In a recent ad for Portland Place Condominiums in Downtown Phoenix the copy reads: "Make Portland Your Home, Too.  Instead of second-guessing the market, we want to know what you think. We've removed the list price from three of our most popular models, so tender your offer today." You, as the buyer establishes the value that the property has to you.  Currently everyone establishes a value based on recent sold and the competing homes.  The price a seller sets is a result of looking at comparable properties.  In essence a buyer may look at the price suggested by the seller but still picks his/her own offer price based on seemingly similar comparable properties.  That price suggestion still directs the buyer to where the seller may want to be. In the case of a new property, a unique one l... 07/02/2008

The north foothills of the Phoenix Mountains, the ones with Trail 100 and Piestewa Peak, has an area almost forgotten by the progress of the city.  It is characterized by open spaces, large lots and natural landscaping all while being in the middle of an ever expanding metropolis. Located south of Shea Boulevard to the Phoenix Mountains and about 36th Street to 44th Street, in zip code 85028 with Paradise Valley just to the East and South.  Large horse properties dot the land with mostly custom homes and some original mid century ranch houses.  This is a land unseen by many in the valley. If you drive into the area you'll feel as if on you were in the county, the old west.  There are no sidewalks, but you will see stables, barns and horse sculptures. On most days you'll see walker and c... 07/02/2008

Take time and celebrate the 4th of July in Phoenix , Arizona .  The city starts the great festivities on Thursday, July 3rd at Maryvale Baseball Park .  There will be crafts, free rides, carnival games, water slides, a d-jay, prizes and many more activities. Fireworks begin at 9:30pm.  This event is sponsored by Arizona Chrysler Jeep & Dodge.  Freedom Wireless Fabulous 4th in Phoenix begins Friday, July 4th at 6:00pm at Steele Indian School Park .  The city has held this great event for 23 years.  This event will feature inflatable rides, entertainment from local artists, food, drinks, free shuttles, and a water spray zone provided by the Phoenix Fire Department.  The biggest display of fireworks in the state will begin at 9:30. I hope you enjoy the fireworks as much as I have over the ... 07/01/2008

It's a tough real estate market no doubt.  But now, owners of high rise and loft condominiums located in Scottsdale, Tempe and Phoenix who are looking to sell or rent have a new way to get the word out AND its free! WeKnowUrban.com, the Valley's largest and most popular high rise and loft condo web site now offers free classified ads to anyone, including real estate agents. The ads take about seven minutes to create, take up to seven photos, one hundred word descriptions, and a video and have the potential to reach almost 8,000 high rise and loft condo enthusiasts every month. To learn more or to advertise your high rise or loft condo, visit http://classifieds.weknowurban.com. 06/30/2008

First off, I have to say that limiting this post to just 5 things to do in the Phoenix area is a very difficult task because, depending on when you visit, there are so many options you can't possibly do them all. If you are visiting in March, one of the biggest attractions is our Cactus League spring training. Spring training fields can be found in Surprise (close to all of our west valley active adult communities), Peoria, Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa and Tucson. Construction has begun in Goodyear for a new Cleveland Indians training facility as well. Our weather is glorious in the spring and nothing beats watching one of the greatest American past-times ever under our blue skies while eating a hot dog (it's the ONLY time you'll see me eating a hot dog!)     Many fans of the variou... 06/30/2008

The next WeKnowUrban high rise and loft condo tour is just two weeks away.  On Saturday, July 12th, we'll revisit the coolest lofts and hottest high rise condos in midtown Phoenix.  This tour we plan to tour the ultra chic infill loft project at 12th Street just north of Osborn called Mezzo by O'Neil Companies, take another tour of the brand new high rise condos at Century Plaza, and Artisan Lofts on Osborn and Artisan Lofts on Central. We usually have between 30 and 50 tour attendees and we always have a great time and learn a ton. So, if high rise and loft living catches your fancy then join us next month.  The price is only $7.50 for the general public.  For more information visit our condo tour page.  Hope to see you then.  W 06/29/2008

WeKnowUrban.com was launched Spring 2005 to cater to high rise and loft condo fans in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and neighboring cities.  Today, almost 8,000 urban enthusiasts visit the site every single month and view over 65,000 pages, making WeKnowUrban the number one web site of its kind in Arizona. We have just launched a beta version of a free advertising tool allowing any loft or high rise condo owner (or their agent) to list their property on our web site for free.  That's right, we are allowing anyone who wants to sell or rent out their urban condo to advertise it on Phoenix' number one high rise and loft condo site at no charge.  The ads are super easy to place, you're allowed 100 words of text, up to seven photos, and even video or audio clips and did we mention all this was ... 06/29/2008

  "Act surprised" ... that's the command I gave my daughters as they unknowingly became a part of my blog-marketing campaign. Fortunately they put up with me. OK... for about 3 seconds... and no do-overs. This is a brief snapshot with my wrap-up of this week's market news. There's some good... some not so good but, overall I'm pleased with the direction of things. Here are the good surprises: "After-tax incomes and spending show big gains" - That's the market headline from the associated press. Another quote within the article, "The Commerce Department reported that disposable incomes, the amount left after paying taxes, surged by 5.7 percent last month. It was the biggest increase since May 1975." Most of this is due to the economic stimulus package. Other good side benefits included ... 06/29/2008

Distribution of home sales in Greater Phoenix Over the last few months the distribution of sales between starter homes, move-up homes and luxury homes in the Phoenix real estate market has been changing.  Does this trend signal a start of stabilization of the Phoenix real estate market?    Continue Reading an analysis of the data. 06/28/2008

Where to go in Phoenix for Independence Day 2008 Below is a list of activities in Phoenix and Scottsdale and Tempe for the 4th of July.  The list contains a multitude of areas and things to do including all Greater Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Glendale and areas outside of Greater Phoenix as well  like Payson and so on.  Check out where the F-16 will be. See a full list of activities here. 06/28/2008

Weekend of June 27 ~ 30   The Valley Freeways Closures & Restrictions Map & Information is also available in a printable PDF version.   1 Northbound Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) closed between 90th St. and Hayden Rd. for carpool lane construction. Use northbound SR 51 as alternate freeway route. Northbound Loop 101 traffic will detour along local streets (see news release). 10 p.m. Friday - 5 a.m. Monday(June 30)       2 Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) narrowed to two lanes (right lanes closed) in both directions between 56th St. and Scottsdale Rd. for paving new 64th Street interchange. Eastbound on-ramp at 56th St., eastbound off-ramp at Scottsdale Rd., westbound on-ramp at Scottsdale Rd. and westbound off-ramp at 56th St. closed. Be prepared to slow down and merge safely approaching work zone. 1... 06/28/2008

Last night I atttended the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa.  This is an annual event that I have been attending for quite a few years.  I almost gave up going to these about three years ago because the quality was going downhill and the attendance was waning. In the past they were held at the Biltmore and they were being held on a day that conflicted with several other events.  Last year, they moved it to the Wesitn Kierland and it was nearly the best Business Expo I had ever attended.  This year was similarly well run, well attended and productive. I want to congratulate the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa on a job well done and I look forward to following up with all the new business peo... 06/26/2008

The Economist reported today that the US is not the only country with housing issues at the moment. Home prices in Spain and Ireland are both experiencing an increase in inventory that they are having trouble selling off quickly enough. Home prices in Spain are still going up however, while Ireland is experiencing some price cuts. New Zealand has been an investor's dream in recent years. Their boom does not seem quite over. With prices up 82% over the last 9 years, appreciation is very solid. Similarly to what has happened in the US, home price increases have significantly outpaced wage increases. In other words, housing is getting too expensive. This is a strong sign of speculation-driven pricing. In Singapore and Hong Kong, the booming Asian economy has brought mostly good, solid real... 06/26/2008

If you have ever seen the TLC series, Flip That House, or Flip This House, you may have begun to notice a popular trend in home buying. TV and magazines are popping up every where articling the ins and outs of remodeling entire houses to sell them for profit. Home improvement has really gotten big! In a report released by the NAR, nearly one third of homes sold in 2007 were purchased as either vacation homes or investment opportunities. This is an exciting trend for real estate, not to mention for the earth, as options and opportunities for buying and selling broaden while recycling and reusing land and materials. There is a very wide range of people who may turn entrepreneur, having the resources to embark on this interesting and profitable type of investment. Contractors and businesse... 06/26/2008

A few thoughts about how important pets are in your life. I just recently put my 15year old dog to sleep as well as my 18 year old cat a couple of months ago. These pets were part of my family and gave so much in just being there. They were there when business was good and when it became a challange. So yesterday I went to the Phoienix Humane Society www.azhumane.org  and found this lovely 1 year old cat. She will be with me for a long time and keep me focused and motivated, got to keep selling  to buy cat food and kitty litter. Bless the little critters Goodbye Mandy & Michael                   06/26/2008

That will be important for buyers who are looking on their own, with or without Realtor’s representation. There are currently ads on Craigslist. com now, put up by agent advertising homes for sale, stating, that the address of the property will be released to you after the advertiser received from you a signed “loyalty agreement”. “No Buyer Realtors allowed!” Nice, isn’t it. So in order to get details about the property you have to first sign a “loyalty agreement” this is most likely buyer broker agreement. That’s fine to en extent, but even with this there are issues. These could be exclusive listings, but the are not. It all goes bad from here.   Continue Reading The Article 06/25/2008

What do typical rental homes look like in Phoenix. Buying a investment rental home is similar to buying an owner occupied home.  A houses primary main reason for existence is for occupancy by the owners.  Keep this in mind when looking for an investment home because it is more likely then not that it will be an owner occupant that buys the house once you exit this investment. So what do you look for in an investment house?  Besides doing the regular financial, cash flow etc. look for the primary characteristics an owner occupant will.  What your looking for is properties in areas that will attract the best renters.  This means staying away from areas with high turnover and no hope of recovery or appreciation. Continue Reading the Article at PhoenixMarketTrends.com 06/24/2008

Fortune Magazine recently released an article called "6 Real Estate Bargains". Phoenix made the list as did Miami, Las Vegas, San Diego, Tampa and Denver. The rationale for Phoenix being a bargain was that home prices have been consistently dropping in the recent past.  However, this does not mean all areas are equally impacted. Some areas have seen more modest price decreases whereas communities located further away from the metropolitan area have seen steeper declines, some up to 20-30%. Communities that are highlighted as having good bargains are Sun City Anthem, Palm Valley, and Avondale. To read the entire article, please click here   For more information on the real estate market in Phoenix and the surrounding areas or to search homes for sale, please visit my website. 06/24/2008

Gosh, for  what everyone is calling a depressed market...I have never been busier! Buyers, Bank-Owned, FHAs, Auctions, Leasing, and Lease Purchases to name a few of the many things to do! I love this market!! 06/24/2008

It may be 115° but this is one cool city.  Phoenix is enclosed by mountains on all sides with the sun illuminating the entire city, giving it the nickname, "Valley of the Sun."  The city is the fifth largest city in the nation and the largest in the state.  In my opinion, Phoenix is the best city in which to buy a new home.  Phoenix has been in a growing boom since 2000, making it the second fastest growing city in America following Las Vegas which grew 5% faster than Phoenix .  The area was once dependant upon citrus and cotton farms, but now the city is filled with telecommunications and high-tech companies that help the city's economy to thrive.  Between the city government and these great companies, they have employed hundreds of thousands of Phoenicians.    Phoenix schools are also... 06/24/2008