Chandler Home Values, Finally a Reset?
May 11th, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
According to the Cromford report, their data shows Chandler homes are selling at early (and slightly below) 2004 prices, (in terms of price per square foot). The image below shows the data as it is represented by Cromford.
A Break Down Line by Line:
- Blue (2004) – Notice the uptick in prices from February to December
- Green (2005) – From January to November the prices skyrocketed
- Red (2006) – The market was surprisingly stable for the first 3 months, before becoming erratic through July and then dropping
- Purple (2007) – Again the market was stable at first, then it became erratic and prices began falling
- Olive (2008) – This year showed a very steady and consistent drop in prices
- Orange (2009) – Chandler home prices have been dropping at a steady rate up until mid April when the price per sqft values dipped just below 2004 prices, which would give you the impression the Chandler housing market has done its “reset”
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Gilbert Homes Undervalued?
May 11th, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
According to the Cromford report, their data shows Gilbert homes are selling at early 2004 prices, (in terms of price per square foot). The image below shows the data as it is represented by Cromford.
A Break Down Line by Line:
- Blue (2004) – Notice the uptick in prices from July to December
- Green (2005) – From January to November the prices skyrocketed
- Red (2006) – The market was surprisingly stable for the first 6 months, before dropping in prices from June to September
- Purple (2007) – The first 5 months proved a little erratic before prices began dropping in May
- Olive (2008) – The most dramatic drop occurred here
- Orange (2009) – We’ve had a pretty stable market and the prices are sitting just below/around early 2004 prices, which would give you the impression the market has done its “reset”
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Mortgage Apps at 5 Year High
May 1st, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
Mortgage applications hit a 5 year high, reports MSNBC.com. After the Federal Reserve announced they would buy $500 Billion in mortgage backed securities, the rates continue to drop as lenders anxiously take advantage of the situation.
Freddie Mac reports the average 30 year rate on December 31st as 5.10%. 80% of the applications are for refinances as those with equity in their homes take advantage of the historically low rates. Unfortunately home owners who can not refinance because they are under-water or upside-down continue to see their situation get worse as others in their position continue to walk away from their homes.
Sadly, those who continue to walk away from their homes only make the problem worse as their homes become bank-owned properties which inevitable drive down the home values for their neighbors.
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Seller's Market in 2009, What's Going On?
April 21st, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
How do you know the market has shifted? Where is the bottom of the real estate market? If we really are at the bottom of the market, would anyone be crazy enough to say it and risk the potential backlash? Probably not.
But here I go anyways…
What are the signs of a shifting/changing market?
The average Joe Schmo out there would tell you to look for increasing sales, decreasing inventory and increasing sales prices. Unfortunately this is such a simplistic way of looking at shifting trends, anyone taking this approach would only be able to look backwards and tell you “oops its already happened”… Read the rest of this entry »
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5 Best Questions Asked When Buying a New Home
April 15th, 2009
Categories:Home Buyer Education
Buying a brand new home from a home builder can be a very different experience than buying a resale home. Here are some of the best questions home buyers ask when it comes to buying/building a new home.
1. What good is a Realtor when buying a new home?
Unfortunately, most Realtors have the tendency to get their client under contract with a home builder and then they disappear until its time to close (and in reality, the builders prefer it that way). A good Realtor will keep in touch with you and the home builder for construction updates and keep an eye on the community as it develops. When building a home from scratch, a good Realtor will advise you on Read the rest of this entry »
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Mesa Deploys Goats to Clear Brush
February 1st, 2009
Categories:East Valley News
You have to give the City of Mesa a hand for this idea…
As the newest additions to the City of Mesa, goats are eating up approximately 30 acres of weeds and brush at one of the city’s water reclamation plants. The city is experimenting with the use of goats to perform vegetation control in place of mechanical mowing to utilize a non-polluting method of brush clearance at the Northwest Water Reclamation Plant.
The Utilities Department has approved a contract with Arizona Herdsman Eco Goats to clear the slopes of the water retention ponds for the next six months. On Jan. 5, the first ten of 80 goats were brought to their new grazing sight.
“The traditional use of machines and manpower is difficult due to the design of the retention ponds and the amount of vegetation at the site,” said Utilities Department Water Division Director Bill Haney. “Using goats allows us to use a more sustainable and environmentally responsible form of weed control.” 
While using goats is a non-polluting form of vegetation control, they also produce better results than the use of machinery. Goats possess a unique characteristic that separates them from almost all other types of livestock; they will eat just about anything resembling a plant. They can clear vegetation from hard-to-reach places, and they’ll eat the seeds that pesticides and mowing leave behind, preventing vegetation from coming back next year.
Environmentally, goats reduce the use of motorized vehicles, which in turn reduces air pollution and usage of fossil fuels, involve no toxic chemicals or pesticides and they produce biodegradable waste material that naturally breaks down into the soil. Goats also make better economic sense than utilizing mechanical means which are more costly.
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Superbowl Friday Update
January 30th, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
Here is this week’s Friday follow up.
Today weren’t getting away from all the market news and going with some market trends and some useful tools.
Here’s a list of what’s included:
- My Money, My Home, My Future
- Latest Home Buyer Trends
- Home Fads That Are Falling Out of Style
- Goodbye Granite Counters, Hello Cork!
- Using Color Psychology on You Home
My Money, My Home, My Future
This is a great government site, loaded with information to help home buyers in today’s market. The website breaks the information and resources into three categories; saving money for buying a home, establishing financial stability as a homeowner, and achieving financial security for the future. I hope everyone can find something of use on this site. – http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page?_pageid=73,7620944&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Latest Homebuyer Trends
Check out what homebuyers are rating the most important features, when it comes to their home purchase. http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/?p=268 Home Fads That Are Falling Out of Style Remember walking through new homes and seeing the desks in the kitchen that looked perfect for a laptop, perhaps the digital version of a cookbook? Well it appears, that little nook in the kitchen turned out to be a great spot to pile crap, and homebuyers aren’t as keen on kitchen desks anymore… see what else has changed. http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/?p=273
Goodbye Granite Counters, Hello Cork!
Believe it or not, the new countertop trend appears to be cork. If you’re not keen on cork, consider bamboo, concrete, quartz, or even IceStone… just watch out for the price tag on the Ice Stone… check out all the details here. http://www.realtor.org/rmohome_and_design/architecturecoach/articlearchive/0902_architecturecoach_countertops 
Using Color Psychology On Your Home
Who would have thought someone would actually take the time to perform a study, to test if painting a room with “food colors” like celery green or red would increase a person’s appetite? Check out the other useful tips and ideas: http://www.realtor.org/rmohome_and_design/articles/2009/0902_househome_colorpsych
Have a great weekend and Go Cardinals… hey, i’m from AZ, gotta support the home team.
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