Tucson Real Estate Jim & Ann Henry, ABR, CIPS, GRI's Blog

Moving Up In A Down Market

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:57:13 -0700

Moving Up in a Down Market

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

October, 2008 - While owning real estate can be one of the best investments you will ever make, and also one of the last tax shelters left in America, more importantly, it's a place we call home. If you are looking to move up because of a lifestyle need or want, this is the right time to act

When the market was in an appreciating cycle, homeowners sold high and then bought high. However, in our current depreciating cycle, sellers sell lower than before, but will pay less as a buyer for their new home. Moving up in a down market makes sense.

Here's why that is true. Assume for this example that you have a home that is similar to those selling for $500,000 when inventories were low. Then assume that home prices have dropped by 15% to $425,000 as the inventory has significantly increased. Before the decline, you had your eye on some neighborhoods with homes selling for $800,000 that now are selling for 15% less at $680,000. When you sell your home based on the current market for $425,000, and then buy a home in that other neighborhood for $680,000, you have just received a positive increase of $45,000 ($120,000 less vs. $75,000 less).

As a commodity in the marketplace, homes are like ships in the harbor - they all go up and down with the tide. Interestingly enough, when the market prices are down because of high inventory... that is the best time to move up!

I am providing you graphs for each area so you can assess how the market is doing. When inventories are up compared the number of properties selling each month, there continues to be downward pressure on prices. Whenever you would like my thoughts or advice on our current market, I am ready to help.

Anthem
Apache Junction

Fountain Hills
Gilbert

Tucson Area
Central Tucson

East Tucson

North Tucson
Northeast Tucson

Extended Northwest Tucson

Extended South Tucson

Extended Southwest Tucson
Extended West Tucson
All Tucson

ISAAC ASIMOV & THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:31:45 -0700

The Star-Spangled Banner

The following is courtesy of Mr. George Paukert, aka Mr. Real Estate:

This is the story of our national anthem and how it came to be. I knew generally but not in this

detail. It is a truly wonderful story. I think you will enjoy it. It will also instill a terrific feeling of

pride in this country and what it stands for. And for the troops who are sacrificing overseas so

that we remain free. Please pass it on to all of your family and friends.

[Editor's Note - Near the end of his life the great science fiction writer Dr. Isaac Asimov wrote a

short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated

piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor...]

I have a weakness -- I am crazy absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are

difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with

as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time.

I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going

to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man

closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting.

"Thanks, Herb," I said.

"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff."

I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those

people had never heard it before - or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it

was not me; it was the anthem.

More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang

all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the

anthem and not me.

So now let me tell you how it came to be written ...

In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas.

We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather

weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the

United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia.If he won, as everyone

expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to

be involved in an American war.

At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813,

the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy

and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New

England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.

Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain

now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack.

The northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of

New England.

The southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and paralyze the west.

The central prong was to head for the mid-Atlantic states and then attack Baltimore, the greatest

port south of New York. If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast,

could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success

or failure of the central prong.

The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then

they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore.

On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled

the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.

On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in

Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the

physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release. The British captain was willing, but the

two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment

of Fort McHenry was about to start.

As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry.

Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the

fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment

ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew

above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.

As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see

which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can

you see the flag?"

After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The

Defense of Fort McHenry. " It was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone

noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" - a difficult melody

with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as

"The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United

States.

Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This

is what he asks Key:

Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.

Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

"Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a

fort. The first stanza asks a question. The second stanza gives an answer:

On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream

'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can

do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure.

In the third stanza, I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath

of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise.

During World War II, when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung.

However, I know it, so here it is:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion

A home and a country should leave us no more?

Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three

and with even deeper feeling:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,

Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,

And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a

chance, with new ears. And don't let them ever take it away.

Thank you for sharing your love of our National Anthem with us, Dr. Asimov. Happy Fourth of July to you all, and may we never take our freedom for granted. --

Ann

TUCSON SIDEWINDERS TAKE ON FRESNO TONIGHT

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:33:58 -0700

Tucson's Minor League Sidewinders will be playing their last game of June at home tonight against Fresno at TEP Park. Action gets under way at 7:00 p.m. See you there!

FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS - TUCSON AZ

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:36:13 -0700

Fourth of July fireworks displays for Tucson, Arizona and the nearby cities of Oro Valley and Marana are scheduled as follows:

TUCSON - This traditional annual event includes live music, food vendors and viewing of the "A" Mountain fireworks. Activities will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave. For further information call 520-791-4101 or visit www.tucsonconventioncenter.org.

ORO VALLEY - The celebration begins at 5:00 p.m. at Riverfront Park, 551 W. Lambert Lane. From there the viewing should be good for the fireworks display originating from the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort. For further information call 520-797-3959.

MARANA - This city's Star-Spangled Spectacular will be held at Ora Mae Harn Park, 13250 N. Lon Adams Road from 6:00 - 11:00 p.m. For further information call 520-382-1950.

SIDEWINDERS JUNE 2008 SCHEDULE

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:02:46 -0700

SUN JUNE 1 Fresno (away) 2:05 p.m.

MON JUNE 2 Fresno (away) 7:05 p.m.

TUE JUNE 3 Fresno (away) 7:05 p.m.

THU JUNE 5 Las Vegas (away) 7:05 p.m.

FRI JUNE 6 Las Vegas (away) 7:05 p.m.

SAT JUNE 7 Las Vegas (away) 7:05 p.m.

SUN JUNE 8 Las Vegas (away) 12:05 p.m.

MON JUNE 9 Sacramento (home) 7:00 p.m.

TUE JUNE 10 Sacramento (home) 7:00 p.m.

WED JUNE 11 Sacramento (home) 7:00 p.m.

THU JUNE 12 Sacramento (home) 7:00 p.m.

FRI JUNE 13 Colorado Springs (home-fireworks) 7:00 p.m.

SAT JUNE 14 Colorado Springs (home) 7:00 p.m.

SUN JUNE 15 Colorado Springs (home) 6:00 p.m.

MON JUNE 16 Colorado Springs (home) 7:00 p.m.

TUE JUNE 17 Portland (away) 7:05 p.m.

WED JUNE 18 Portland (away) 7:05 p.m.

THU JUNE 19 Portland (away) 7:05 p.m.

FRI JUNE 20 Portland (away) 7:05 p.m.

SAT JUNE 21 Las Vegas (home) 7:00 p.m.

SUN JUNE 22 Las Vegas (home) 6:00 p.m.

MON JUNE 23 Las Vegas (home) 7:00 p.m.

TUE JUNE 24 Las Vegas (home) 7:00 p.m.

THU JUNE 26 Sacramento (away) 7:05 p.m.

FRI JUNE 27 Sacramento (away) 7:05 p.m.

SAT JUNE 28 Sacramento (away) 7:05 p.m.

SUN JUNE 29 Sacramento (away) 1:05 p.m.

MON JUNE 30 Fresno (home) 7:00 p.m.

For further information call (520) 434-1021.

COMING IN LAST CAN BE A GOOD THING

Tue, 27 May 2008 17:15:11 -0700

By their own admittance, Arizonans "text messages while driving" less than the drivers of any other state in the country.

While 40% of South Carolina drivers reported that they "drive while texting," making it the highest ranking state for "texting while driving," only 17% of Arizona drivers claimed to do the same.

It's okay, Arizona. Sometimes it's good to come in last.

CHALK ONE UP FOR THE POLAR BEARS

Tue, 27 May 2008 16:59:44 -0700

Polar bears do not generally populate Tucson, Arizona, but a Tucson-based organization has made progress toward helping the polar bear to continue to populate here on Planet Earth.

When the current Bush administration recently listed the polar bear as a threatened species, Tucson's Center for Biological Diversity considered it the biggest victory in their 19-year history.

We hope the polar bears will survive because it's difficult to imagine penguins in a world without polar bears, right?

TUCSON MINOR LEAGUE THEME NIGHTS

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:16:29 -0700

If you fancy snakes and baseball, you'll love the Sidewinders, Tucson's Minor League baseball team. Enjoy special Theme Nights every night of the week:

Meatball Mondays

All you can eat spaghetti and meatballs, salad & roll for $7 for adults and $5 for kids ages 3-12 (does not include admission.

$2 Tuesdays

Stop by any Quik Mart location for a $2 ticket coupon and enjoy $2 taco specials at the ballpark.

Wacky Wednesdays

Wackiest on-field promotions ever during every other inning. Win prizes as everyone is entertained.

Thirsty Thursdays

Enjoy $1 beer, lemonade and soft drinks for 2 hours after the first pitch.

Fireworks Fridays

Bring your whole family to catch a fantastic display of fireworks following the game.

Souvenir Saturdays

Be one of the first 1,500 fans (with paid admission) through the gate to receive a free souvenir.

$1 Hot dog Sundays

$1 Hot dogs for everyone, sponsored by Hebrew National.

Sidewinders games are played at Tucson Electric Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way, Tucson, Arizona.

For tickets or further information, call 520-434-1021 or consult the Sidewinder web site: www.tucsonsidewinders.com

All games, home and away, will be broadcast on COOL 1450-AM and simulcast around the world via streaming audio on: www.tucsonsidewinders.com.

We Zonis love our reptiles!