One of the things that I do this time of year is review the National Association of Realtors® "Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers." There are lots of reasons to study this annual report carefully, but here are a few interesting tidbits from the 2006 report (covering the period July 2005-June 2006): More than one of five first-time buyers received help with their down payments from relatives or friends. Seventy-three percent tapped into their savings accounts to put together the cash, and four percent took money from their IRAs. Fifty-two percent of all buyers view their home as a better investment than stocks, and another 29 percent say a home is about as good an investment as stocks. The demographics of home buyers are shifting rapidly. In 1995, 70 percent of all purchasers were marrie... 03/10/2007

We often hear complaints about the City Council -- and I'm not the least of those among the grousers. But, this time I think they got it right. We're going to have a new Marriot hotel at the site of the chain-saw massacre at Beulah and Woodlands Village Boulevards, which has been a blight on the west side of town since the owner surreptitiously cut all the tall pines in half and let them die in a criminal (yes, he was convicted) effort to avoid the tree-preservation development ordinance. Something had to be done. By resisting the initial Marriott proposal for rezoning to allow a hotel larger than existing zoning would permit, the City achieved a lower height for the structure and a commitment to use reclaimed water for the ambitious re-vegetation plan. The unfortunate tradeoff is that ... 03/07/2007

•1.     March 1-3 Still Life With Iris, NAU Clifford E. White Theatre, 8:00 p.m., $8 students, $10 staff/seniors/faculty, $11 general public. A magical story about a young girl's search for the family she once knew.•2.     March 1-10 Lysistrata, Theatrikos Theatre Company, 11 W. Cherry, 8:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. matinees, $14. First play of the 2007 season. •3.     March 2 First Friday Art Walk, 6:30-9:00 p.m., free. Meet local artists, shop at downtown galleries, and enjoy fine art, live music, and refreshments.•4.     March 4 Winter Festival of Choirs, NAU Ardrey Auditorium, 3:00 p.m., $10. Featuring NAU Men's Chorale, Women's Chorale, University Singers and Harold M. Harter Memorial Handbell Choir.•5.     March 6 Youth Art Exhibition at Coconino Center for the Arts•6.     March 8-10 Route... 03/01/2007

In Flagstaff, as in the State of Arizona, we don't change time for Daylight Saving, but many people who live or work on the nearby Navajo reservation DO change to Daylight Saving Time (DST). This can be pretty stressful if you are doing a 90 minute commute to work in Tuba City from Flagstaff, for example. And all of your friends in Flagstaff wonder why you appear to be experiencing jet lag. DST matters to any of the rest of us Flagstaffonians (most of us) who communicate with people living in other parts of the country. Ever try to call someone on the east coast at 8 p.m. and suddenly remember that it's not 10 p.m. there, but 11 p.m. (and they just fell soundly asleep?) When trying to explain this uniquely Arizona phenomenon to people from other parts of the country, I often say, "we're... 02/19/2007

The market is good. We have nearly twice as many homes on the market as at this time last year, but prices continue to be strong. Buyers have choices. Sellers are retaining value. What could be better?                        MLS StatisticsMedian PriceAverage PriceHomes SoldJanuary 2007$345,000$409,96778December 2006$299,500$362,64888January 2006$305,000$398,31473Multiple-listing-service data is for single family, townhomes, condos and manufactured homes with Flagstaff, Arizona mailing addresses. "MLS" data is based upon information from the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors® and is deemed reliable for sales reported to the association, but is not guaranteed and does not include all sales in the market area. 02/11/2007

02/10/2007

The Flagstaff City Council voted last night to approve the proposal to designate the Old Town area of Flagstaff (generally between Thorpe and Wheeler Parks) as an historic district.  The "second reading" and likely final approval will happen at the Flagstaff City Council meeting on February 20.   The designation will place certain height and other restrictions on buildings in the area.  If you want to comment about this, contact a city council member in the next 13 days! 02/07/2007

Last week, I was able to attend the annual "Sellabration" event of the top 3% of real estate agents in the country -- the Certified Residential Specialists. I came back Saturday and have been implementing the ideas I picked up. What a great event! One of the ideas was to use Active Rain. I hope others find my posts interesting and useful.Ok, I haven't been working all the time since I got back. I also took my birthday off (Monday) and went for a hike at the Grand Canyon. One of the benefits of living in Flagstaff is that you live only 90 miles from one of the greatest wonders in the world. 02/07/2007

City Council Workship and Hearing on establishment of historic district in residential areas between Thorpe and Wheeler parks.Monday, February 5, 4 p.m. Work Session -- public commentTuesday, February 6, 6 p.m. 02/04/2007

February 1-28: 21st Annual Flagstaff Winterfest is a month-long festival celebrating the liveliness of the winter season with events and activities that offer something for everyone. Visit the Chamber web site for more information on all of the events: www.flagstaffchamber.comFebruary 2: Grand Canyon Guitar Society presents classical guitarist Jerome DuCharme. Federated Community Church, 400 W. Aspen, 7:30 p.m.February 2: First Friday Art Walk, The Artists Gallery, 17 N. San Francisco St., 6:30-9:00 p.m. Meet local artists, shop at downtown galleries, and enjoy fine art, live music, and refreshments.February 9: Black History Month Program, Cogdill Recreation Center, 301 S. Paseo Del Flag, 6:00-8:00 p.m., free. The achievements and contributions of African Americans are featured through ... 02/04/2007

Flagstaff is a great little city in Northern Arizona -- about 2.5 hours north of Phoenix. We're at 7000 feet in elevation, so we have one of the best four-season climates. Total population is between 60,000 and 70,000, depending upon which adjacent unincorporated areas you'd like to include in the count. We're the home of Northern Arizona University, and the Flagstaff Medical Center, which make us much more "metropolitan" than many cities of our size. We're also 40 minutes from the lower, warmer Sedona Red Rocks area and 90 minutes one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" -- the Grand Canyon. You can learn a lot about our great city at the Flagstaff Info/Links page of my website: http://BestFlagstaffHomes.com 02/04/2007

The table below should dispel any notion that the bottom fell out of the Flagstaff real estate market in 2006. Given the market news we've heard from other parts of the country, where prices did fall, it also explains why CNNMoney.com identified Flagstaff as one of the hottest markets in the country. What did happen, however, is that our rate of price increases declined compared to 2004 and 2005, and sellers experienced real competition in marketing most homes while buyers had opportunities to choose among competing homes in our average price ranges for the first time in more than two years.  In some ways, the statistics seem in conflict with the basic laws of economics - the number of units sold declined, yet prices went up. This is Flagstaff's version of what national housing economis... 02/04/2007