Normally here... in beautiful Green Valley, Arizona, we are dodging the frequent cooling scattered showers that we know as the "monsoon season".  Routinely every summer usually beginning about July 4th to about the 6th or 7th of September, we are blessed with the very pleasant and entertaining spectacle of the monsoons.  This year we are down about one third of the expected rainfall by this time year to date.  Along with the anticipated moisture usually there is an accompanying electrical lightning storm.  Laura loves to sit on the front porch and watch the show.  Quite often the lightning puts on a spectacular display.

However, this year is a strange year for weather period.  I was reading that Chicago had been averaging 69 to 70 degrees ....which is the coldest summer average temperature in over 65 years.   Well, there is still time left to have more rainfall before the middle of September.
We are all waiting for it.  In the meantime, it has been a sensational summer for outdoor sports and hiking-not to mention just plain old sightseeing.

We just got back from a day trip yesterday to Bisbee.  It is an old mining town just south of Tombstone.  Laura and I took some folks to Dot's Diner.  It is a great 50's diner that was moved from California, installed in Bisbee along with a caravan of Air Stream trailers that are configured into a bed and breakfast.  Dot's serves great burgers and breakfast in the small vintage diner...I did cheat on my diet and had one of their sensational old time chocolate malts complete with whip cream and a cherry!   There are so many fun places to visit once you are situated here and find out where they are.

The real estate market is picking up here.  We have closed two houses recently.  It is turning out to be a much better year than last year for the real estate market here in Green Valley.  Well, I hope you will visit us on our website:  www.greenvalleyazsearch.com (I will save the statistics for you next month)  We look forward to meeting you personally...and perhaps show you a home or two!!!

It is our sincere desire that everyone throughly enjoyed this years Independence Day celebration.  We actually worked with some clients, who are great people and we really enjoyed their company.... then afterwards, we spent the rest of the afternoon with some other friends partaking in a traditional hamburger and hot dog affair. Wow, 233 years of freedom...that seems like a long time, yet on the other hand, it seems like a very short time in the scope of history.  I sincerely hope we can maintain our freedom and independence.  We are most certainly living in a period of real uncertainty and instability.  So when you can at least stabilize your housing situation it is a wise thing to do.  Our housing market in Green Valley is seeminly holding steady.  After all, this is July, our monsoon season is in full bloom....that means some sprinkles and some temperature relief.

Our daily inventory stands at 781, which is about normal for this time of year.  Calendar year sales from 2008 to 2009 to date have us at 707 homes sold.  In the same time period from 2007 to 2008, 896 homes were sold.  So with these figures to ponder, I am quite happy at the way that the numbers are unfolding.  We are happy to report that the wonderful couple we met on the 4th, have become friends and future Green Valley neighbors.  We heartily welcome them to our community.   Please visit us at our website;  www.greenvalleyazsearch.com   We would love to hear from you!

Weather wise, this year in Green Valley has been quite spectacular to say the least.  Ususally June is our warmest month,  but June has been quite a bit milder this year, reminding me of last year's June abnormailly mild June.  And of course this means, it has also been a great year for hiking, golf, tennis, birding, or just about anything else that relates  to outdoor activities.  You could always add, that has been a great June to sight see and or just kick back and relax.

Our single family, townhome, and condo inventory stands at 783 today.  That is quite a bit lower number than the 9 hundred or so that has been the common denominator for  the last 2 years.  Well, there have been and still are some great deals to be gotten here.  We have been fortunate to be able to help out a number of people to find some great prices on some really great homes in some outstanding neighborhoods.   And of course, the really well priced homes have been selling quite well as expected in this market  There have been 362 homes sold in our Green Valley MLS since the 1st of the year.  In the previous calendar year to date we had 675 home sales.  While, in the 2007 to 2008 calendar year to date, 842 homes had been sold.

Green Valley typically is not burdened with a high percentage of foreclosure properties.  The reason is because our market caters to active adult living ( I heard other realtors commenting that we were in the Forbes best 10 places in America to retire). We have, as well, a nice mixture of single family, condo, and townhomes in our non age restricted areas.  Fortunately, we are more of a destination spot and not as prone to the explosive or rapidly decreasing growth rates.  Come check us out at our website:  www.greenvalleyazsearch.com , or give us a call and let us know when you are coming to town.  We would love to show you around.

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 also 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 for Italian, you may want to visit Ragazzi's on Esperanza.  Also, Florentino's on Duval or Trivetti's on Continental.

If you are visiting the recreation centers, the Coyote Grill at the San Igncaio Golf Club is great as well as the Grill at Canoa Ranch Golf Course.  Please don't forget the Grill at Quail Creek because they have great food also.

Well, you have notice I have neglected to mention Chinese food.  One might choose China Vics in the Continental Center.  You might also like China View off of Esperanza. Also, there is a Panda Restaurant in the Basha's Shopping Center.  And finally, top off your meal with a Dairy Queen at Duvall Mine Road or Kokopelli's Gelato on Continental Road.

Now that you have enjoyed a relaxing meal here, give us a call and buy a home in Green Valley.  Find us at our website:  www.greenvalleyazsearch.com

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.  Boy, does that brings back a lot of great memories.  This year the March phenomenum 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 some of the proposed changes. But how easily the real estate market can be impacted by proposed changes. I will briefly touch on just one of them.   What we need to see in the market place is the mortgage deduction to remain free from political compromise.  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 deduce the amount of interest that you pay on your principal. The mortgage deduciton must remain a tax deduction equally available to all....That means no discrimation by economic status!  This principle provides a strong incentive for all people to invest in home ownership.  And of course, home mortgage interest deductibility provides a healthy influence for our society.

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 would obviously follow that you could deduce that type of negative idea would promote  a very damaging new direction for the housing market.  In other words, NO ONE COULD BE ASSUSRED THAT THEIR INDIVIDUAL INCOME LEVEL MIGHT NOT SEE THEIR INTEREST DEDUCTABILITY IN PERIL!  This is just one of the reasons for some of the continued doubt or lack of confidence  in the housing market. Of course there are many other factors.

However, if you are looking for a place to settly down, and have cash or are qualified by a lender, then for you this is a great market!  In the Green Valley, Arizona market, between 2007 and 2008 we had 1009 sales in our local MLS.  Within the same time period of 2008 to date in 2009. we have had 735 sales in the Green Valley MLS.  This is about a 28% difference.  The availability of new housing also provides a great opportunity for homebuyers to our area.  We love this area and look forward to helping any of you that are looking for a great place to live!  Visit us at our wesite:  www.greenvalleyazsearch.com

Of course we have experienced this years Valentine's Day.  I do believe that it is important to remember that special person or psersons in our lives and 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 was flowers, perfume, candy or some other type of present or nice gesture, it is almost a certainly that it was very well received.  From personal experience, I can say it was worth the effort.  I had my list and say it through to completion.

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"(whichmeans 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 quite a bit above expectation, especially considering everything that is going on.

Out 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 2008 until 2009. 758 units were sold.  The active number of units available today is at 966, which has become an average type figure for daily housing availability.  I am thankful because I do see well priced properties surprisingly moving at a rapid pace; and dI do not mean just foreclosures or short sales.  So that is a very good sign for our market.  As you know, you can not extrpolate real estate generalizations, in entirety, from one local market to another.  Local markets may have similar up and down trends in general, but are still site, location, and economically relative.  We do enjoy this area so much, and if any of you or your clients are interested, please check out our website at:  www.greenvalleyazsearch.com or just igive us a call!

You can go for a score or just punt!  Well, I have to admit that in the last blog, I got a little overwhelmed or seemingly frustrated by the  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.  I believe 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 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 in 2004.  They certainly did not want to panic any of us because they refused to alert the public and just let the abuses continue until it involved enough of the economy to facilitate a disaster.  Also, the banking industry was allowed to speculate in paper instead of sticking to the more tradtional aspects of conservative banking( repealing the Glass-Speigel act around 1994).  I won't even get into the bad debt and high risk agenda forced on the banks by the Community Reinvestment Act(greatly expanded under Clinton).  That entity needs to fade into history.  Until these issues have been addressed in a real comprehensive manner overall economic housing growth will not be robust. 

But does it mean that this real estate market and the whole economy will be horrible for years?  I think only idiots would say that;  because nobody knows how long it will take for everything to be "peach keen" again.  But for right now,  for all of you that are out there that are considering the purchase of a home.....now, is an exceptionally good time.  We have mentioned before that housing prices in our great area are at or below replacement value.  The means the intrinsic value for housing is great for buyers.  How long will the prices stay repressed?  I don't know....but trying to time the market in real estate is like trying to time the Dow......sounds easy, but not that easily done,...successfully that is!

We live in a fantastic area, and Arizona is the second fastest growing state at the moment.  So, if you need any information about our area, visit our website: www.greenvalleyazsearch.com  or just give us a call!

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 the natural disasters that face many of our citizens across the country. There are 953 homes on the market in our mls today. We had sold 772 homes in a one year period from 2008 to the present. While, from 2207 to 2208 in the same time period we sold 1013 homes. It looks like a
24% decline in sales. Considering that the inventory is leveling out, that is not too awful of a position to begin a slow climb. Many areas, of course, are in a lot more negative position. Arizona continues to be a sought after state for relocation. That is another positive factor.

So, I will do my part to remain solidly optimistic. Check out our site at: www.greenvalleyazsearch.com and give us some consideration if you are relocating. We would love to have you as neighbors.

Since this is the most celebrated time of the year, I must try to count some of my blessings this year, 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 negative surprises they brought, opportunity also came along for the ride.  At least, it is obvious to me that they need some regulation and a sobering look at how they arrive at the criteria for creating their loan programs.  Considering they need to massively tighten up the qualifications for determining the eligibility of their loan prospects.  Along with that, some serious evaluation and redirection for the banking industry is in tall order...the banks themselves need to get back to banking and forget their emphasis on speculation.

As realtors we are concerned about all the aspects of the home industry...not just sales, but sales that will tend to lead the direction of fostering responsible growth.  In Green Valley, Arizona our mls inventory is at 981 units avaiable on the market today.  This has been a pretty level number for the last 2 months and that, of course, is a positive signal.  In the calendar period from January 2nd of this year until the 10th of December, we have had 754 sales.  In the same calendar period in 2007, we accomplished 961 sales in our Green Valley, MLS.  That translates to about a 22% decline from the 2007 period to the corresponding 2008 period.  Considering the heighth and the breadth of the revelations that have shaken the world economy, that is not that bad of a launching point.  It is now evolving into our busy season, and I look forward to more positive momentum in our area, hopefully making 2009 a great year for real estate.  You can see all the homes in our beautiful area on our website: www.greenvalleyazsearch.com.  We are also looking forward to enjoying the rest of this year and hope all of you will do likewise.

We have all survived the hysteria created after the JP Morgan and the others scenario, the AIG thing, followed by the housing and the bank fiasco, and finally the election and its potential implications....WOW!!!

That gives me reason, along with the other obvious ones, to get excited about sitting down for the traditional holiday meal with all of our families and friends. This is indeed something to be grateful for. As far as real estate is concerned, with the passing of the election as well as the other crisies, I believe we will begin to finally see some sales land and hopefully they will initiate some momentum.....at least in a positive direction.

A conversation occured today between another local realtor and myself concerning a particular area here in Green Valley, Arizona. He had asked me about the status of a listing that Laura and I had around the corner from his listing. I told him that I was fortunate to have sold our listing. He was a little surprised, as his listing was still on the market and it currently is priced at about $85 a square foot. It is a 20 year old home and is in a very well kept condition. I am confident at that price, he should not have to wait much longer for a buyer. As for our area here in Green Valley, I do not think prices will go much lower, but of course, we all would like to see the number of buyers increase.

So Laura and I will be faithfully anticipating a great Thanksgiving holiday....I do not think anyone could handle or wish to handle any more of these catastrphic events that we have all had to experience. I hope we can all look forward to things improving slowly over the long run. I sincerely wish all of you a great Thanksgiving.
Visit us at our website: www.greenvalleyazsearch.com.