The chart below shows the 3-Year Trend in the Ratio of Selling Price to Asking Price for the Prescott Area. The chart shows that the ratios run from a low of 91% in March of 2011 to highs to a range of 94% to 96% most of the time. As our inventory of homes dropped in the last few months of 2011, the ratios are near 95.5%.

This chart can be interpreted to mean that a Buyer can reasonably expect to pay between 90% and 100% of the asking price. A home that is priced to sell quickly can sometimes attract enough potential buyers that the selling price could actually be above the list price. On the other hand, an overpriced home can often be purchased at a price considerably below the 90% mark.

The real estate market in Prescott, Arizona is getting a little healthier. This chart below shows that equity sales are returning to around the same higher fraction they were in the last half of 2009.The chart also shows that short sales are only slightly higher at around 12% in the last couple of months while the 3-year average is close to 9%. The encouraging trend is that the sales of REOs (foreclosures) has decreased from a high of 50% to around 32% for the last couple of months. I think Prescott is a healthier market than many other parts of Arizona.

The real estate market in Prescott, Arizona is getting a little healthier. The pie chart below shows that 53.5 percent of the sales in December of 2012 were regular (equity) sales. REOs (foreclosures) were 34.2 percent and short sales were 12.3 percent. This is a continuing improvement in that a larger percentage of our sales were equity sales.

Arizona's Republican Legislature could virtually wipe out public employee unions in a sweeping new package of legislation far broader than the collective-bargaining bills that shut down Wisconsin's Capitol last spring. 

The bills would:

-Make it illegal for government bodies to collectively bargain with employee groups. Public safety unions would be included in the ban.

--End the practice of automatic payroll deductions for union dues. 

--Ban compensation of public employees for union work.

Wisconsin's collective bargaining law enacted last year made unions effectively irrelevant by limiting issues that could be bargained by a government and an employee group. Arizona's bills would do away with collective bargaining entirely and also go beyond Wisconsin law by including public safety unions.

Coupled with Gov. Jan Brewer's plan to do away with civil-service protections  for state employees, the new legislation could make Arizona ground zero for union protests during this election year.

The Goldwater Institute  worked with state lawmakers to draw up the bills. The libertarian think tank has churned out research and reports over the past few years highlighting what it views as excesses in public-sector employment.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was the guest of honor at Goldwater's annual dinner last November. Walker had some advice for Arizona legislators when I interviewed him on "Sunday Square Off."

The package of bills is scheduled for a hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday before the Senate Government Reform Committee.

I suggest that preemptive preparations be made to prevent the destruction of the Arizona State Capital as was done in Wisconsin.

I am in a transaction now wherein the subject property is in an incorporated area, but is rural by every other standard. The home is on over 6 acres, is on a well and a septic system.

The buyer, whom I represent went to a lender in California for a loan on the subject property which is in Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona.  The subject property is a short sale and has been challenging.

It took around four months to get our offer accepted by the lenders holding the first and second mortgages. Negotiating with them has been time-consuming and tedious.

We have asked for around three extensions to the close of escrow. Of course, each time there is an addendum to extend we need to gather around six or seven signatures while many of the parties are out of town and travelling.

The Buyer's lender WF in California is now asking for a "Condition of Property - Transfer Disclosure Statement" which we do not use in Arizona.

If it were up to Obama and his administration, every American would be dependent on the US Government.

Dr. Terry Lovell, "Professor of Freedom" in Prescott, Arizona delivers a STUNNING Message: No More welfare!

Dr. Lovell teaches Business and Math at Yavapai College. He is a much sought after speaker in the Prescott Area.

Dr. Lovell partners with Quang Nguyen to make PatriotNetworkTV happen on Youtube. Quang produces the videos in which Dr. Lovell delivers the message.

Quang is a video star and a true hero in his own right. Check out his video that honors American Veterans.

Quang Nguyen Thanks Vietnam Veterans at the Prescott Valley Freedom Rally

Dr. Lovell made a historic video:

Obama and Holder taking on Arizona's SB1070

This video has been seen almost 5,000,000 times. Check it out!

Agenda 21, Sustainability is an absolutely scary UN Plan to establish their agenda. It is built around the idea that we must transform America into a new way of seeing things.  The people at FreedomAdvocates.org have the best documentation on this. They show a three overlapping circles labeled with Environment, Equity and Economy.

These three "E" pathways will become the way they bring us down. 

Environmentalism has been used effectively lately to bring enormous pieces of our economy to a screeching halt. The EPA, ESA and other branches of government have all but stopped oil and gas exploration in the USA. The Coal industry is also taken a beating. The exploitation of environmental issues is one of the biggest JOB KILLERS in our country today.

The word Equity indicates the concept of wealth redistribution that is a part of our news every day. This is the moving force behind the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

Everyone knows that the collapse of our nation's economy, or the world's economy, for that matter, will bring on unbelievable chaos.

Give a little thought to these three. Isn't it OBVIOUS how far we have already been taken down these paths?

The GOOFY, GREEDY and the GULLIBLE groups in the title have been co-opted to enable politicians to stay in power. A few environmental extremists value nature above man. I think they are really GOOFY. I too am concerned about our environment and want to see it preserved as best we can.  However I believe in a balance of what is lost along with what is gained should be considered in each element of environmental policy. The GULLIBLE are those who are drawn into the argument by the really GOOFY people making suckers of the unbelievably GULLIBLE people.

The GREEDY people seek to profit from manipulation of situations and circumstances that even they themselves create. For example, how many of the GREEDY people sold stock short in anticipation of the S&P downgrade? How many GULLIBLE people believed that it is OK to keep spending the way BOTH parties have done.

The idea of wealth redistribution suckers even more GULLIBLE people into believing that they will be better off if the rich producers and generators of wealth are required to give up much of what they have in order to provide for the non-productive members of our society. Wealth redistribution results in what one major radio host refers to as "trickle up poverty."

The mainstream media totally capitalizes on the GOOFY, GREEDY and the GULLIBLE people to satisfy their own GREEDY needs for sensationalism and ratings.

I believe we will ALL be ruled by the GOOFY, GREEDY and the GULLIBLE people if we who are able to reason our way through the rhetoric and hype do not wake up and take a stand against these forces.

What are YOU doing to counter the influence of the GOOFY, GREEDY and the Gullible? They will rule us unless we rise up, take action and educate our neighbors.

I sometimes sell properties that are remote and not close to on-the-grid power.  The homes are often cabins or manufactured homes and the cost of a solar system represents a significant portion of the cost. I have one such property in escrow as I am writing this. I am representing the Buyer.  We had inspections done a couple of weeks ago. The solar system inspector came back with a quote of around $7,000 to "repair" the existing system. Neither Buyer nor Seller were willing to absorb this cost, so the escrow "got stuck."

Today, I took a solar power specialist friend to the site to get a second opinion. His verdict is that the system is performing as designed and only needs minor adjustments to bring it's performance up to its potential. Another point my friend made is that since these are basically recreational properties, the systems that are often installed do not match the lifestyle expectations of the new owners.

I have one cabin listed that has a solar system that produces 12 volts DC power and uses light fixtures from an RV supply house. There is not even a place to plug in a radio in this cabin. This was fine for the single man who lived alone in the cabin, but will probably NOT be OK with a new owner.

I learned a lot today on this trip with my solar specialist friend. Here are some of the things I learned.

I learned that the goals of the solar inspection should be clearly understood by both the Buyer and the Seller. That is, should the inspection determine that the system is in good working condition, or should it be evaluated for the adequacy of the design? I believe this should be spelled out in the Purchase Contract so both the Buyer and Seller understand the implications.

• How many people will live in the home? Will the getaway have extra friends or family coming to stay occasionally?

• How large are the appliances? How many appliances are there?

• Does the home have a propane refrigerator?

• I also learned that a design that includes a self-starting motor-generator is one of the best "bang for the buck" components of a good installation. The motor-generator can handle peak loads and will reduce the capacity requirements of the solar system.

I also learned that I will call on my solar power specialist friend during the negotiations on my next contract involving solar power.

A few weeks ago, when I thought my health was fine, I made a routine visit to my Cardioligist to get an EKG and ultrasound. On reviewing the results, he immediately set me an appointment to do it again as a stress test on a treadmill. As soon as we finished, he made me an appointment to get a cardiac catheterization (angiogram, I think). At that time he told me to be prepared that I might need to stay overnight in the hospital to get a stent.

So I went for the cardiac catheterization. That was not real scary as they drugged me up pretty good. Then I had a visit from Dr. Lee, a great cardiac surgeon. He informed me that I had to stay in the hospital, not for the stent, but for open heart surgery, a tripple bypass. He told me that the coronary artery in the front of my heart was 90% occluded and the occlusion was at a branch in the artery and the stent would not work.

I had to wait for an extra day until my surgery. I remember waking up and thinking to myself, "well, today is the day for the surgery." However that morning when I woke up, the surgery had already been done! I did not have any time to worry about it.

I was in the hospital for a total of six days, three of which I was walking in the halls of the hospital. At the end of the six days I transferred to a rehabilitation facility. At the end of the day, I was wheeled in a wheelchair to a small dining room for supper. At that time, I experienced a 12-year WARP experience. I went into the hospital at 68 and at the moment I came into the dining room I became 80. There were about ten people in the dining room. All were in wheelchairs except for one who was in a walker.

The next morning I got completely dressed and walked to the dining room for the entire rest of the time I was there. I later learned that the rehab facility was also a hospice facility. In the back room there were quite a few permanent residents who were being fed by waitstaff who rode around on 5-leged stools. In the hallway there were TVs and some of the residents sat in reclining wheelchairs to watch TV all day. I vowed to myself while I was there that I would watch my diet and my health carefully so I do not go through this process. I want to be running, walking, or sleeping when I die!

I thank God that the doctors found and fixed my heart before it was catestropic. God also brought me through everything with no fear whatever.

At the time of this writing, it has been nine weeks since my surgery. I still have some rehabilitation to do and some time when I will not be 100%, but I am doing great at a new 60 years and am back to work doing Real Estate.

I am especially happy to be doing real estate. It is a career with no age limits!