This increase is pretty typical for us this time of year due it being our 'High Season.' 

Maricopa County held steady overall from May to June, increasing just a little bit from 5,633 closings to 5,695. 

Pending Transactions are up 24% from May, which will hopefully translate into more increases in closings for the month of July across the Valley.

Here are some highlights from other areas:

TOP SELLING MLS AREAS

    Area 313 moved to #1 (Surprise/El Mirage/ Youngtown) in the Top Selling MLS Areas chart with 293 closings at an average sale price of $185,065

        **Area 313 also ranked #8 in the FASTEST Selling MLS Areas chart at an average of 114 days on market  

    Area 318 dropped to #5 (Sun City/Sun City West) after a long run at #1

    Other MLS Areas that moved UP in the Top 10 rank include:

        Area 323 (West Side - Glendale/Phoenix) from #4 to #2

        Area 507 (SE Valley - Gilbert) from #6 to #3

        Area 403 (N. Phoenix/ Kierland) from #7 to #6

        Area 324 (West Side - Tolleson) from #10 to #7

SCOTTSDALE - Held steady from May to June, up a whopping 2 closings overall.  The following areas had the greatest increases:

    Area 406 (South Scottsdale) - UP 39%

    Area 401 (Cave Creek/ Carefree) - UP 26%

    Area 408 (N. Scottsdale) - UP 18%

    Area 403 (N. Phoenix/ Kierland) - UP 11%

CENTRAL CORRIDOR - Had the greatest improvement from May to June with an increase of 18%!  Every MLS area in the Central Corridor increased, here are the largest ones:

    Area 204 (101/Dunlap/I-17/16th St) - UP 44%

    Area 205 (Dunlap/I-10/43rd Ave/I-17) - UP 24%

    Area 208 (Salt River/South Mtn/43rd Ave/40th St) - UP 23%

    Area 207 (I-10/Salt River/43rd Ave/40th St) - UP 107%  **from 13 sales to 27 sales**

WEST SIDE - Held steady from May to June, up by 10 closings.  The following areas stood out for June:

    Area 313 (Surprise/El Mirage/Youngtown) - UP 24%

    Area 315 (S. Goodyear/S. Avondale) - UP 23%

    Area 324 (Tolleson) - UP 18%

    Area 323 (Glendale/Phoenix) - UP 17%

    Area 320 (E. Goodyear/Avondale) - UP 12%

    Area 325 (W. of South Mtn.) - UP 118% **from 11 sales to 24**

SOUTHEAST VALLEY - Held steady from May to June, down just slightly by 51 closings.  The following areas still had great months:

    Area 515 (Queen Creek) - UP 30%

    Area 507 (Gilbert) - UP 15%

    Area 511 (S. Gilbert) - UP 14%

Brought to you by Laurie Marlow over at Capital Title. 

One of my sellers is going into foreclosure and left his house suddenly.  The only problem is that he left his Lovable Dog "Negra" behind.  The pound has already been by to pick her/him(?) up but luckly wasn't able to find her.  Does anyone know of a no kill shelter in the Phoenix area that will take her?  I know this is a growing problem here in the valley but I know that if she goes to the pound they'll just put her to sleep without giving her a chance.

Any thoughts or suggestions???

Thanks

Alex

Reuters: Toyota to add solar panels to Prius hybrid: Nikkei

Have you heard the news?   Toyota Motor Corp (TM) plans to install solar panels on its next-generation Prius hybrid cars, becoming the first major automaker to use solar power for a vehicle.   

Now even though this makes me HAPPY, have you tried to purchase one of these?  Yah, you're a 6-8 month waiting list.  Geez, you would like you signed up for the lastest limited sports car, not a mass produced vehicle.  Popularity in this little hybrid is at an all time high with gas prices being what they are.

Question: If worldwide cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius have already crossed 1 million why wouldn't you think Toyota would be ANOTHER (just 1 in Japan) dedicated Prius plant?  Don't they want to make money?

 IndyMac Bancorp, the ninth-largest U.S. mortgage lender last year in terms of loan volume, is following in the footsteps of it's parent company Countrywide according to a Wall Street Journal Article .  IndyMac began dismantling most of its business amid heavy losses from mortgage defaults. Shares fell 38% to 44 cents.   Matters weren't helped when a US Senator questioned its ability to survive the housing crisis. In consequence, depositors have been withdrawing cash at an "elevated" pace since the announcement.   

Well, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks. I think Bank of America picking up Countrywide is like buying a toaster at a garage sale.  You think you're getting the deal of the century later to find out all you're left with is a crappy toaster that burns down your house and now you're out a lot of money.

I get asked this question a lot and unfortunately there isn't a sure way to guarantee that it doesn't but most home inspectors are trained to look for the tell-tell signs of water damage.  Now if you want to go one step further you can hire a Certified Thermographer. 

 A thermal scan of a house uses a high end infrared camera to provide valuable information to the prospective buyer like missing insulation in walls and ceilings and possible moisture damage inside walls.

 Flat roofs?? Not a problem, infrared is a non- invasive way to find out if there is any moisture trapped under the roof membrane without cutting holes in the suspected areas and possibly not finding anything which is sometimes the case.  The thermal scan of a property is usually an additional service to the regular home inspection.   The camera can be used after a home inspection, to confirm a suspected problem.

You don't have to be a prospective Buyer to benefit from a thermograph scan.  Another great application is to determine where energy loss occurs in the house and actually pinpoint areas where you are gaining heat from outside and loosing your efficiency of the air conditioner. By doing a thermal scan of the attic space, leakage in air ducts and duct connections and be located.

 You might know of someone who has had water damage in the past.  With this nifty device owners can find out if the remediation (drying out) was properly done. They might want to know how bad the extent of the damage was/is and if the water traveled up the wall.  

 There are several organizations that certify inspectors to become Thermographers.  To find one in your area checkout the following links:

 http://www.iact-thermography.org/

 Sample SCAN:

Unless you've just come out of hibernation from the winter, you might have noticed that we have hit a bit of a "rough" patch in the real estate market.  One of the problems facing Realtors, Loan originators & borrowers a like is finding the right financing.  In the past borrowers had a plethora of programs to choose from, but now not so much.  Many of the programs of the past including no doc, stated income state assets, no money down programs borrowers either have to jump through a million hoops to get to or are no longer available. 

Of the favorite programs for credit challenged borrowers and first time homeowners the only man left standing after the debacle has been FHA programs and until March everyone was biting their finger nails awaiting the court's decision on whether programs such Nehemiah that allow the seller to contribute towards the buyer's down payment would stay in existence.  IT DID and now FHA has turned into the poster child for borrowers' dreams of obtaining reasonable financing.  Can FHA fill its new shoes?  Without some major overhaul and more staffing I seriously doubt it.  Currently if you are doing an FHA loan for purchases they are working on loans submitted 2 weeks ago and counting.  If you are trying to do a "quick close" FHA is not going to be your savior.   As a Realtor I love FHA because it helps people qualify that other wise might not.  As a taxpayer, I'm not sure I'm loving the possibility of FHA being used as a bailout as so many of these new bills call for. 

What do you guys think?

Here's a great article that goes into more detail about problems facing FHA:

 These are from an appearance on Sonoran Living Channel 15 ABC in Phoenix on  3/6/2008:

Tips to Help Sell Your Home Quicker

1.  PRICE IT RIGHT!  Unless you're living at Buckingham Palace, it SHOULDN'T be priced like one!

2.  KILL THE CLUTTER BUG!  Can't say enough about this.  You want to move, then start packing yesterday.  Pack and then pack some more.  Put as many items that you won't be using away or take to storage.   Better yet, have a Garage Sale and make some money!!  Don't forget to clean the garage too!  People should be able to open closets, vanity, kitchen cabinets and not see it full of your stuff.  If so, they will think there is no room in this house for them. 

 3.  Make it SMELL appealing:    Like Ethnic food ? Well, a lot of people don't so make sure you air out your place.  Same goes with PETS and Smoking in the House. 

4.  Think like a Buyer:  

1  Scrutinize your house.  If there is something you don't like chances are buyers won't either.  Fix it, replace it or get rid of it!

  2.  Take care of ALL minor repairs BEFORE they become a problem. 

  3.  Remove family pictures YES or NO?? Depends, photographs can be distracting to Buyers. 

5.  Mrs. Clean lives here.   Make it sparkle... you'll never have someone complain and say "Honey, I didn't like that house because it was TOO clean."

  To watch the full video segment of this show please CLICK HERE

Hope you find these useful and as always if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact your friendly AZ Realtor!

Alex

 I decided to put some information out there about what all these changes mean to homeowners since I continue to get questions on it.  Last year the President signed Bill HR 3648, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 into law.  The three major components are:

                Elimination of the "Phantom Tax" on foreclosures, short sales or other discharges of debt on a primary residence.  Under the old rules the difference of any forgiven debt, also known as a deficiency judgement in foreclosures, was taxed as income to you.  Now, taxpapers facing this situation and struggling to get back on their feet won't have to worry about paying extra $$ to Uncle Sam too.

                Tax Deduction for Mortgage Insurance premiums is now extended until December 31, 2010.  This means that if you didn't put at least 20% down payment on your home and you pay a mortgage insurance payment every month then you will still be able to claim this wonderful little tax write off. 

                The Capital Gains exclusion is now $500,000 instead of $250,000 for an unmarried individual who sells their primary residence within two years of the death of a spouse. See the Government does have a heart.  Unfortunately, with the way the markets are today I don't think many people are going to run into this problem.   

Ok, hope this helps clear things up, but if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to contact your friendly AZ Realtor!

 Alex

Good article that will explain what a "SHORT SALE" is to your clients. 

The Definitive Short Sale Article

These are from an appearance on Sonoran Living Channel 15 ABC in Phoenix on  3/6/2008:

Things Not to Do When SELLING your Home:

1.  Don't be Home.   There is a reason why this is number one on the list.  It's one of the easiest and cheapest things to do to help sell your home.  People don't feel comfortable going through your home when you are there.  Buyers will feel like they are invading your space and bothering therefore they will leave quicker without really getting to know your home.    

  2. Don't expect to get what the highest comparable in the area got PLUS your "UPGRADES." Chances are these homes already have something similar if not better than what you currently have included in their price.

  3. Don't Trim too much of the Landscaping to where it's none existent.  Nobody likes to see a "NAKED" landscape.

  4. Don't Try to play "Hard to Get" in a BUYER'S Market.  It won't work, buyers have TOO many choices and they will WALK!

  5. Don't overprice your home and put it OUT there to see if someone will buy it.  It's a waste of time for everyone involved.  If you truly want to sell it, then price it to SELL.

Don't do any of these and you will increase your chances of selling your home faster!  For more tips keep on checking this blog for update.

To watch the full video segment of this show please CLICK HERE