Jim's Sun City Neighborhood Real Estate Blog

One Warm Coat . . . or REALTORS nag clients to clean out your closet!

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:59:59 -0600

What a great way to make a difference!

We all have a coat that could be donated to help the unfortunate. If anyone in the Arizona Sun Cities would care to participate, call me or email me, I'll see that the coat is donated to a needy person, or care agency.

My favorite charity would be Eve's place, a local women and children's rescue shelter.

Via Lori Cain - Tulsa Realty www.LoriCain.com (Chinowth & Cohen Realtors):

One Warm Coat . . . or REALTORS nag clients to clean out your closet!

Realtors nag our clients about cleaning out closets before they put their home on the market, but this time, THIS Realtor is asking you to clean out your closet as a charitable act.

Encouraged by Social Media guru, Mike Mueller, to write a blog about a favorite charity, "One Warm Coat" stood out to me as being particularly important this time of year.

"One Warm Coat" is a national effort meeting local needs: their goal is to provide any person in need with a warm coat, free of charge. Providing this simple yet vital need helps people live productive lives year round. You can organize a coat drive, or clean out your closet and donate a coat or TWO!

Thankfully, in Tulsa, we have had a long tradition of donating coats, started by Jim Giles, deceased anchorman for Channel Six News. You can take your new or gently-used coats to any Yale Cleaners location, and they will mend and clean your coats. The coats are then given to Catholic Charities for distribution.

I just inventoried my coat closet. Three short coats, two full-length coats, one red coat, one black coat - I don't possibly NEED all of these! I think I might feel just a little bit warmer in my red coat if I knew that my black coat was keeping someone else warm.

Please visit this web site for more information about Tulsa's and Giles' Coats for Kids program and for addresses of the many Yale Cleaners drop off locations. (Don't forget that adults need coats too!)

If you need a coat, call Catholic Charities at 949-HOPE or visit the Giles' Coats for Kids Distribution Center at the NEW Catholic Charities location, 2450 N. Harvard. Please bring a form of ID for each family member who needs a coat.

If you live outside of Tulsa and wish to start a similar program, visit the "One Warm Coat" web site for guidelines and suggestion of how to start a drive in your home town.

Sorry to be a nagging REALTOR, but do just one thing this week for me, and clean out your coat closet! You'll feel warmer, I promise!

Lori Cain is a residential Realtor with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors serving the greater Tulsa Oklahoma area, including midtown Tulsa, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Sand Springs and Jenks. Please visit Lori's web site, LoriCain.com or call 918-852-5036.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

DID YOU KNOW?

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:19:09 -0600

In the words of Bob Dylan, "the times, they are a changing".

Sony created this you tube presentation about the rapid change in our world today. It is almost frightening in its scope. Little factoids such as CHINA is soon to have the largest ENGLISH speaking population in the world. INDIA has more honors students than the US has children.

Technology is changing so fast that subject matter a college student learns as a freshman is OUTDATED by the time he is a junior.

Does this apply to real estate? You bet.

We no longer rely on the daily newspaper to market our listings, we MUST use the tech tools of WEB 2.0 and mobile technology. A home seller should now ask an agent to PROVE their tech marketing capabilities BEFORE signing a listing agreement. Why would you want to lock yourself into a long-term contract with someone who can't keep up with the times and adequately market your home?

Buyers should seek the same competence in the agent they choose to represent them. In the fast pace of today's market an agent who thinks the fax is high tech will put the buyers at an extreme disadvantage, and if seeking an REO property, their offer may not be considered, or will fail because another got to the seller faster and more legible.

Buyers and sellers should consider how much time a professional agent MUST spend each week keeping up with ALL factors that affect the real estate transaction.

It is not just technology, but financing terms, Treasury rules, short sale procedures all have changed in the last week alone. This is NOT a part-time job, but a career commitment. If your in-law, best friend, next door neighbor etc doesn't have that commitment, should you commit your real estate future to them?

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

If You Don't Buy a House Now, You're Stupid or Broke!

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:20:56 -0600

Not my words, this is the headline from a Business Week writer, Marc Roth.

His position, interest is at ~5% for a thirty year fixed loan. This is a historically low rate, the lowest in 40 years. You can read the original article HERE.

In addition to the points Mr. Roth writes about, think of these.

Inventory is at a healthy level(827 Active listings in Sun City alone)
The average list price for a 1435 square foot home is $134,388. This is about $93.00 per square foot.
Prices are at the 2002/2003 levels.
82 homes have sold in the last 30 days, a traditionally slow period.
Lending guidelines are tightening for all types of home loans.

All in All, good words if you are thinking about a new Sun City neighborhood home.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Short Sale v. Foreclosure: How It Can Affect Your Credit

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:14:27 -0600

With the increase in short sales in the Phoenix market, as well as the Sun City area, I thought it would be a good idea to re-blog this article from a Kentucky agent. It helps to explain the credit impact of a short sale.

Via Karen Pannell (Karen Pannell Real Estate):

Short Sale v. Foreclosure: How They Can Affect Your Credit

There's no difference, right? Wrong! Although both a short sale or foreclosure will have adverse affects on your credit, the short sale option is the lesser of the two evils. In June 2008, as a response to the mortgage loan default crisis, our friends at Fannie Mae created lending and credit guidelines for borrowers who have experienced a foreclosure or short sale.

Foreclosures: After five years, borrowers will be eligible for funding if 1) Their FICO credit score is 680 or higher and (2) they have at least 10% downpayment

Short sales: After 24 months, borrowers will be eligible for any Fannie Mae product. Currently, the minimum credit score required by Fannie is 660, however, many lenders are creating in-house lending guidelines, some requiring minimum credit scores of 720.

The best thing you can do to protect your credit is to be informed. Visit www.FannieMae.com for more helpful information about protecting your credit and increasing wealth through Home Ownership.

Tuesday, Nov. 1: Preparing Your Shortsale Package - Are you Committed?

Real Estate Done Right!

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Real Estate Licensing Requirements May Change in Arizona

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:42:10 -0600

The Arizona Commissioner of Real Estate has proposed some long needed changes.

A new licensee will have to complete 15 hours of additional course work PLUS the increased 30 hours of continuing education within the 2 year period of their provisional license. (This is currently 24 hours)
All licensees will be required to complete 30 hours of continuing, and increase of 6 hours from the current requirement.
New categories will be added to the curriculum. Proposed categories include things like "Commissioner's Hot Topics, allowing the commissioner to react to changes. A good example of that would be Short Sales. Just 2 few short years ago, this was a non-issue, now a big one. I recently wrote an article about just one short sale issue. You can read it here.
The current 4 year license renewal will be reduced to 2 years. This is strictly a revenue measure, and should result in active rain (8)increased revenue to support the activities of the department.

I applaud Commissioner Lowe for making this long-overdue change. It is a step in the right direction.

How important do I think the education is? I am currently required to have 24 hours before May 2010. I have 42 now, and will continue to take more.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Senate and House Have Approved Extending the First Time Buyer Credit

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:59:59 -0600

11/05/2009 12:55 PM MSt

This just in, the Senate and the House have approved an extension to the First-Time Buyer tax credit. They included a $6500 credit for move up buyers. The bill hasn't been signed by the President yet. I'm betting he will sign as soon as it hits his desk. The bill was a rider on the extension of the unemployment benefits.

More to follow as details emerge.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Why you should use a LOCAL Real Estate agent.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:20:55 -0500

This notice was sent to all agents who subscribe to the Arizona Regional MLS.

SCAM ALERT: Check Your Vacant Listings
A recent scam reported to ARMLS® involves tenants moving into a pending short sale listing. The surprised listing agent contacted the owner who had not rented the property to anyone. The tenants (two women with two children) were physically moving in and had turned on utilities in their name. The sign and the lock box were removed, and all locks were re-keyed. The tenants responded to a For Rent sign in the yard. They gave someone $1,800 as rent and signed a lease. While the short sale was able to close, the unfortunate victims of this scam were out $1800 with no place to live.
This down economy encourages some people to take advantage of others. Listing agents should check their vacant listings regularly and provide neighbors their contact information in case they observe any suspicious activity.

One of my promises to my sellers is to check the property at least once a week when it is vacant. Do you really believe the agent who lives and works an hour across town will do that? Do they have the time? If they do have the time, why?

Many, if not most homes for sale in Sun City are vacant while on the market. Doesn't it make sense to use someone who lives and works here to help you sell your home?

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

News of Note!

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:37:53 -0500

The U.S. Senate has TENATIVELY agreed to extend the home buyer tax credit. If the measure passes it will include a broader credit. More people will benefit. This measure, while hoped for, is NOT yet approved. Write your congressman folks.

The House of Representatives in now looking at the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. This ill-conceived rule has been the cause of additional costs to home buyers, and inadequate appraisals. These have caused many sales to fail, costing sellers equity dollars.

Another House committee is probing predatory practices used by some in the mortgage industry. The intent is to see if these practices contributed to the current housing crisis and its resulting economic meltdown. I, for one, hope this leads to a lot of "perp"walks at executive levels.

Last, but not least, Congress has passed a resolution extending the current Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loan limits until 2010.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Do Houses Sell Faster Than Condominiums in Sun City AZ?

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:59:30 -0500

I finally got around to evaluating the Sun City Market by housing type. ie Single Family vs Condominium. I used six weeks of MLS data for this. (9/1/09-10/14/09)

I have long felt that the single family home is more desirable to most of the buyers who come to Sun City, but have never done the analysis required to prove it.

As you can see from the following spreadsheet, homes sell one third faster than condos. The lesson, if you are a buyer, and want to buy a home, you must make up your mind quickly as more snowbirds will be here competing with you. If you are a seller, be patient.

The market ratio is a new metric I am using. A ratio less than 20 indicates a buyers market. A ratio of 20-30 indicates a balanced market. 30 or more is a sellers market. As you can see, the single family home segment is very close to a buyers market now, but the condominium segment is still a strong buyers market.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

January through September Sun City Market Report

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:55:49 -0500

And, The Numbers For September Are:

Active Listings as of 10/1/09 689
Average List Price $135,500
79 homes sold
Absorption Rate 9 months
Number of Single Family Homes for Sale 357
Number of Condos for Sale 332
Average Days on the Market 135

The Sales prices ranged from $46,900 to $470,000 with an average of $125,484. This represents an average price per square foot of $81.98.

The Year to Date Sales Are:

Total Number of Homes Sold 1/1/09-10/1/09 799
Number of Single Family Homes Sold 1/1/09-10/1/09 457
List Price/Sold Price of Single Family Homes $148,913/$138,454
Number of Condo Style Homes Sold 1/1/09-10/1/09 342
List Price/Sold Price of Condo Style Homes $102,448/$98,718

Overall, we have survive the summer relatively well. Buyers are now showing up at open houses. This is the beginning of our winter season and the outlook is generally hopeful.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Home sellers: how you can pay your agent less commission, or none at all

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:04:33 -0500

Mike Carlier, an agent in Minnesota, just wrote the following blog post. ALL sellers should read this one. It is a great how to on NOT getting your house sold.

The only thing I could add would be: Make sure your agent does not live or work anywhere near your home. That way he/she won't know anything about your neighborhood. This is a real problem for sellers in the Phoenix marketing area. I see listings sit for a year or more, most often listed by agents 2 area codes away.

JIM LITTLE, Your Sun City Neighborhood Realtor

Via Mike Carlier ABR CRS GRI (MarketLink Realty):

When folks decide to sell their house, they often interview several real estate agents. Generally their decision on who will list their home is based on one or more of the following criteria:

Who will work harder, spend more time and money, trying to sell my house?

Who says my house is worth the most?

Who works for my favorite broker?

Who will charge the lowest commission rate?

No matter who you choose, there will be more that is the same than different. All will likely stick a sign in your front yard, and buyers will not care whose name is on it. All will likely enter your home’s listing in the applicable multiple listing database. Your home will then be seen by almost all active buyers. That is, if you have an asking price that is near market value.

Now, here’s how to reduce the amount you end up paying the listing agent. Find an agent who is not available to handle calls from interested buyers or their agents. That will reduce the number of showings and delay the time until an offer is received. Time on market is often what triggers price reductions, often necessary, sometimes not. Make sure that your listing agent is a not an experienced negotiator so the final selling price (if you actually get an offer) is lower. If the selling price is lower, the commission you pay will be less. You may even avoid paying a commission completely – if your house does not sell.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Learning Social Media in the Phoenix Area

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:15:26 -0500

For Phoenix area agents, be sure to take advantage of Gregory Drejza's classes.

Greg teaches several classes, including:

How to make a virtual tour for free.
How to use linkedin, facebook, twitter, google profiles, youtube ACTIVE RAIN, wordpress and more. All of this directed toward helping agents in their business.

I am actually in his class as I write this. It is my second with Gregory.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Short Sale in Arizona, Part 1

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:29:13 -0500

To Quote Lenn Harley

* * * * HARD CORE REAL ESTATE TALK AHEAD* * * *

No day goes by that I don't see real estate agents advertise something like, "I can short sell your home at no cost to you". This leads many distressed sellers who are upside down on their home, or who have suffered some catastrophic financial setback to believe that they can be relieved of their mortgage obligation with no cash to the deal.

Both of these are dangerous assumptions. Nobody can make the claim there will be no cost to you before a complete pre-short sale package of forms has been prepared, and the lender has made a committment. When an agent makes these claims without several hours of discussions with you and your lender, be careful, it is a careless claim at best.

In addition, since Arizona is an anti-deficiency state, sellers are lead to believe they will have no further responibility when the lender takes a loss on the short sale. Borrowers are protected under the anti-deficiency statute ONLY under very specific conditions. The indebtedness must be for PURCHASE MONEY loans, for an OWNER OCCUPIED home of 1-4 units. Home Equity Lines of Credit do not normally qualify. Cash out refinances do not normally qualify either, unless the borrower can PROVE the funds were used to improve the property. Other restrictions also may apply.

If an agent tells you they will NEGOTIATE WITH THE LENDER, run, don't walk away. Agents claiming to do this run the risk of prosecution for practicing law if they don't belong to the state Bar Association. You, the SELLER, negotiate with the lender. Your agent helps you negotiate with the buyer, and helps manage and communicate the transaction, but cannot negotiate with the Lender.

More later, as this is a complex subject and cannot be explained in a brief post.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

UP, UP, UP. Indicators of the Sun City Market are Edging Up.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:51:47 -0500

I checked the numbers for single family homes in Sun City today.

Active Listings, Up 415 houses listed
Pending Sales Up 84 under contract
Sold for the month Up 61 closed for month to date
Sales year to date 758
Sold price per square foot up

This is happening as our winter visitors are arriving. It looks like they will have a good inventory to choose from, but they did seem to miss the "bottom".

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Today's Thoughts

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:21:05 -0500

Today, Brian Brady, in his blog post

Why Devouring Flesh Is Morally Wrong (and how you can stop doing it)

Click her to view OP

Paraphrased Adam Smith: "When business people get together, they are likely to collude against the populous for their benefit". Sound familiar?

Isn't this what the banks and Congress, not to mention Acorn, Fannie and Freddie, and several others have done to us over the past 30 plus years?

Want more proof? See Nestor and Katerina Gasset's Blog post on Freddie Mac and how helpful his elected representatives have been. Click Here

We have become a nation that has given away our birthright to big business and politicians. How sad.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Google Wave, sounds like a home run.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:27:52 -0500

I don't have an invitation, but am watching the results of those who do. It will probably take a long time for the vendors to the real estate industry to get on board, but how nice to have all of the 50 to 60 pages of transaction docs in one place.

Likewise, how nice to be able to interact with a client in real time from miles away. It could save days of windshield time with buyers, and be great when representing absentee sellers at inspection time also.

If this sounds like a hint for an invite, YES! If you have one to spare, I would appreciate it.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Sun City Market Report, 3rd Quarter 2009, A Different Look

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:50:39 -0500

Yesterday, I finally got around to evaluating the Sun City Market by housing type. ie Single Family vs Condominium. I used the last six weeks of MLS data for this. (9/1/09-10/14/09)

I have long felt that the single family home is more desirable to most of the buyers who come to Sun City, but have never done the analysis required to prove it.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Sun City Market Report, 3rd Quarter 2009

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:38:46 -0500

And, The Numbers For September Are:

Active Listings as of 10/1/09 689
Average List Price $135,500
79 homes sold
Absorption Rate 9 months
Number of Single Family Homes for Sale 357
Number of Condos for Sale 332
Average Days on the Market 135

The Sales prices ranged from $46,900 to $470,000 with an average of $125,484. This represents an average price per square foot of $81.98.

The Year to Date Sales Are:

Total Number of Homes Sold 1/1/09-10/1/09 799
Number of Single Family Homes Sold 1/1/09-10/1/09 457
List Price/Sold Price of Single Family Homes $148,913/$138,454
Number of Condo Style Homes Sold 1/1/09-10/1/09 342
List Price/Sold Price of Condo Style Homes $102,448/$98,718

Overall, we have survive the summer relatively well. Buyers are now showing up at open houses. This is the beginning of our winter season and the outlook is generally hopeful.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

5 Great Reasons to Move to Sun City AZ

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:01:29 -0500

Sun City AZ was Del Webb’s first and premier age qualified community. Mr. Webb envisioned a community dedicated to the wants and needs of persons who were retired, or soon to retire. He knew these buyers were active and wanted to remain so. Sun City was built with a recreation center, (now 7) a golf course, (now 7 + 3 country clubs) and stores all completed by the first day of sales. With the addition of Boswell Hospital, Sun City became a virtually self-sufficient community, unique then and still unique and desirable today. The following are 5 of the many reasons people move to Sun City AZ:

Climate. Without a doubt, this is the foremost reason people move to Sun City. The Arizona economy used to be based upon the “4 C’s:” Climate, Cattle, Copper, and Citrus. Of these, only Climate and Cattle remain important. Unfortunately, Cattle is becoming less so. Our climate provides warm, sunny winters with minimal rain, almost no snow (you can visit it in less than 2 hours if you wish). Cost. Homes in Sun City today, 9/2009, range from a $40,000 1 bedroom condo to $450,000 semi-custom homes on a golf course or a lake. (Yes Virginia, we have lakes) There is a home in Sun City to suit the needs, wants and budget of almost everyone. Convenience. Sun City AZ has the benefit of being part of the Phoenix metropolitan area, with fine dining, museums, hospitals, parks, theatre, symphony and universities, and professional sports teams like the Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Coyotes. Health. This has historically been a major reason why people move here. The climate has long been known to be beneficial to arthritis sufferers. Sun City is home to Banner/Sun Health and Boswell Hospital, leaders in the treatment and research of age-related problems. Recreation. This is a subject too big to be covered adequately by any one post. I’ll write more on this soon. For the time being, did you know there are 120+ clubs sponsored by the Sun City Recreation Association? There is something here for anyone. Yes, we have shuffleboard, but also softball, recreational and competitive swimming, bocce and lawn bowling, fine arts and crafts, in short, if you cannot find a club to share your interests, maybe you have no interests.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Fall is coming!

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:04:20 -0500

It is always a big thing in Sun City when Fall comes. Up in the northern areas of the country, you probably mark the day you first see geese heading south. Here in Sun City, we count the first Minnesota license plate sighted. It is a better measure of the season than the weather, which still is in the 100 degree range. The nights are much cooler now, and the days are a little bit shorter.

In spite of the change of season, we have plenty of sunshine for those who would like to come here and get out of the pending winter storms. I have posted some pictures of Sun City recreation on Facebook, view them here.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Open House, 17823 N Del Webb Blvd. Sun City AZ 85373

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:48:42 -0500

Just listed last week, this 2 bedroom, 1.75 bath condo for sale in Del Webb's Sun City AZ is going to be open tomorrow August 8 from 10-2. If you are in the neighborhood, come by and see me.

For more info, please click here.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Sales Up, Prices Down

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:39:56 -0500

Why the Paradox?

The answer is at once simple and complex. The Phoenix AZ market is currently driven by the lenders selling foreclosed properties. In addition, there are many people who face foreclosure. Currently there are over 40,000 notices of default pending. These factors depress listing prices.

Buying activity is centered on these foreclosed homes, with the dominant players being investors chasing these homes with CASH. It is very difficult for the traditional buyers to successfully compete in this market.

Sun City is slightly different, in that there are few foreclosed homes and buyer activity has been stable, if lower than normal, for the last few months. The problem here is that the prospective buyers who would like to sell the old family home and move into an adult community cannot sell because they are competing with the REO (foreclosed) sellers.

My analysis of the current conditions lead me to believe that sales prices will stabilize, indeed may have already stabilized, but cannot go up any significant amount for at least 2 more years.

It remains difficult to sell a traditional listing, but not impossible.

Buyers, it is no longer a buyers market, but the conditions remain good for the purchase of a new home, especially for first time buyers. A caution, interest rates are now creeping up, and traditional inventory is gradually being absorbed. The first time buyer credit is scheduled to expire in December, don't wait too long.

Jim Little, Your Sun City REALTOR®
623-977-1776
To search the MLS with NO Registration, click HERE

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Grand Beauty with Pool!

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:37:17 -0500

A perfect 10 for anyone who wishes to escape the summer heat in Sun City Grand Arizona. 2 Bedroom, 2 Baths, 3 car garage and a waterfall feature as well.

Call me or email for your private showing.

Jim Little, your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

Phoenix/Sun City Real Estate is Beginning to Rise From The Ashes.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:59:21 -0500

Like it's namesake, the mythical bird, real estate is beginning to rise!

Buyer activity has risen each of the last three months!

Bank-owned (REO) homes are now selling as fast or faster than they are listed!

The Sun City inventory of homes for sale has decreased over the last couple of months.

To read more about this, interest rates and the first time buyer credit, click here

Jim Little, Your Sun City REALTOR®
To search the MLS with NO Registration, click HERE

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.

65th Anniversary of D Day!

Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor (Ken Meade Realty) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:42:52 -0500

Who can imagine the sheer terror the young men who invaded Normandy 65 years ago felt? I quake to simply think of it.

I live and work in Sun City AZ, and am honored to know some of the men and women who fought the battles of WWII.

It is my honor to know and serve these people.

Jim Little, Your Sun City Neighborhood REALTOR®

Visit my website, Search the MLS with NO CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION, Click Here.