Phoenix Central Core Real Estate & Investments

Home Sales Increase Over 4,000% in Greater Phoenix.

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:13:30 -0800

If these are not affordable then I just don't know what is. A newer 1,400sf home built after 2000 for less then $100,000 in a popular area of the valley with very good prospects.

Sales of homes under $100,000 went up 4,395% over last year. Yes, that is four thousand three hundred ninety five percent. Sales of homes from $100,000 to $125,000 went up 1,690% over last year.

Continue reading the article at our blogsite.

Central Phoenix Home Search by Map Un-serioused.

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:56:15 -0800

Phoenix Home Search

This is a sample of a postcard going out to 10,000 +/- 9,750 homes. I was just a bit tired of being serious, but, none the less our Phoenix Home Search is that good.

6 Reasons To Buy Real Estate Against The Crowd

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:08:45 -0800

Warren Buffett recently said that he gets scared when people get greedy and he gets greedy when people are scared and people are now scared, and he probably knows a thing or two, and I have a hunch he is right, especially when you look at all the times -previous market cycle downturns- a very few people got wealthy while others were drowning in fear, self loathing, complaining and bickering, especially on the tele.

In studying all the other market corrections and human psychology we see a clear pattern, a pattern which is quite predicable and can be used to an advantage by those who are conscious and in a position to do so.

Prices are ridiculously low...

Continue reading the article.

The Olympus Condos Central Corridor in Phoenix

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:03:24 -0700

The Olympus is an interesting condo complex with Romanesque architecture detail on the interior and exterior: some call it an architectural gem and it may be so: it's certainly not a common condo complex.

The Olympus is a complex of 36 condominiums with a average square footage of 1,489 square feet. It was built in 1964 but it's been well cared for and many of the units have been remodeled in different styles. A common remodel now is to leave the barreled concrete ceilings bare and raw leaving the viewer in awe at this architectural detail. These are also modern and contemporary lofts.

Continue Reading, see units for sale and photos.

Introducing An Ongoing Series At Phoenix Market Trends: Urban Bike

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:59:35 -0700

Phoenix Market Trends explores the Phoenix valley pedling through the steets.

When I first picked up Hoozdo magazine I was intrigued but then I got an idea based on the regular Urban Hike articles. Since I enjoy riding my road bike so much and I also like exploring cities I figured I can combine the two into an ongoing series called "Urban Bike"

Continue Reading the article and see recent "Urban Bike" posts.

New Vs. Resale Home Sales in Greater Phoenix

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:52:08 -0700

Sales, permits and demand is down for new homes: and that is a good thing. We don't need more inventory in the market and there are plenty of resale homes which are virtually new: with some being less then a year old. Many of these are REO properties or lender owned properties which represent a very large part of that sales market in many parts of the Phoenix valley.

The chart below represents 4 points for each year since 2003 for new and re-sale home sales. The numbers are a combination of both single family home and condo sales in Maricopa County not just the ARMLS.

Continue reading the article and see the graph.


	Is the Phoenix Real Estate Market Overcompensating?
	Greater Phoenix average price has retreated back to 2003: before the run up.


	Phoenix Real Estate Market Trends Overview \| Housing Market
	Current and Historic graphs of the real estate market in Greater Phoenix

Just Because It's As Is Does Not Mean You Don't Do An Inspection

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:51:14 -0700

Phoenix REO properties and due dilligence.

The large supply of lender owned or REO homes are priced--in most cases--to sell. Lenders don't know much about a home so don't expect a seller property disclosure statement (SPDS) and DO expect to be buying the home "AS IS", WHERE IS".

That means that the lender is very unlikely to do any sort of repairs for you. Still, this should not stop you from doing an inspection. In fact, you should do an inspection because it is a non-owner occupied and lender owned home.

These homes are usually in need of some repairs and often lots of repairs. Although there are an increasing number of home where the lenders have put in money to make them move in ready. But, there are additional threats to homes that sit vacant.

Continue Reading the rest of the article.

East Sunnyslope Near the Phoenix Mountains Preserve

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:49:11 -0700

On the East Size of Sunnyslope right along the west foothills of the Phoenix Mountains is an area which may surprise many: especially those who harbor a false view of Sunnyslope as a bad area.

Drive up 16th St. from Northern then take the small streets north along the hillside and you'll see an amazing mix of home: many were custom built while others like the 50's ranch homes sit amongst some quite appealing mid-century modern houses.

SEE All Homes For Sale In East Sunnyslope

Continue Reading The Article

The Hidden Value of Water Meters In Phoenix Multi-family Properties

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:44:40 -0700

The value of separate meters on a property cannot be underestimated. Most multifamily properties have one meter for water and maybe separate meters for electricity: in small multifamily properties is normal to have individual electric meters but it's uncommon to have the same with water: that's probably why its often missed.

Below we'll compare two similar properties: one with separate water meters and one with a master water meter and the affects on income and the property value using a cap rate for evaluation. This is just a simple evaluation to make a point.

The properties are very similar: the rents collected from the tenants are the within 5 dollars of each other on average so we'll just use the same rents for the sake of being clear. Also, since other expenses vary like taxes, insurance, maintenance and landscaping we'll reduce the analysis to the water, sewer and trash expenses since the other expenses have no bearing on our topic.

Continue reading and see examples.

Homes and Neighborhoods Surrounding the Phoenix Mountains Preserve

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:38:01 -0700

Live near the Phoenix central valley and near a natural mountain preserve with homes for every budget.

The Preserve by the Phoenix Mountains

The Phoenix Mountains Preserve offers mountain bikers, road bikers, hikers, walkers and admirers of the desert mountains a setting for expression and indulgent. It's difficult to get bored especially if you're willing to explore the preserve using a multitude of transportation modes: there is the low valley where from the midst the city is not visible to Piestewa Peak where the entire Phoenix valley exposes itself in panoramic glory and during sunrise or sunset it bursts with spectacular warm light.

Continue Reading The Article.

Madison Meadows in North Central Phoenix | Central Phoenix Homes For Sale

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:31:14 -0700

With a mixture of architectural styles that lends diversity and interest, this neighborhood has a lot going for it besides being on one of the most popular and desirable corridors in Phoenix: theCentral Corridor . From the nicely built name stone built br

Madison Meadows | Phoenix Central Corridor

Madison Meadows is a small subdivision of 59 homes, 58 of which have pools. The average home size is 3,480. This is a newer subdivision compared to some of the others along the Central Corridor: homes here were built from 1977 on. That's partially why the lot sizes are smaller then the older ares but still at about a third of an acre.

Many of he neighborhoods in central phoenix feature curving streets. This was a common characteristic which went away for may years only to be revived by some of the newer subdivisions around the valley.

Continue Reading The Rest of The Article.

Luxury Phoenix Valley Home Inventory Increases Making Competition For Buyers Fierce

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:24:46 -0700

Home sales in the price range of $1 million dollars plus is s completely different market from the starter home segment and the move up segment but it's not beyond the reach of the current financial slow down.

Luxury home sales were pretty good even while the other segments suffered in sales and saw huge price declines.

While prices continue to decline -but at a much slower pace - for both starter and move-up homes the luxury home market has been forced into deep competition with itself.

There is simply a tremendous amount of inventory out there giving the few buyers a amazing amount of leverage and choice. The most telling comparison is total active listings to the amount of listings sold and the resulting days of inventory: the days of inventory ranges from 834 for the $1-$1.5 million dollar segment to 1,635 days of inventory for the $3 million dollar plus range.

Continue Reading the Article.

Small Multi-family Apartments in Central Phoenix

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:28:19 -0700

Small Multi-family Apartments in Central Phoenix

North Central Phoenix offers many multifamily properties like four-plexes or similar which not only make very good investments but are alternatives to owning a house or a condo.

Central Phoenix is one of the best places for living in the valley. That's part of why the median price is $290,000 and homes go up to well over $1,000,000. It's the central location, the abundance of shopping, entertainment, jobs and excelling schools -like the Madison Schools district - that make this area so desirable.

The same reasons that make this a popular area for home owners makes it one of the best areas for investors not only in homes but in small and medium sized apartment buildings.

The desirability means higher rents and lower vacancy: both physical and economic vacancy but, it also means that the price for the properties is higher.

Examples of small to medium multifamily properties in Central Phoenix

What is For Sale:

Because this is such a good area for rentals, rarely are properties available for sale: at least the best ones: they are rarely sold because there has to be really good reason to sell like a change in plans or lifestyle and need to reposition fund to increase the return or other similar reasons. They do once in a while show up for sale and it's usually worth the wait if you're looking for a premium property.

Take a look at small investment multifamily properties for sale in North Central Phoenix.

Prices and recent sales:

Prices have a wide range. It depends a lot on the sub-market within Central Phoenix. For instance properties south of Camelback and East of Central usually sell for less: as little as $50,000 per unit but multifamily properties along Rose Lane can sell for as much as $130,000 per unit.

Rental rates and vacancy:

Rents range widely and often depend on the individual motivation and management of a property. In the better areas one bedroom apartment range from $500 up to $650: 2 bedroom apartment range from the low $600 and go up to $1,000 for units with a small yard which is not uncommon. Some even have pools and other amenities. Well cared for properties get a premium. It's not always necessary to completely update properties. Some owners have taken advantage of the popularity of mid-century modern and left most of everything original: but its still clean and in tip top shape.

Central Phoenix Owner Occupied 2-4 plexes.

If you drive the area and view multifamily properties it will often be difficult to distinguish a single family home from a triplex or fourplex. On some of the properties that we have prospective tenants called from a sign assuming its a house: that's very common. This similarity is because quite a few multifamily properties are owner occupied in part and some owner have been there a long time.

Imagine a triplex with one large 1,200 sf unit and two smaller units each with a small yard and covered parking and for $350,000 while homes sell for a similar or slightly higher price, only that your two extra units provide you an income of $1,300. Reduce that $1,300 by the water, sewer and trash and it's $1,210.

If your payment on the property is $2,032 reduce it by $1,300 and it's $732.00 plus taxes and insurance and you can see the benefits. Add to this that each month about $425.00 goes toward the principal plus you get partial interest write off and partial depreciation and you start to see the benefits over renting a place or even buying a condo or a house.

Do you have questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us.


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Focus on Paradise Valley Housing Market | September 2008

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:23:31 -0700

Focus on Paradise Valley Housing Market | September 2008

Paradise Valley home sales hit a long time low and inventory exceeds 1,000 days.

Paradise Valley is having a hard time with its stock of homes. The total inventory of 500 active homes exceeds 1,000 days of supply. This is extreme in any sense.

It means that sellers will have to compete fiercely for the few buyers out there. In September there were only 15 buyers: down from 17 last month: down from 20 last year.

Pending sales are down as well to 14 from 16 last month. This means that probably the situation won't improve in the next report.

I won't mention the medium price not the changes because there are just too few sales and the sales so varied that any number even when compared to previous months won't be accurate.

The per square foot data is a bit more accurate and in September the sold per square foot price was $369.20 down from $467.09 last year and $568.73 two years ago.

This is good news for the buyers who are looking in Paradise Valley and it is a good time to look with such a good choice of homes and lower prices.

^{(all data is taken from the ARMLS and partly processed by The Cromford Report - the chart shows sales for September 2008 while all other dat mentioned is for Sept. 02 to Oct. 02)}

There is usually an increase in sales for the winter season in Paradise Valley and luxury homes in general so we'll see what the market brings.

One thing is for sure, sellers cannot rely on the old way of doing things and an agents face in multiple magazines will not sell a home: rather, a systematic approach which focuses on marketing the home and exposing it to as many qualified potential buyers.


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Greater Phoenix REO Properties: The Unbeatable Competition

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:17:26 -0700

Greater Phoenix REO Properties: The Unbeatable Competition

Real Estate Owned sales dominate or take a significant part of the Phoenix home sales market making it very difficult for others to sell.

REO sales dominate the market...

The chart below shows Real Estate Owned (REO) sales by city in the last month. The totals include single family homes and condos recorded with the Maricopa County Assessor Office.

Looking at how high the sales are of REO properties makes it easy to understand why a seller not in a distressed situation simply has no way to compete with these properties being sold for prices often not seen in over a decade.

To give you just one example out of thousands. A client asked me to establish a price for a home she has had since the mid 1980's. It's a normal home in good condition. It was purchased for $87,000 and valued at $210,000 during the peak. The situation for selling is not as important as what she can ask to be able to compete with the REO properties out there.

There are 12 competing properties. 9 are REO and range in price from $90.000 to $111,000 and 3 are normal (not distressed sellers) asking from $145,000 to $169,000. Recent sales include only REO properties.

Assuming the normal average apprecation, her home should-reasonably, be worth $180,000 at 3% appreciation which is below the actual average. What is it worth if the competition is priced at $90-$111K because that is the price being paid.

Unless her home offers much more in value via condition of location that is the value range. So it's now not only people who got these stupid obnoxious unreasonable loans suffering but even people who invested with prudence patience and frugality.

City	Percentage of Total Sales
Avondale	59%
Buckeye	27%
Cave Creek	19%
Chandler	26%
El Mirage	71%
Fountain Hills	17%
Gilbert	25%
Glendale	49%
Goodyear	36%
Laveen	40%
Litchfield Park	56%
Mesa	36%
Peoria	33%
Phoenix	42%
Queen Creek (only Maricopa county)	40%
Scottsdale	20%
Sun City	9%
Sun City West	7%
Surprise	41%
Tempe	14%
Tolleson	56%

^{(Maricopa County date processed by The Cromford Report)}


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	Current and Historic graphs of the real estate market in Greater Phoenix

The Preserve Area | 85028 Homes On The North Foothills of the Phoenix Mountain

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:11:16 -0700

The Preserve Area | 85028 Homes On The North Foothills of the Phoenix Mountain

Driving up I-51 just a pass through the middle of the Phoenix Mountains to the North West is a small cove surrounded by the preserve. Few people go there except for the residents: few of the individual communities are gated so it's not the reason: it's simply secluded and that seclusion is part of what makes this such a wonderful area but, that's not all.

The preserve area is collection of small communities that hug the mountain side. All homes here are custom and mixed in style from the eclectic modern to soft Tuscan: ranch and Santa Barbara can also be seen along with some contemporary home. So for such a small area it's distinctly diverse in architecture. There are very few Tuscan homes which seem to have flooded the market in the last decade to obscene levels.

This is a luxury community with homes reaching toward a million dollars and many surpassing it but it's not pompous or overly showy and the homes are human sized: no McMansions here.

What most homes have are beautiful city and mountains views. To the South one can't miss Piestewa Peak (formerly Squaw Peak), to the East the view stretches to the McDowell Mountains and even Pinnacle Peak glows beautifully in the setting sun. Pinnacle Peak may be beautiful if you live there and work in Phoenix you have a long drive: this is definitely not a problem with the Preserve area. Just jump on the I-51 and the valley is in the grasp of you hands.

Of course, for those of you who enjoy more then looking at the beautiful scenes the Phoenix Mountain Preserve offers dozens of miles of hiking and biking trails. It's a neighborhood that truly offers balance.

Below are all the homes for sale in the Preserve area. Just select the one of interest to get more details. You can also see all the homes for sale here. And, if you are looking for something specific please fill out this form and we'll set up a custom search for you.


	Phoenix Zipcode 85028 \| North Foothills of the Phoenix Mountains
	85028 real estate market trends, homes for sale, neighborhood information and related articles. All the information you need to help with a home search or home sale.


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Scottsdale Condos & Townhouse Sales Update

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:36:02 -0700

Scottsdale Condos & Townhouse Sales Update

September sales of condos in Scottsdale improve the already good situation for buyers.

Lately we have heard the price correction in housing may be and probably is in "over correction".

When you can buy a house or condo for a price not seen since 2000 or in many cases since the mid 90's then there has to be an opportunity there, more so when many of these can be purchased with a cash flow positive position as an investment: that makes it a good deal for buyers and investor.

Sales of condos in Scottsdale were jumpy put steady until pieces of homes dropped dramatically. This added more competition in specific price ranges and people who once could only afford a condo or town-house could not buy a house, and many did. This pushed sales of condos down.

In Septemer 2008, 95 condos sold: that is a very low number.

The median price increased over last month to $225,000 despite the lower sales, but is at a very low point. As we head into the very popular vacation season in Greater Phoenix we may see an increase in sales and hopefully in the median price: pushed up by the visitors from cooler climates who often choose a condo or townhouse consciously because of its lower maintenance needs.


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	Scottsdale Home Sales Update for September 2008
	Scottsdale median home prices, units sold and active.

Urban Bike: The Streets of the Phoenix Central Corridor

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:31:25 -0700

Urban Bike: The Streets of the Phoenix Central Corridor

The streets of the Phoenix Central Corridor have signage unlike any other streets in Phoenix.

Phoenix Central Corridor

It's nippy at 6 am under the shade of ash trees: joggers have long pants: baby carts have covers over them as moms bear down the gravel laden Murphy Bridle Path while cars buzz by taking the short trip to the big buildings downtown: some specifically taking this road vs the other city arteries because of the trees, the beautiful homes and street signs.

Yes, street signs: they are an integral part of the central corridor - decorated stone signs, wrought iron & painted tile - welcoming anyone who would like to explore the streets and niches hidden behind large oleander trees.

Some of the signs present the community like Madison Meadows or Rancho Solano but most have the names of the streets like Lawrence Rd. or Linger Lane; put there - probably- before the city installed the pole signs. Now they share the space and compete for the passer's by attention.

I'm not sure if anyone even notices them: they don't protrude, they don't stand out and people are used to looking up for street names but they are there and they certainly add a bit of charm to an already charming area of Phoenix.


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Welcome Back To The Cash Flow Economy.

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:29:12 -0700

Welcome Back To The Cash Flow Economy.

Phoenix real estate is now at a point where investors can purchase properties with cash flow.

In recent years real estate investors could console them selves in the rather high rate of appreciation or inflation as a hedge against high prices paid for properties, but we all knew deep down that it could not last. Many had the foresight to get out and others, reasonably thought, that we'd see a correction which would be slight or a simple leveling of prices but nothing like this huge pricing correction we are seeing and in many parts of the Phoenix valley, an over correction.

Had an investor purchased a property with prudence then the drop in price really would have no affect on him/her in the short run because either the purchase was at a break even or had cash flow. Had it even been purchased at break even a couple of years would be enough to see a cash flow and if the purchase was a good one then each year the cash flow would increase especially in a market with so many inflationary pressures.

What we have really entered is the cash flow economy at least for real estate investors. In an investment purchase there are several ways to make money on a property: speculation, cash-flow, redevelopment and so on: but, for now the speculative age is over. Since we are unlikely to see appreciation in the coming years cash flow will have to make up the major part of the investment return.

In fact most of the successful real estate investors, at least those who are successful according to the following measure - the main component of which is freedom and choice- have done so with cash flow. It's the regular money that trickles in a bit at a time, month after month, growing at or above the inflation rate and allowing you to - in many cases - have the choice to work, reinvest, pay-down the loan or take free time and so on.

It's income which is there whether you work or not: it's passive income not tied to your direct employment: and it's wonderful thing.

I remember reading a real estate investment book from the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series: at one point Robert mentioned that he wanted to buy a Porsche sports car, but instead of putting the money directly into a car - a depreciating asset - he used the money to buy a property and used the income, the cash flow from that property to pay for the loan he got on the car. What a great way for a non-depreciation asset to pay for a depreciating asset and you get multiple benefits of doing this. Well, for a long time this was not possible, but it is now possible to do just that.

In this part of the real estate cycle there is an abundance of single family homes, small and medium sized multifamily properties that provide an investor with cash flow from the time of purchase or shortly after the purchase, this is even more achievable with the current historically low interest rate financing.

We are a ways from the up cycle in real estate and the current economy will not help: this is going to be a long bottom but it does not mean that you should not invest - quite the opposite - it is when everyone else is scared that you should be buying because you're buying for a discount. Investors need to change the way of thinking and making decisions and not be afraid to go it alone, against the crowd into the cash flow economy.


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Central Phoenix Valley Real Estate Statistics by Zip Code

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:23:55 -0700

Central Valley Zip Codes

In addition to having regular updates about the Greater Phoenix real estate market and the occasional special reports like REO sales, the investor market and so on we have decided to create zip code specific posts which will be updated monthly of semi monthly with real estate statistics for that specific zip code.

The individual articles also have interactive maps of the zip code: links to related articles: links to homes and condos for sale and a map with the most recent 20 properties on the market.

Since we concentrate mainly on the Phoenix Central Valley the regularly updated zip codes will be:

85012 Phoenix Central Corridor
85013 Central Phoenix

85014 Central Phoenix

85016 Biltmore Area

85018 Arcadia Neighborhood

85020 Sunnyslope East

85028 Phoenix Mountains North

85253 Paradise Valley

...plus there will be some additional zip codes added in the near future and if at any time you would like very details information for any zip code in Greater Phoenix just let us know. We do business all over but simply concentrate in the Central Valley.

Links to these reports will be available always from the Phoenix Housing Market page. or from the individual Central Valley Neighborhoods profiles on the left side of the front page.


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One Day Tips: Where Phoenicians Can See Autumn Colors

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:20:42 -0700

One Day Tips: Where Phoenicians Can See Autumn Colors

Just a short drive North from Phoenix there is a different world. The high desert with fall colors and winter skiing. It's a perfect one day trip.

Fall Colors in Northern Arizona

Phoenix has only two seasons but for me it seems like it's only one season: summer, but what ever amount of seasons you thing Phoenix has Autumn is usually not one of them. There are no big parks with trees in golden colors and no piles of leaves to jump into.

But, a true fall season is only 2.3 hours away, or 1.5 hours for some: Flagstaff is one of the most popular and beautiful places to see the fall colors because of the abundance of trees that cover the sides of the San Francisco peaks and other abandoned volcanoes.

This weekend we got a chance to see the beautiful fall colors of the aspen trees on San Francisco Peaks.

There are a lot of trails in the Coconino National Forest but some of my favorites are on San Francisco Peaks, the tallest peaks in Arizona. I have been to as high as one can go on Humphrey's Trail, a grueling 4.5 mile vertical hike. This time we went on the Kachina Trail a 5 mile trail with a much smaller change in altitude: the altitude change was only 700ft. but believe you me, the trail is a tricky one: it goes up both ways and the lower density of oxygen forces you to breath consciously because if you miss one breath you'll know it: you'll be forced to quickly and deeply make up that breath.

The Kachina trail is a moderate trail but unless you are very fit and used to some altitude then plan on a longer hike then the prescribed 2.5 hours. Despite the heavy breathing, extra caloric burn, occasional slip on the rather often stepped on loose gravel and dirt and the uneasy smell of a pile of horse shit every mile or so it's a spectacular hike with beautiful panoramic views, the fall colors and of course the fresh light air which smells so much better then the heavy air of Phoenix. It's a beautiful hike any time of the year but, the in the fall its simply spectacular

Take a hike:

Coconino National Forest hiking trails.

Is the Phoenix Real Estate Market Overcompensating?

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:11:14 -0700

As with many things in life we tend to over compensate and this may well be happening right now. The Cromford Report has reported that the "average (price per square foot) had rolled back 5 Years.

On Saturday October 18, 2003 the average $/SF across all areas and types of homes was $108.89.

On Saturday October 18, 2008 the average $/SF across all areas and types of homes is $109.99.

A strange coincidence that these prices should be just 10c apart. On May 31, 2006 the same statistic reached $189.66, some 74% higher than today.

In some areas prices are in 2001 territory and in others in the last century: prices in some areas of the Phoenix valley are below replacement cost, a very important sign.

It's another indicator of how much prices have dropped to way before the boom started, to times when were were at the boring old 5% average appreciation: prices have dropped to a point where it would behoove savvy buyers and investors to look seriously at making some purchases.


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Negotiations Class

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:40:44 -0700

Has anyone taken the new negotiations class offered by CCIM? What are your thought?

Hot Market in Surprise, AZ

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:22:16 -0700

Surprise AZ Home Sales News

There is a competition going on out there in certain parts of the valley. Buyers are crowding into homes and submitting competing offers and back up offers.

Sound familiar? It's almost like the days of low supply and high demand in 2005, but this is in July 2008 a depressed market, a market with an oversupply and dooms-day naysayers standing on soap boxes on every corner proclaiming the death of real estate.

Continue reading and see table of sales.

Foreclosure Properties in Phoenix

Artur Ciesielski, CCIM (Realty Executives) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:21:16 -0700

Sales of REO properties in Maricopa County increases

Today at our office we had a visit from the Maricopa County Assessor, Keith E. Russell. It was a very good and informative presentation about how real estate taxes work here in the valley and some of the improvements that may happen.

Of particular interest was a discussion about the influence of foreclosures on the valuation model that is used. Currently these are not used but they sure effect values of competing homes being sold.

The amount of distressed properties sold is very surprising. These are bit numbers. What is presented below is a percentage of transactions that were REO or lender owned. This is a higher amount then that represented on the ARMLS.

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