D'Arcy Ranch, Cottonwood, SunRise

Just north of the Chandler Fashion Center are three neighborhoods built in the 1990's. All three are within walking distance to the mall, employment and all kinds of restaurants.

The houses are stucco one and two story homes. From 1300 square feet up to 4000. There might be one or two near 5000. Average size yards, most lots are from 5000 square feet up to 13,000.

To the north of these communties are three large office buildings. Some could walk to work or to Firehouse Subs, The Spicy Pickle and a japanese restaurant.

To the south is the fashion center and P.F. Chang's, Olive Garden and other chain restaurants. Or you can take in a movie at Harkin's Theatre.

These communities are serviced by Kyrene del Sureno, the local elementary school that's right next to Harter Park with it's ball field, sand volleyball, basketball and playground.

How Does the East Valley Stand Up?

Those of us who live here know that the East Valley cities are a great place to live. Some other people agree with us. Click on a city name to get more information about the city and ranking information.

CNN/Money Rankings of Best Places to Live in 2008:

Gilbert, AZ - 28
Chandler, AZ - 30
Scottsdale, AZ - 47

Sustainability Rankings 2008:

Mesa, AZ - 50

Best Sports Cities Ranking - Sporting News 2008:

Phoenix/Tempe - 6

Features Buyers Want

Here are the five kitchen and bath features buyers want the most:
36% want a separate shower enclosure in the master bath
31% want an eat-in kitchen
24% want high-end appliances
23% want granite counter tops
21% want a kitchen island

Source February 2009 issue of REALTOR® Magazine - Source: NAR 2007 Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences

Impove Your Odds of Getting Your Home Sold

When you are selling your home what it looks like on the inside matters. Buyers will look at photos of the inside of your home on the Internet and will decide based upon these photos whether or not they want to see your home. Don't think that if the inside of your home is a mess that you can still get buyers by not having interior photos of your home posted on the MLS. Many buyers browse only those homes that have multiple photos.

Once you get them interested enough to come view your home, it is important that the home look clean and clutter free when they arrive to view it. Potential buyers should be able to picture themselves living in your home. This means that you need to pack up or give away items that are cluttering up your home. To get an idea of what this means, look at a few model homes in new built subdivisions and see how they are decorated. Look in some home decorating magazines and count how many personal items are displayed. Limit yourself to a similar number. Homes with clean and spacious (uncluttered) interiors tend to sell faster.

For more information - Realty Times article - Clutter Free Helps Sell Homes

Insulate for Savings

According to SimplyInsulate.org 60%of homes in the United States are under insulated. Their website contains information on determining the correct amount of insulation for your home, how to calculate potential energy savings, how to install insulation yourself, and how to hire a contractor.

Click here to learn about financial incentives available for installing insulation in Arizona.

Before you buy a newly built home

Before you buy a newly built home, check on the financial health of the builder. You want to make sure they will be able to complete the community in a timely manner. This applies whether you purchase directly from the builder or from a current owner of a property in that community. If the builder is having financial difficulties it is likely that the HOA for that community is as well. How do you check? Click on the link to the AZ Department of Real Estate listing below. There is also a current article from the AZ Republic with a listing for Chandler. You may still decide to buy in one of these communities but you should make sure you have done your homework before you do.

Also, for those of you that don't live in this area, please realize that most of the Phoenix area cities are very large and with the expection of outlying areas new build communities represent a very small portion of the cities housing. The Phoenix area is a great place to live with lots of great communities.

Unfinished Subdivisions Create Problems - AZ Republic

AZDRE List of Home Builders in Financial Trouble

Sky Harbor - America's Healthiest Airport

Health Magazine's December 2008 issue had an article about America's Healthiest Airports. They ranked Phoenix Sky Harbor as number one. The judges felt that there are a lot of healthy eating options available and the very clean bathrooms got high marks. Did you know that there are two parks for exercising pets within the airport?

Read the article to find out more - America's Healthiest Airports

By the way, there are a lot of comments following the article. Not everyone agrees with rating Sky Harbor number one.

Scuba Dive in Chandler

Well, not really. But, you can meet up with scuba enthusiasts at the Chandler N Depth Scuba January Meetup on the 21st (6 pm) at
Chuy's Mesquite Broiler
4623 E Elliot Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85044
(480) 496-0775

Is the Sun Peaking Out Behind the Clouds?

Kenneth Harney wrote an article for Realty Times about the possible changes that could come about in the real estate market depending upon what actions the new administration and Congress take in the near future. He indicates that if foreclosures are greatly reduced then the real estate market is likely to start returning to normal. The article is pretty interesting and you can read it by clicking on the link below.

Real Estate Outlook: Change Anticipated

By the way - those of you who are looking for the market bottom should know that we are starting to see multiple offers on some well priced properties. We called for a client to get information regarding a short sale property and learned that they already had 10 offers. Remember, we will only when the market bottom is until we have passed it.

Standin' On The Corner

Are you an Eagles fan or maybe you just like the song "Take It Easy". Well, if that is the case, you can go to Winslow, Arizona and visit the Standin' On The Corner In Winslow Arizona Park. There is a statue of a young man holding a guitar and a mural of a girl driving by in a truck. There is no cost to visit the small park.

For more information: standinonthecorner.com or winslowarizona.org.

Chandler Residents?

I'm looking for the resident that has lived in Chandler the longest. With no gaps, except for military service and/or college. So, if you've lived in Chandler for over 30 years, let me know.

If you know someone that might qualify, let me know.

What Kind of Deals Are Out There?

It seems like people are always asking us to tell them what good deals are out there in the housing market. So, since October, we have been posting a "Deal of the Week" property on our websites. These are properties which are not our listings and are not short sales. They may be bank owned properties that were foreclosed upon or owned by an individual. We look for properties that we think represent a lower price than similar properties in the same area. Others must agree with us because many of these properties have sold or are under contract. When that happens, we removed the property from the website.

Please realize that a property is only a good deal if it meets your needs. That should be your first consideration. Secondly, we look for properties that represent a good value. We do not guarantee that they are the best value available. There are lots of properties out there and we only pick one new condo/townhome or single family home each week.

So if you don't see something that sparks your interest, send us an email telling us what you are looking for and we'll do a search for you, or use the search buttons in the upper right of this blog to do your own search. (Email us at Pat@RealtySecrets.net)

See what you think of this week's deals:

Townhome - 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage in Tempe for $164,900

Single Family Home - 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage in Tempe for $184,900

Sunday is going to be HUGE

Looking for some fun this weekend? I suggest you head out to the Rock N Roll Marathon on Sunday morning. Watch 35,000 runners run from downtown Phoenix to ASU in Tempe. There's live bands about every mile on both the full marathon (26.2 miles) and the half marathon (13.1 miles). I'm doing the half this year, so look for bib #32622. Then, head on over to Glendale to either buy tickets to the game or just enjoy the atmosphere at all the bars and restaurants right outside the dome.

It's the Cardinals and Eagles fighting to be a Super Bowl team. This is a first for the Cardinals and for Arizona. Go Cardinals.

Then after the game, head back over to Tempe Town Lake to see Smashmouth. If you have a race bib, it's free. I can just see smashmouth fans begging for the race bibs at the finish line.

December 08 Real Estate Statistics

Above are graphs of local real estate statistics for the Phoenix area. Some of the East Valley cities seem to be doing better than the greater market area. Both Chandler and Gilbert saw significant reductions in the number of listings available for sale. Chandler went from 2714 in December of 07 to 2140 in December of 08. Gilbert went from 2712 in December of 2007 to 2260 in December of 08. Queen Creek has gone from about 16 months of inventory in January of 2008 to approximately 6 months of inventory in December of 2008. This was partially due to the large number of homes sold in Queen Creek in December 2008 - 346 versus 159 sold in the 12/07.

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.

Baseball Exhibit at Mesa Historical Museum

Do you love spring training baseball games? The Mesa Historical Museum has a new exhibit which commemorates 100 years of professional baseball in Arizona - Play Ball: The Cactus League Experience. The exhibit will include interactive children's games and never-before-seen memorabilia. Their website - playballexperience.com - includes a history of the Cactus League. It even allows you to share your favorite Arizona spring training memory.

The Mesa Historical Museum is located at 2345 N Horne St. Call 480-835-7358 for more information.

Got Citrus?

It seems that 2008 was a good year for lemons. I can hear many of you making up jokes already. We had a bumper crop on our dwarf lemon tree. We will of course be making lemonade and perhaps lemon pie.

If you are one of the many Valley home owners with too much citrus, please consider donating it to St Mary's Food Bank Alliance. For a $10 per tree donation, volunteer gleaners will pick your citrus for donation.

For more information or to schedule a citrus pick-up call 623-344-2158.

A New Year - A Fresh Start

The Federal Housing Administration has a new website page full of information that will help you get your financial house in order. The page is titled My Money, My Home, My Future. This is for anyone wanted to review their finances and finacial plans not just home owners.

FHA - My Money, My Home, My Future