The Phoenix real estate market is beginning to show signs of life again. Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies in the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus, says as the prices have dipped to 2005 levels, April sales responded with the first upward swing in as many years. "For the first time since July 2005, the local resale housing market has posted year-over-year improvement," according to an online piece from Arizona State University's Realty Studies department. Phoenix home sales jumped year over year by 15 percent. "April had 5,585 recorded sales in contrast to 4,855 sales for a year ago and 4,335 sales in March 2008," according to the report. As markets go, when real estate prices escalate quickly -- say in the double digit... 05/24/2008

   Dear Phoenix,  I am so proud of you. You have come a long way since I moved here back in 2001. There are new  things opening every day, one of the best to come this winter: The Phoenix Light Rail ! Just in time with these higher gas prices. I know the market is down and some people are going trought hard times, there will be sunshine after all. After all we are in the Valley of the Sun .  This is the best time to take advantage and buy property along the light rail that will in the initial phase connect Tempe and  upper down town Phoenix,  sky harbor airport  and both ASU campus. The system will be powered by electricity from overhead wires, and will generate about as much noise as a new-model passenger truck. METRO light rail vehicles have a capacity of 175, and can be linked togeth... 05/24/2008

Since I noticed other bloggers tend to vent a little off the normal subject - I figured it was my turn. Being raised Catholic I became acquainted with the dangers of the Seven Deadly sins -- Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Well, I am sure that I have been guilty of breaking all of them at some point in my life. Recently, I have found that deadly sins number five and six are creeping up on my radar --- especially when I think about the profits the oil companies are making.  It has to border on being a mortal sin when Exxon makes $40 billion in profits last year. Not revenue, profits in one year! No American business has ever legally cleared that much money. That equates to $77,000 per minute. Multiply by 60 and that's not to shabby of an hourly wage after expenses. S... 05/23/2008

The Phoenix Real Estate Rebate from SharpBuyers.com - We Pay Phoenix Home Buyers Closing Costs! SharpBuyers.com is proud to announce our official arrival into Phoenix. As of May 22, 2008, Phoenix Arizona consumers can now take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and save thousands when they purchase real estate. Sharpbuyers.com is Realtor referral Company. We connect home buyers to Phoenix Realtors that will provide full service and up to 50% of their commission as a rebate at closing. The rebate can be used towards closing costs or any way a home buyer desires. This totals to thousands of dollars back into consumers pockets at closing. Our service is ideal for all consumers because we provide full service from a local professional. This is a great way to maximize the value you get ... 05/22/2008

I just got home from attending the grand opening party for Century Plaza high rise condominiums in midtown Phoenix. The developer really pulled off a great event (not to mention doing a fantastic job whipping the place into shape...just a week ago they were miles away from being ready).  Anyway the lobby looked great, the pool area looked great, and the two homes they showed looked great. High rise condominiums with phenominal views are still available at a price of about $480 per square foot; YIKES!  The big question at Century Plaza is whether or not anyone will close their purchase.  Afterall, it's 2008, but everyone is in at 2005 prices, we all know that prices are way down, AND buyers only have 5-8% at risk.  I really want to see everything work out for Century Plaza but they defin... 05/21/2008

Having been an occasional reader of NuWire Investor it came as quite a surprise to have them give me a call last week. NuWire tackles issues related to investing. They perform first person interviews and combine that with intensive reasearch to bring their audience a balanced view of the varied markets across the country and around the world. I was one of the persons interviewed for an article regarding the current conditions for investors in the Phoenix market. Today the story appeared and I must congratulate the author, Melana Yanos, as I feel she did an outstanding job capturing a current snapshot of the local market conditions. Rather than give you a summary, it would probably better to have you read it. Here is the link: Real Estate in Phoenix, Ready to Rebound? I'd love feedback.... 05/20/2008

  What an extraordinary day it was yesterday in Phoenix, Arizona!  While here in town attending a blogging conference, my friend Lynda Eisenmann (best friend, CRS, REALTOR® and Broker/Owner of Preferred Home Brokers in Brea, CA) and I were treated to a grand tour of the city by fellow CRS® and Metro Phoenix REALTOR® Mario Trejo Romero.  We were treated to a tour of Mario’s present office located in a beautiful, historic, brick Victorian home.  Mario recently sold this property and will be moving to his new office to a historic, mid-century building right next to the historic neighborhood of Encanto.   Mario’s specialty is historic real estate.                     Historic Rousson House in downtown Phoenix (Photo courtesy of  cities.com a great resoure for travel information)            ... 05/20/2008

Well, there's a bill on the ballot today called Proposition A. It's a measure allocating funds to parks and preserves in Phoenix. Although I am typically never for giving money to the government, this is one of the few things I am all for. Parks are a tricky thing because they really don't have an immediate financial benefit. Other than home builders, who create small parks as an attraction to their communities, most businesses/developers really don't have any financial incentive to produce parks, or create preserves. This is why I believe it is important that we, as citizens, take the initiative to set aside money for this specific purpose. Land within the Valley is being bought up and developed, and we will soon not have any more places to put these parks. 60% of funds raised will go ... 05/20/2008

A's 6, Angels 4 (Arcadia Minors) Well, you hate to lose a heartbreak, but sometimes the better team wins.  Tonight, the A's simply out-played, and more importantly, out-lasted the Angels in a long 6-inning game in Round 2 of the Minors Playoffs.  These teams tied in their only other game on April 19th. Max Siegel started the night on the mound and made quick work of the A's in the first with 2 strikeouts and a ground out.  The Angels tried to gt something going in their turn to bat with Beau Kelly walking and getting two stolen bases.  Grady Ottomeyer was hit by a pitch, and stole second, and Tanner Semple was also drilled at the plate to load the bases.  However, Brandon Rosvall grounded out on a fielder's choice to 3rd to get the A's out of their jam. Max got behind in the second givi... 05/19/2008

Angels 15, Rockies 1 (Arcadia Minors) For those of you waiting for the re-cap of Saturday's game against the Rockies, you can thank my ghost writer Carole Castle (Brandon's Grandma) for painstakingly documenting the game.  Below is her report.  A big THANK YOU to Carole for taking the time to do this!  It sounds like it was a remarkable performance by the Angels.  I wish that I could have been there to see it.  Great job Grady for hitting our first homerun of the season, and great play by all! 1st Playoff Game or it is 1st Tournament Game? Angels - Home    Rockies - Away FIRST INNING Grady stuck out the 1st batter.  The second man walked, stole 2nd but was tagged out with a perfect throw from Nick to Brandon and the 3rd batter stuck out.  3 up, 3 down.  A great beginning for the Angels.... 05/19/2008

BAD NEWS FOR BANKS! GOOD NEWS FOR TODAY'S HOME BUYERS! NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY IN LAVEEN AND SOUTH PHOENIX.PRICES START IN THE LOW 100K. SOME HOMES ARE SELLING FOR HALF THE PRICE OF ‘05 -‘06. Is this the time to buy? If you're reading than you know it! INTEREST RATES ARE LOW AND HOMES ARE STARTING TO SELL FAST NOW. FORECLOSED HOMES AND SHORT SALE mostly..... SAMPLE OF HOME : SEMI CUSTOM 2800 SQ. FT + 4 BEDROOM / 3 BATH / 3 CAR split GARAGE / DEN OFFICE / WITH HIGH END UPGRADES/ STONE/ COURTYARD ON A 10,000 SQ. FT (WITH LANDSCAPE LOT) AND VIEWS OF MOUNTAIN. SOUTH OF DOBBINS SOLD IN 2006 FOR 469 K NOW ASKING 265 K!!!!!! AND IT IS IN GREAT SHAPE. FORGET WHAT SOME PEOPLE SAY: "FORECLOSED HOMES ARE BAD AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU WILL GET!"  THESE HOMES CAN BE GREAT INVESTMENTS IF YOU GET A B... 05/19/2008

Yesterday I wrote a blog warning landlords of high rise and loft condos that some real estate agents and property managment companies are doing a very poor job of getting back to prospective tenants and/or their real estate agents.  In the post I had given the benefit of the doubt to the agents musing that perhaps they were experiencing technical difficluties with their voice mail. Today, I realized I was being too kind.  I called one of the same three agents I referenced in yesterday's blog to schedule a time I could show their rental listing at a large and distressed high rise condo building along the Camelback Corridor area of Phoenix.  The agents assistant informed me that the only way I could show the rental condo would be if I went to her boss's office to "check out" a key.  Ok, i... 05/16/2008

  Phoenix Homes in Desert Ridge NeighborhoodUrban meets Suburban  I have been visiting the sales office off and on at City North to keep up to date on the developments of this new urban development in Northeast Phoenix.  City North is situated within the master plan community of Desert Ridge.  This is where suburban meets urban living.  Similar in planning to Kierland, City North is sure to please the current residents of Desert Ridge and entice others to locate there. Located at the corner of 56th street and Deer Valley road, this community will be convenient to existing shopping in Desert Ridge and the 51 and 101 freeways.  Construction is in full swing at City North a 144-acre multiuse development east of The Desert Ridge Marketplace.  Structural steel, foundations and much more acti... 05/16/2008

I had an extremely frustrating experience this past weekend and today.  I called and left messages for two different "property management" real estate agents last Saturday to make arrangements to show the high rise condominiums that they had listed for rent.  Neither one of them called me back until Monday! Now, I know the rest of the world gets to take weekends off but not us realtors.  We have to work, or at least be available by phone, seven days a week in order to serve our clients.  As it turned out, my client looked at a bunch of other rentals on Saturday and did not get to see the two condos in the high rise I reference above. This was not only bad for my client but clearly did the owners of the condominiums a disservice.  To make matters worse, I left messages today for another ... 05/16/2008

Angels 6, Rockies 5 (Arcadia Minors) The Angles finished their regular season in fine form Wednesday evening in an exciting defeat of the Rockies 6-5 in 5 innings of play.  The win extended their season high winning streak to 7 games, and avenged their 7-4 loss to the Rockies on April 9th. Max Siegel was his usually scrappy self collecting a double in the first, followed by stealing third and home.  Grady Ottomeyer followed with a single and two stolen bases of his own before the side was shut down on three strikeouts.  Beau Kelly pitched a solid first getting a strikout and some great fielding support behind him by Max and Parker Walton to blank the Rockies. In the second, Beau got hit by a pitch to reach first, then made the Rockies pay by stealing three bases to score.  Nick Dorrell ... 05/14/2008

Property Type Area New Avg LP Pending Avg LP Sold Avg SP %SP/LP Avg CDOM RES 404 177 $1,641,856 52 $988,551 45 $746,968 92.02% 153 RES 405 37 $1,299,670 16 $1,205,112 4 $870,975 98.42% 251 RES 406 101 $319,679 50 $302,240 32 $275,278 93.71% 90 RES 410 209 $298,718 110 $263,801 85 $256,093 93.39% 140       $889,980   $689,926   $537,328 94.38% 158 Information is Believed To Be Accurate But Not Guaranteed Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc.   Home sales in Arcadia (Area 405) finally look promising as 16 single-family homes went PENDING in the MLS in April.  This is 4x higher than the 4 that closed escrow during the month.  Lower Arcadia (406), Paradise Valley (404) and South Scottsdale all experienced jumps as well.  Average Days on Market still is a concern and a number to k... 05/14/2008

  You know it is unbelievable how We fear so easily!  I have been working for a couple of months to raise 14 Million for mezannine financing for a high rise in Phoenix. -- great investment! One that a year or two would have been financed between competing entities. Today the situation is Fear not Faith. An anonymous author wrote:  FAITH TO ACT  - Sometimes our enthusiasm for change depends on our willingness to take a chance on tomorrow by risking what we have today! God direct me  to One of Faith!  The project needs 14 million for 1-2 years. - Return 33% per year or part thereof. (18-24 million). Call me if you would like to consider this real estate investment - Buy/Sell Contract -  480-231-0782  Tish Tischer - Broker Associate  Remax Excalibur 05/13/2008

If you love musicals and want to see a new musical production check out the new offering - Lucky Star - that will open May 14th and run through June 8th at the Phoenix Theatre. This heartwarming original musical will find Duke and his gang trying to save a beloved Western bar only to find that friends and family are really life's greatest treasures. Located at 100 E McDowell Road in Phoenix you can call 602-354-2151 for more information. 05/11/2008

Green Search Engines -  There are many green search engines.  The Green Maven, is one of my favorites.  However, the portals listed below are proactive by bestowing the proceeds from their sites to global ecological causes. These green search engines allocate site proceeds to reforestation, land conservation and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.  So all you have to do is search for free on any of these sites and know that you are doing something positive and long lasting for the planetary cause at the same time. Ecocho.com  -  a green search engine wrapper from Australia that presently uses Yahoo search. You have the option of a black wrapper as well.  For every 1000 searches, Ecocho.com will plant 2 trees.  Climategift.com  -  a green search engine and portal for green content, as o... 05/11/2008

Do you appreciate fresh fish? This is not easy to always find if living in the Arizona desert. Check out Hana Japanese Eatery located at 5524 N Seventh Street.There is both traditional Japanese entrees as well as non-traditional items as well. In addition to traditional Japanese there is grilled fish as well. Much of their fish is brought in whole and then cut in house. They server lunch and dinners. for more information call 602-973-1238. 05/10/2008