"Act surprised" ... that's the command I gave my daughters as they unknowingly became a part of my blog-marketing campaign.

Fortunately they put up with me.

OK... for about 3 seconds... and no do-overs.

This is a brief snapshot with my wrap-up of this week's market news. There's some good... some not so good but, overall I'm pleased with the direction of things.

Here are the good surprises:

• "After-tax incomes and spending show big gains" - That's the market headline from the associated press. Another quote within the article, "The Commerce Department reported that disposable incomes, the amount left after paying taxes, surged by 5.7 percent last month. It was the biggest increase since May 1975." Most of this is due to the economic stimulus package. Other good side benefits included an increase in the personal savings rate to the highest level since May of '95.

• "Existing-home sales rise 2% in May" - That's the headline from the Wall Street Journal. With an increase in sales there was also a decrease in inventory. Hmmm... so that's how supply and demand work? Though it's too early to call this a trend, it is a good sign for home sellers. The next good sign for them would be to see an increase in home prices.

Now the mixed bag:

• From Fox Business- "Enjoy the Stealth Good News" we see this nugget, "The Case-Shiller index reported last Tuesday showed home prices dropped 1.4% in April in the 20 cities tracked by the index, the smallest drop since October. More significantly, values rose in eight cities, up from two in March. And, in the 12 cities in which values did not increase, only two experienced steeper declines than in March." In other words, prices dropped less sharply than they have been. This means we may be approaching a pricing bottom... something we'll know for sure after-the-fact.

As for my market- the Phoenix Metro area... Here are the things I'm seeing from my customers:

• Shock at the competition in the bank owned properties. We've been seeing multiple offers and full time offers being rejected in some areas- mostly in the cities at the center of the valley.

• A renewed interest in condos- this market has been pretty flat and all of a sudden I have several potential buyers who like the idea of low prices/low maintenance/low transportation expenses.

• Astonishing prices on new homes. I can hardly believe it. New homes with yards in the low 100's.

Well... these are a few of the surprises in my market... do you have a report from yours?

------

Chuck Willman is an Arizona real estate agent based in the Phoenix area. Looking for a home in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek? Reach Chuck at 480.292.0600 or www.AZvest.com.