| Short Sale Success Stories |
 As an active REALTOR, I hear stories everyday about peoples lives and how they got into their current situation. It's part of what I do, LISTEN. Then I get into helping them out of their situation. Short Sales are the best way for a "win-win" situation for the seller and the seller's lender. Did you know that 1 out of every 5 homes in the Phoenix area has a hardship with a seller who is "under water" or unable to maintain their current mortgage payment? If you know of someone, please give them my name and number. I can help! Here is a link to more information: Short Sale Seller Advisory
Short Sales make up approximately 30% of the available listings on the market. For patient buyers, these homes are usually in good to excellent condition and are priced to compete with the Bank owned properties. If you can wait for 2-3 months (on average), you can get yourself a nice home! Just ask the 30 or so people that we have helped to buy one in the last couple of years!
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| Winter Gardening in the Desert |
 Winter gardening can be a little tricky especially with our recent colder temperatures including freeze warnings. I use old sheets that also are used as paint drop cloths to protect my "little ones". It's important that you cover your plants before dark because as we all know, once that sun goes down, it's immediately cold. As you can see, my small raised beds don't take much space, but they are productive. (some of the best & juciest tomatoes!) The best exposure for year-round gardening is east to southeast. I've added a drip/soaker hose line that winds through the garden so that way I don't forget to water! If you haven't already planted a garden, it's best to now wait until end of February with the threat of further freeze warnings. Choose cool temperature vegetables/herbs such as, cilantro, radishes, eggplant & onions. Happy Planting! |
Happy New Year!
Quite honestly, despite the record low interest rates and record low prices the Phoenix real estate market is still struggling with a 13 month supply of homes. A normal market generally has only a 4 month supply. Bank owned & Short sales dominate the market with 65% of the available listings. This distressed state has continued to put pressure on prices in order to move inventory. The current prediction is that we will see home values weaken some more in the first quarter of this year. It really depends on area and neighborhood. The silver lining in this market (if there is one) is that we are recovering. Last year in 2010 there were more sales than in 2009. Also, the number of Bank owned properties declined therefore, putting less pressure on pricing, even though we lost value it wasn't as great as the drop in 2009. To read more about it and view some specific numbers and trends for your city click on this link: 
