees shading the home.
8. A neighbor to the south or west that shades your home. Or, with condos and townhomes may even be attached to your home will provide a relief to your energy bill.
9. A neighbor above you (condos) will decrease your utility bill.
10. A garage on the south or west side will take the brunt of the summer heat.

Change in Real Estate Capital Gains Tax Exclusion

Here is a link to an interesting article about real estate taxes. This will only affect a small number of people, those whose spouse passed away, but it seems like Congress did the right thing allowing them two years to qualify for the "married" capital gains exclusion on the sale of their home.

Hardly anybody noticed it, but Congress tucked away a valuable bit of holiday cheer for real estate when it passed its final tax bill of the year.

Walk Across Arizona

Happy New Year!

Who wants to walk across Arizona with me? It's about 410 miles from the Mexican border, past the Grand Canyon and onto Utah. The walk or run starts on January 26th and it only cost $10 to participate. The money goes to the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and you get a T shirt, pedometer and maybe a prize.

I need a team of 5-10 athletes. You can do any amount of mileage over a 16 week period. You can walk or run.

Now, here's the best part. You don't have to come to Arizona. You can do your miles anywhere with anyone or by yourself. And you'll get a cool "Walk Across Arizona" tee. I'm thinking we'll be the BlogWalkRun Team. So, whether you plan to walk, run or treadmill the first part of 2008, this will be a great way to do it.

Sign up by leaving a comment with contact info or by calling Pat at 480-917-1922.