Phoenix Real Estate Home

Upcoming Holiday Events in Fountain Hills, AZ

Michele Guss — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:35:23 +0000

As promised, here are a few more upcoming events in Fountain Hills:

STROLL IN THE GLOW

December 6, 2008, 5 pm

Stroll on Avenue of the Fountains - over 60,000 lights twinkle on the median. Santa arrives, carolers sing and shops are open for visitors.

HOLIDAY LUMINARIAS

December 22-24, 2008, Sunset

Three nights before Christmas, luminarias are lit by hundres of volunteers. Thousands of luminarias line the streets of downtown and the shores of Fountain Lake.

Fountain Hills hosts Arizona’s ONLY Thanksgiving Day Parade

Michele Guss — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:26:13 +0000

On Thanksgiving Day, November 27th, 2008 at 9:00am, Fountain Hills will host a Thanksgiving Day Parade. Often referred to as the “Parada de Los Cerros,” or Parade in the Hills, the Fountain Hills Thanksgiving Day Parade is the only Thanksgiving Day Parade in Arizona. This year the parade’s theme is “Jingle Bells Rock the Hills.” Participants include local businesses, organizations, schools, seniors, youth groups and church groups. More than 70 parade floats, groups and bands will wind their way through the downtown streets starting at Saguaro and El Lago boulevards.

Fountain Hills hosts 34th Annual Fountain Festival of Arts and Crafts this weekend

Michele Guss — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:24:51 +0000

I live in Fountain Hills, AZ. Our claim to fame is we are home to one of the tallest fountains in the world! What alot of people don’t know is that the Town of Fountain Hills hosts several great events throughout the year. This upcoming weekend, Friday, Nov 14th - Sunday, November 16th from 10am-5pm daily (rain or shine) the Town of Fountain Hills will host the 34th Annual Fountain Festival of Arts and Crafts. To find out all the details or for directions to Fountain Hills, click on the following link, http://www.fountainhillschamber.com/Events/FestivalofArtsCrafts.aspx

Stay tuned for a list of other great Fountain Hills events!

Phoenix Foreclosure Statistics for August

Michele Guss — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:26:46 +0000

I thought you would be interested in the latest foreclosure statistics. In August, Arizona ranks 3rd in the country, behind California and Nevada, for the number of recorded foreclosure filings. RealtyTrac states that ”one out of every 182 households or more than 14,000 homes in Arizona” are in some stage of default. It is important to remember that not ALL of the homes that have had foreclosure filings will actually be foreclosed upon. Click on the following link to read the full story: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/09/08/daily77.html?f=et73&ana=e_du

Foreclosed homes account for 44% of the 7,505 August Phoenix Metro Area residential sales. The median sales price for all homes sold conventionally in the valley was $193,500 vs. $161,875 for foreclosed valley homes. Keep in mind, these averages account for valley home sales in ALL areas. Median prices for both traditional and foreclosure sales are much higher in Scottsdale where the median price is upwards of $560,000, compared to Maryvale where the median price is below $130,000. Click on the following link to read the full story: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/09/08/daily77.html?f=et73&ana=e_du

Phoenix home prices declining slower over last 2 months

Michele Guss — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:30:32 +0000

I just read an article that had some interesting statistics regarding price declines in the Phoenix Metro area. Overall home prices have shown a 22.8% decline from June 2007 to June 2008. Peoria shows the largest decline at 28.1% while Scottsdale/Paradise Valley had the smallest decline at 14%. The article goes on to say that for the past 2 months the declines are slowing, and if this continues we could see the Phoenix real estate prices stabilizing. I will keep you posted with the pricing trends!

To read the full story, click on the following link: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/09/08/daily50.html?f=et73&ana=e_du

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac taken over..stocks soar

Michele Guss — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:34:46 +0000

On Sunday the government announced it is taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in hopes of strengthening the housing and financial markets. Following this announcement, on Monday the Dow rose 290 points. To read the full stories, click on the following links:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/09/08/ST2008090801017.html?hpid=topnews

and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/07/AR2008090700259.html.

Factors that will lead to real estate recovery

Michele Guss — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:04:12 +0000

I was talking to someone this morning and she asked me when I thought the market would recover. My thoughts on this topic are complex. To follow are some general ideas I have about factors that will lead to stabilization and eventually recovery. The 1st thing to consider is that real estate is local. It depends on what state, county, area, or even subdivision you live in as to when you will see signs of recovery. Some areas are fairing better than others, therefore, I believe they will stabilize and recover quicker. Another factor that will contribute to recovery is stabilization in the mortgage industry. I just read an interesting article in the Washington Post about the shift in delinquencies we are seeing with Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM’s). Click on the link for the full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/05/AR2008090501448.html. Finally, prices need to stabilize and inventory needs to be reduced before recovery can begin.

The bright side to all of this is that right now a great opportunity exists for potential buyers. Prices are down, mortgage rates are still within reach and if you are planning on buying and staying put for at least 3 to 5 years, you should be able to see modest appreciation on your real estate investment.

Shannon’s Shots #4: More AZ Spring!

Jay — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:22:07 +0000

Survey says: Sellers are still in denial about what their house is worth

Michele Guss — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:25:28 +0000

Today I am going to write about a topic I am experiencing firsthand…seller denial. I have been considering listing my single family house in Fountain Hills, Arizona for sale. I had not run comparable sales (comps) for my house in quite a while so I entered all the pertinent data about my house into the MLS: square footage, # of bedrooms, # of baths, 2c garage etc, then I waited for the MLS to tabulate the comparable market analysis (CMA) so I could see the average list price & average selling price in the last few months for homes with similar features.

It came up on the screen…I was SHOCKED! I was so convinced there was a mistake, I had a colleague at Thompson’s Realty run the numbers as well, no surprise, she came up with the same numbers I did.

I found myself being taken over with the voice and mind of a prospective seller. The feeling I was experiencing was MY house should sell for ALOT more that what the numbers say…regardless of the fact that the numbers were right there in black & white. Then the typically seller dialogue started to play in my head, “but my house is architecturally unique, I have a premium lot, I have unobstructed mountain & fountain views…etc”.

I logged on to the Phoenix Business Journal’s e-mail update this afternoon and there is was again…what I did not want to read or hear. An article titled, Survey: Homeowners still in denial about falling values.

Sometime this afternoon the REALTOR voice and mind inside of me came back to life. I know the current market in the Phoenix Metro Area does not lend itself to overpriced listings or attempting to ”test the waters”. I needed to remind myself that I am fortunate to have bought my house prior to the big run up in ‘05. If I were to sell it today for the average sale price of comparable homes, I would still be looking at a modest profit, not bad in today’s market.

With all that said, I am still pondering whether I can swallow the reality and list the house for a realistic price…I will keep you posted!

Some good news in the re-sale market?

Michele Guss — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:02 +0000

I receive daily e-mail updates from the Phoenix Business Journal. My posts on this blog tend to mimic what I have read that day.

Today I read an article stating that the Pending Sales Index used by the Natl Assc of Realtors indicates there was a + change in the past month. While May’s reading was 84.5, the index jumped to 89 for the month of June.

They are prediciting an uptick in the 4th quarter due to buyers taking advantage of new provisions in the recently passed housing stimulus bill. To read the full story, click on the link, http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/08/04/daily48.html?f=et73&ana=e_du