EAT IN GREEN VALLEY…THEN BUY A HOME!

With so much of the financials dominating the news, why not change around the focus and emphasis a bit. Green Valley, Arizona is not only a very interesting and beautiful place to call home, but a quiet place to enjoy having a meal. If you are on the budget side, there is of course our friendly neighborhood McDonalds or maybe our local Whopper. If you want to elevate a bit, try our hometown Arby’s or the newer Carl’s Jr. in the Super Wal Mart Center. I dare not forget the Taco Bell by the Desert Sky Cinemas. Should someone want down home style cooking, there is Mama’s in the Continental Center…right around the corner from our office. Also, you might give Donna’s Diner a shot, they are right off Esperanza. And Before you find them you will run into the Arizona Family Restaurant. For the more adventurous diner, there are three Mexican restaurants. First you have La Placita right off Esperanza. Next up is Manuel’s which is located on W. Duvall Road, near the Jim Click Ford dealership. And then you have Florentino’s next to Ashley furniture on Duvall Mine Road. A few doors down from Ashley’s is Solarus, which is a great steakhouse, salad and sandwich sit down restaurant. If you are looking... [Read More]

MARCH WINDS!

When March arrives it frequently brings the windy season along with it. I can remember when I was a young boy and my parents would take me kiting. That brings back a lot of great memories. This year March seems to carry the quickly moving change theme in it’s wings. Unfortunately for most of us, the market does not seem to like the direction of the proposed changes. But, my oh my, how easily the real estate market can be impacted by proposed changes. One thing for sure, we need to see is the mortgage deduction to remain free from political compromising. In our free market system, if the home mortgage deduction is an accross the board principle that is available for everyone, then a mortgage deduction is a surety or a foundation for the concept that if you invest in a home, then you can surely deduct the amount of interest that you pay on your principal. Any investor would want to know that this tax deduction mechanism should remain immutable and irrevocable. This principle provides a strong fundamental incentive for people to invest in home ownership. However, if a policy were to arise, that would state that certain people in a specified economic category would lose some or potentially all of their interest on principal, then….it... [Read More]

VALENTINE’S DAY MOMENTUM !!!

Of course we are coming up on Valentine’s Day. I do believe that it is important to remember that special person or persons in our lives and to make and effort to make them feel extra special. That is what is so great about Valentine’s Day…it is a vehicle to accomplish that. Whether it is flowers, perfume, candy, or some other type of present or nice gesture, whatever that certain something is will almost certainly be very well received. And that means for me, it will be well worth the effort. Yes, I am actively working on my list! But on a real estate note, and to be more specific in reference to our Green Valley, Arizona market; it looks like Valentine’s Day is beginning to bring some positive momentum to our area. Certainly, for those who are familiar with our market, this time of year is termed our “season”(which means it is the most intensely compressed time of the year for our area’s real estate sales activity). But, I do believe the activity we are experiencing is greater than expected, considering everything that is going on. Our home sales numbers show that in a one year period between 2007 and 2008, 999 residential units were sold. While in the same corresponding one year period from... [Read More]

GETTING THE BALL ROLLING AGAIN !!!

Well, I have to admit that in the last blog, I got a little overwhelmed and or frustrated by the seeming direction that our national socio economic reality was heading. But alas, now I am firmly and fitly optimistic and I am still hoping for some responsible decision making. As far as our real estate market is concerned, I am surprised by how many “experts” there are in understanding this market. If these experts were that smart they would have warned us months and months ahead of time about what the situation really was. Yes, we can pump money into different areas of our economy, but that alone is not going to completely cure our ailments. We need to also take more or at least some responsible steps on a national level to manage effectively some of the relevant aspects. The answer is more than just “wall street is greedy”! You have to look at the complete ineptness and failure of our national leadership to regulate the aspects of the investment world of which it was put in charge. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were allowed to puff up their profit pictures outrageously. Chris Dodd and Barney Frank completely failed to do anything about the serious problems that these institutions had and they knew about them since... [Read More]

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR!!!

This time of year brings us to the point of being of wanting to be blindly optimistic about the general direction of our socio-economic reality. What else can you do? I am sure most of you are not happy about the bailouts, and the chorus of feed me, feed me…. from all the late to the party opportunity seekers. Many of us have been working ( wow, really working) and been sacrificing and saving. Or should I say SAVING AND SACRIFICING? We have been hoping to navigate through the economic rules and regulations in order to facilitate a successful retirement. Well, it looks as though the rules are going to change. Oh, I forot that was the mantra….change. It seems unbelievable to me that most people know that one law of physics dictates that the only constant is change. So, to get caught up with an ambiguous and undetailed plan for change from a politician would bring ridicule instead of success. So change we will have if either of the two major candidates would win. It is all subjective, relative to the person defining what change will mean. So that means, since things are changing, there is an opportunity for us to make some sound investments and positive times are possibly stright ahead. We live in a great area without most of... [Read More]

IT’S TIME TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!

Since this is the most celebrated time of the year, I must try to count some of my blessings, especially when it comes to the world of real estate. When it looked like things might begin to stablilize in early October, here comes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Even with all the surprises they brought, they also have brought opportunity along with them. At least, it is obvious to me , that there is opportunity in that they need some regulation desparately and a sobering look at how they arrive at creating their loan programs. It is also a given that they need to massively tighten up their criterion for determining the eligibility of loan prospects. Along with constructive evaluation and redirection, the banks themselves need to get back to banking and forget the emphasis on the direction of speculation. As realtors we are concerned about all the aspects of the home industry…not just sales, but sales that will tend to lead to the direction of responsible growth. In Green Valley, Arizona our MLS inventory is at 981 units avaiable on the market today. This has been very steady level for the last 2 months and that is a positive signal. In the calendar period from January 2nd of this year until the 10th of December, we have had 754 sales.... [Read More]

THE 4TH QUARTER IS HERE, TURN UP THE HEAT!

We are thankful that the election season has come and gone….except for a few closely contested races. No matter who you chose, we are all faced with the prospect of moving forward. I have maintained that in order for the real estate market to really begin to see growth, we must first move past the election cycle. Now we can hopefully look forward to homebuyers beginning to formulate or finalize their plans when it comes to relocating, or purchasing a home. In our area prices are still the best for the buyer and with the corrections financially that have occurred, hopefully they will positively affect the availability of funds. It is also apparent that the general public has recognized that home buying is important just for providing residence …..not as a vehicle for careless speculation. The Green Valley home sales market from November 2007 to November of 2008 stands at about 850 sales….while in the same period of November 2006 to November of 2007 stands at about 1000. That is about a sixteen or seventeen percent decline. Everyone knows how troubled the market has been. We do hope that this type of scenario never happens again. Green Valley, Arizona is a great destination spot for retirees; as we have a great many... [Read More]

HEADING TOWARDS PUMPKIN TIME!

Labor Day was great, and we hope all of you enjoyed the holiday. As Realtors we have to embrace the time we have for our clients as well as for our perspective clients. It is imperative that we use that precious commodity wisely. Everyone has heard about the finantial crisis that is looming over our heads as this article is being written We, as with most of you, indeed are hopeful for a possible solution that will not leave us in a more perilous position. When it comes to our philosophy with our sellers, honesty is always the best choice. At this time in the real estate marketplace, we have to make sure that we make an effort to realistically help our sellers price thier homes accurately. It is so crucial now, that we use the competitive market to helping to arrive at an accurate comparable, as well as to decompress the time that we look back on previous sales instead of perhaps traditionally looking back a whole year. With the fluctuating rapidly, the accuracy lies in a smaller period of time to use in determining the correct value for marketing a property. Unfortunately for sellers, this of course means that the home selling price of 2 or 3 years ago will have little or no bearing for this market! This has been become a... [Read More]