Yesterday, I fulfilled a promise to a client and his family.  I helped them pack a U-Haul to move to their new home.  I really didn't have the time.  Honest I didn't!  My To Do list for Tuesday looked like this:5 a.m. Drop Darlin' at airport to see family      (I'll join her for a vacation next week)7 a.m. BNI Breakfast8:30 a.m.   Office.  Docs to Title?  (Offshore closing, foreign national)8:45 a.m. Check w/Title.  Docs received by email. Check!     Call, reassure REALTOR     FUP Title.  Make sure docs emailed to Venezuela.     FUP REALTOR10:00 a.m. Help Dale & Melissa pack the truck     Take clean set of clothes.  Shower & get back to office by 2:30 p.m.Afternoon To Do:     FUP Appraiser     Meet w/Controller re P&L     Finish HONESTY blog for Active Rain contest.     PCLA  (Previous ... 09/12/2007

Not to be confuses with the El Con Quistador or Canada Courses located a few miles away, Pusch Ridge El Con Quistador Golf Course may be a 9 hole course, but, don’t let it fool you. This is one tough course. It doesn’t get any easier the second round either. The fairways will mislead you, the greens are the biggest challenge, and trying to get even on the second nine holes for what happened on the first nine can easily slip into disaster. I can’t count how many times I have played this course. It hold challenge, frustration, and elation all in one course. Keeping a cool head while playing this course, rather than trying to beat it, will definitely lower your score. The first hole is a 383 yard Par 4 dog leg left. From the tee box you are shooting to a fairway that is a good 20 feet belo... 09/11/2007

Here is the 24 hour report for 9-11-2007 activity in the Tucson Real Estate market according to the Tucson MLS.This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Tucson area for local real estate reports and statistics.For more free reports and Tucson Real Estate visit http://www.wiselisting.com/24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings160  Back on Market30  Price Increases18  Price Reductions137  Contingents36  Pendings38  Solds36  Expireds37  Inactives61   09/11/2007

A great northwest community that lines the Pusch Ridge El Conquistador golf course is El Con Quistador Resort homes. I know the backs of many of these homes from the many times I have played the course. I have been impressed by the homes in this community I have shown over the years. Most of the homes in this community are town homes. Very nice town homes. Owners have the option of using the resort facilities for only $65 a month. READ MORE  09/10/2007

Here is the 24 hour report for 9-10-2007 activity in the Tucson Real Estate market according to the Tucson MLS.This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Tucson area for local real estate reports and statistics.For more free reports and Tucson Real Estate visit http://www.wiselisting.com/24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings180  Back on Market17  Price Increases29  Price Reductions154  Contingents43  Pendings32  Solds37  Expireds20  Inactives43   09/10/2007

While sitting over a cup of coffee and doing my morning reading I came across a great article John Wake on his Real Estate Notebook site, What are the odds of selling your Arizona home? John made a lot of sense in what he said, which got the wheels turning. There is a lot of miss-perception from the general public that Realtors can control the market. Influence may be a better term. Sellers may influence the market, but not control it. Lenders may influence the market, but not control it. Buyers, on the other hand, have the reins in hand and steer the horse in whatever direction they like. READ MORE 09/10/2007

Here is the 24 hour report for 9-06-2007 activity in the Tucson Real Estate market according to the Tucson MLS.This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Tucson area for local real estate reports and statistics.For more free reports and Tucson Real Estate visit http://www.wiselisting.com/24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings154  Back on Market15  Price Increases11  Price Reductions144  Contingents46  Pendings36  Solds54  Expireds32  Inactives53   09/06/2007

If you have ever thought of buying property on a golf course, Tucson has extraordinary golf communities to meet the real estate needs of every golf enthusiasts. With over 30 public to private golf courses just in the Tucson, there are more than enough to go around. Go a little further south and you’ll find even more homes in Green Valley, and historical Tubac. You can find homes from $135,000 to $4.8 million. The more popular communities are Starr Pass, Heritage Highlands, Canada Hills, Rancho Del Lago, and Quail Creek just to name a few. For private courses at the high end of the scale there’s always Stone Canyon, The Gallery, Dos Lagos at Dove Mountain, Tucson National, Ventana Canyon, Whaleback Ridge Estates, Skyline Country Club, and Tohono Ridge along the Starr Pass golf course.  ... 09/06/2007

Here is the 24 hour report for 9-05-2007 activity in the Tucson Real Estate market according to the Tucson MLS.This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Tucson area for local real estate reports and statistics.For more free reports and Tucson Real Estate visit http://www.wiselisting.com/ 24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings164  Back on Market23  Price Increases11  Price Reductions139  Contingents33  Pendings22  Solds49  Expireds31  Inactives56   09/05/2007

  The dust storm blew across the interstate unannounced.  In less than 30 seconds, visibility dropped from 10 miles to 1/10th of a mile.  10 seconds later it was hard to see half the length of a football field.We make the national news when this happens, because people die in massive pile-ups.  Usually they're from out of town.  Dust does in Tucson what fog does around the Great Lakes, and snow does on the Great Plains.  It's unexpected in sunny Tucson.I was driving westbound to my very first real estate listing in Eloy, Arizona.  That's about halfway between Tucson and Tempe.  The local talk show host was taking calls about the widening project for I-10, the major east-west artery between Texas and California.Interstate 10 bisects the downtown area of Tucson and the city of South Tucso... 09/05/2007

One of the reasons I came to Long Realty is that I got tired clients telling me that they found X property on the Long website. Now I hear, “I love your website. It is so easy to find homes.” As easy as it is to find Tucson real estate on the site there are some features many Tucson home buyers may be missing. I want buyers to have fun searching, so these explanations should make it more enjoyable to find a home in Tucson. At the bottom of each search is a save feature to set up a Virtual Home Search (VHS) for each category. You can save as many as you like. So lets walk through the features. Map Search This is the easiest of all home searches. Zoom in on the geographical area preferred, set price range, built between (years), minimum number of bedrooms, etc. Then scroll to the bottom ... 09/03/2007

We all know this is just a preliminary report awaiting the official report from the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. Its nice to know up front though what we may expect. The information in this report is what is available as of August 31, 2007. I double checked July’s sales and the reported sales did increase slightly to 1,131. I believe that home sales will fall short for the second month in a row from the numbers I predicted months back. With all the hype on the media about the American Home Mortgage and First Magnus some buyers have become hesitant. The serious buyers have moved forward. The bottom hasn’t fallen out of the market, but, the speed bumps sure have gotten bigger. Some of the actions in the market over the past week or so are attempts to get the m... 09/01/2007

In my article comparing home selling to golf I used a game for the analogy. For Buyers I think relating to the equipment is a better analogy. Golf You need an easy college credit at your local community college. Golf seems innocent enough. You’ll just take the class and move on to more important classes. Right? Not that easy. Golf can be addicting. I know. So, you sign up for the class show up to the golf course and expect the instructor to supply the clubs. Not quite. You need to either buy or rent some clubs. You don’t know if you are going to like this game so renting makes the best sense. Tucson Home BuyingYou’re out of your parent’s house. You’ve graduated from college. You got your first real job. Your career is lying before you. You need a roof over your head. You haven’t saved ... 08/31/2007

Here is the 24 hour report for 8-31-2007 activity in the Tucson Real Estate market according to the Tucson MLS.This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Tucson area for local real estate reports and statistics.For more free reports and Tucson Real Estate visit http://www.wiselisting.com/24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings136  Back on Market9  Price Increases5  Price Reductions120  Contingents34  Pendings28  Solds74  Expireds71  Inactives82   08/31/2007

Here is the 24 hour report for 8-30-2007 activity in the Tucson Real Estate market according to the Tucson MLS.This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Tucson area for local real estate reports and statistics.For more free reports and Tucson Real Estate visit http://www.wiselisting.com/24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings143  Back on Market12  Price Increases6  Price Reductions138  Contingents35  Pendings35  Solds74  Expireds7  Inactives90   08/30/2007

Here is the 24 hour report for 8-29-2007 activity in the Tucson Real Estate market according to the Tucson MLS.This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Tucson area for local real estate reports and statistics.For more free reports and Tucson Real Estate visit http://www.wiselisting.com/24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings131  Back on Market16  Price Increases15  Price Reductions153  Contingents32  Pendings37  Solds42  Expireds24  Inactives63   08/29/2007

As a golfer I see a lot of similarities between golf and different aspects of life. There are so many good books out there about golf that relates to life.  Everything from Zen For Golf to Fairways of Life. Both of which I have read and recommend. As a Realtor I started looking for how golf and real estate compares. What does selling a home and golf have in common? Stepping up to the tee unprepared without practicing you have no idea where the ball is going to go. You want it to fly straight down the fairway and not land in a divot. You may even want a slight draw or fade to take a bend in the fairway out of the picture. You hope that the dreaded slice or hook don’t come into play. On some courses you could end up in the next fairway on the other side of the trees, in the desert or in ... 08/29/2007

I had a dream last night that I was standing on the street corner with a sign saying, “Home Buyers Wanted.” It was too real. With the scare we see every day on the news about the real estate market, it makes it tougher for Sellers to sell their home. For a few months I have run statistics on home sale for specific communities for my Buyers. I like seeing trends to give both sellers and buyers a comprehensive idea of what the market it doing in their area to help them with their decision making. I suspected early that everywhere was experiencing a decrease in value. NOT TRUE. Some areas are being hit harder than others, but, not every neighborhood has seen prices decrease. Some have flat lined and others have seen a very slight appreciation. What does this mean to Buyers and Sellers? We... 08/27/2007

Tucson has a lot to offer Baby Boomers from every walk of life. From full living to assisted living. From condos to luxurious homes. From inner city living to rural living. You name, Tucson has it. From mountain biking to golf courses. The only time you see a delay at the airport in Tucson is when there is foul weather at the other end of a flight. De-ice the windshield, what is that? Hurricanes? Isn’t that what we see on the news elsewhere? Earthquakes, oh yes that’s what they have in California. For golfers, we joke about having too many good days to play to have to play on a bad day. For hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians, there are miles of trails. Read the rest of this entry » 08/26/2007

We have all heard about the Drew Carey game show Power of 10. Contestants must pick a range on the scale for their answer. With each question the range decreases. Similar concept of pricing items within a range has been used on The Price Is Right for years. Pricing a home in a real estate market that has cooled down is tough. How much is too little and how much is too much? With old school fixed pricing it gets harder to determine what is the right price. Miss the mark and your home becomes an Expired Listing waiting to happen. Too low and your lucky to get out of the neighborhood without being tarred and feathered by angry neighbors. A not so new and method that is rapidly gaining popularity is Range Pricing. Home buyers and sellers in the Tucson real estate market ask me all the time,... 08/25/2007