Home Inspection Problems

I found this video and thought it worth sharing.

Home Values Decline

I thought this was an interesting article... I am glad I live in Arizona where the picture is a little brighter than in other areas of the country. I read this in "National Realty News"

West South Central Division (AR, LA, OK, TX): increased 1.2 percent (4.8 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values increased 5.6 percent, and during the last five years, home values increased 30.9 percent.
East South Central Division (AL, KY, MS, TN): increased 0.8 percent (3.4 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values increased 5.2 percent, and during the last five years, home values increased 31.8 percent.
Mountain Division (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY): increased 0.5 percent (1.9 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. In the last 12 months, home values increased 4.3 percent; during the last five years, home values increased 54.2 percent.
Middle Atlantic Division (NJ, NY, PA): decreased 0.1 percent (-0.5 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values increased 2.2 percent, and during the last five years, home values increased 59.5 percent.
West North Central Division (IA, KS, MN, MO, ND, NE, SD): decreased 0.3 percent (-1.2 percent, annualized) in the second quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values increased 1.8 percent; over the last five years, home values increased 28.2 percent.
South Atlantic Division (DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV): decreased 0.6 percent (-2.3 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values increased 2.1 percent, and during the last five years, home values increased 59.9 percent.
New England Division (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT): decreased 0.9 percent (-3.4 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values decreased 0.6 percent, and during the last five years, home values increased 40.9 percent.
East North Central Division (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI): decreased 0.9 percent (-3.4 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values increased 0.6 percent, and during the last five years, home values increased 21.6 percent.
Pacific Division (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA): decreased 0.9 percent (-3.5 percent, annualized) in the third quarter of 2007. Over the last 12 months, home values decreased 0.1 percent, and during the last five years, home values have increased 77.7 percent.

Interesting web site for Remodeling

Hello... and good morning.

I found this web site today and thought it was worth the post. It breaks down the return on your investment for various home remodeling projects all in one spot...very cool.

http://www.costvsvalue.com/index.html

Smaller home-price spread suggests rebound

Interesting article....



Smaller home-price spread suggests rebound
Nov. 4, 2007 12:00 AM
It's all in how you look at the numbers.

Home listings across metropolitan Phoenix remain at record levels, hovering above 55,000, not good news for homeowners trying to sell.

Resales fell to their lowest monthly level in several years in September. Foreclosures continue to climb, also not great news for sellers.

On the flip side, interest rates slipped this week, and with all the listings, there are many deals to be found in the Valley's housing market, real estate agents say. Translation: That's good news for buyers because it's a great time to purchase if you have decent credit and plan on holding onto a home until prices rebound.

But one current indicator bodes well for sellers, buyers and the entire real-estate market. The spread between the price at which Valley homes are listed and at what they are selling is much lower than it was six months ago.

It means buyers' and sellers' expectations are more in sync, and that eventually should translate to more sales.

According to data from real estate firm John Hall & Associates, the median price of metro Phoenix homes listed in September was $265,906, and the median price of houses sold was $234,900.

There's a spread of a little more than $31,000 between the two. In February, the spread between listing and sales prices was $43,000. In February 2006, as the market was starting to slow, the spread was $50,000.

The shrinking spread between buyers' and sellers' expectations is a sign the housing market is correcting, and a rebound almost always follows a correction, particularly in the Valley.

Metro Phoenix's home prices are catching the attention of big lenders.

In the past few weeks, parts of Maricopa and Pinal counties have been put on housing "watch lists," or lists of "declining markets."

That usually means they will fund less of a loan on a property in case prices fall more.

For example, if a borrower was able to get a loan for 90 percent of the purchase price of a home last year, now a growing number of lenders only will fund 85 percent of the price.

But the Valley isn't alone on these lists. Lenders also are watching carefully the other markets across the country that saw big run-ups during the boom of 2004-05.
Growth grant
An Arizona partnership has received a $20,000 grant from the Urban Land Institute to develop a program to engage people to look at the challenges Phoenix's projected population growth are likely to bring.

Urban Land Arizona is working with the Local Initiatives Support Coalition Phoenix and the Arizona State University Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and Family to put together a plan to provide realistic and sustainable solutions for building affordable neighborhoods.

"FUN" IN THE SUMMER HEAT

Summer in Arizona... ahhhh.... the joy of 115 degree temp's at 5 in the afternoon and 100 at midnight. BUT, the good news is its Monsoon season with cloudy days and maybe even some rain. Seriously, this is a great place and except for a few months of the year that we have to stay inside because its so hot its wonderful. Since I am from the mid-west I call summer in Arizona winter. I didn't go out in the winter in Illinois or Minnesota, and I don't go out much in the summer here, but we can still swim and be outside once it gets dark... so I still am ahead of the game.. if you want to know more about Monsoon's check this out.. http://www.azcentral.com/weather/monsoon/

Now, on to the more interesting aspects of AZ-- my favorite topic-- REAL ESTATE...
Buyer's....where are YOU? IT IS TIME TO BUY A HOME!!! Mortgage rates aren't bad, prices are down, seller's that are serious and have some equity in their homes figure they missed the curve and finally are becoming realistic in their expectations, the investors (speculators) are getting what they deserve... which is a swift kick in the pants for thinking that real estate as a short term get rich quick money maker. Its all good for the buyer's we work with that want to own a home to live in and raise a family or provide a yard for their dogs and kids, and the gloom and doom that you hear on the news is nothing more than a typical reporters way of grabbing a story and head lines..
My partner just sold a home last week that appraised $21,000 more than he paid for it. With appaisers and lenders ever watching their back sides this was an incredible purchase for this guy and Linda and I make sure that our buyer's DON'T get too close to market value for a property. We would rather you wait than to see you over pay by a single dime.

Anyway, look for more information later... thanks for reading and visiting...

New home asking price tops 100 Million Dollars

Hi everyone...
Well, yesterday was partly spent trying to figure out how to add our picture to the blog...
not rocket science, but certainly not within my scope, as you can see. I followed the directions but didn't seem to get the job done. Maybe today will bring more success.

I ran across a good article the other day about Donald Trumps house being sold and currently on the market for $125M. Absolutely astounding to me. But as much as I enjoyed the article I think I got as much enjoyment out of reading some of the comments others had. Capitalism at it finest?? or Not?? The link to this story is at the bottom of the page...



Today here in Arizona is going to be another warm day but the nights are cooling down nicely and the mornings are gorgeous. Time now to get out the hiking shoes and tennis racquet again.. "winter" is over. We call summer winter as the thought of going out in the heat is much like the thought of going out in the cold.. so we stay inside most of the time... but being from Illinois I would rather have the heat than the cold ANY DAY... and most people I talk to feel the same way.

We will be planting our winter grass soon. AZ does have a change of season although it is not too noticeable... with the exception of our grass. It does go brown if we don't prepare our yards for perennial winter grass and water it like crazy. I personally only plant grass in the front yard as winter grass grows very fast and lawn mowing is my next least favorite thing to do right behind shoveling snow...

Have a great day....

Finally... WE DID IT...

Our first posting on our new blog... How exciting....

After months and months of dragging our feet and putting it off the time has come. I recently read some articles about how much fun this was to do so thought would give it a try.

My sister Linda, and I, are partners and work with RE/MAX Achievers as full service real estate agents. Although our office is in Chandler and we primarily work the SE Valley... which consists of Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa/Tempe/Queen Creek/Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Ahwatukee, we have sold homes all over the metro Phoenix area and keep on top off all the latest happenings across the valley. Some of these will find there way here of course.

Linda and I will both be making contributions to the blog... and although you will see some real estate related topics, our primary goal is to inform and educate about what is happening in the area and make it FUN... !!! Also, Ken, who is Linda's husband, and a true genius on the computer may be persuaded to contribute tips on keeping your computer safe from virus', hackers and more. (His credentials are very impressive... so you won't want to miss some of the information he can share with you) But, our blog will evolve as we go along and get better and better with more varied and interesting topics.

We are currently working on a podcast too that will really be fun for everyone... but more on that later.

Gloria