Listings vs. Solds Graph

This graph shows supply and demand trends since 2002.  The dip in supply (listings) was obviously during the real estate boom of 2004/2005.  You will also note the high inventory of homes (50,000+) now available for sale.

Tickets Now on Sale for Summer Spa Event!

Click Here for UPDATED info for the 2009 Summer Spa Series.

This blog has moved to www.ArizonaHomeTalk.com

It’s baaack! With temperatures on the rise and not a cloud in sight, the third-annual Summer Spaaah Series is breezing back into town to cool off the Valley with a dose of fun and charity. We’re tickled pink to announce that this highly anticipated event series is making its rounds at eight Valley spa destinations starting on May 25!

The series will kick off Memorial Day weekend with a special Summer Spaaah Soirée at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch, where guests will be immersed in the Spa Avania experience. Attendees will be invited to change into plush spa robes, take in a 30-minute spa treatment, attend a yoga class, sample treatments in the “sweet suites,” indulge in freshly prepared spa cuisine, raise their glasses with a closing tea martini toast and leave with a bag filled with goodies. This women-only experience is for guests 17 and older and is a rare opportunity to experience the spa for only $40.

The seven events that follow are $25 and include mini spa treatments, fitness classes, beauty demos, boutique discounts, raffles, refreshments, goodie bags and a chance to tour the hottest spa destinations Arizona has to offer. Each event has been carefully planned to highlight the essence and unique features of each destination. The 2008 events take place every other Sunday at the following locations:

• May 25: Summer Spaaah Soirée event at Spa Avania at the Hyatt Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale
• June 8: Party by the Pool event at the The Spa at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, Phoenix
• June 22: Day of Beauty event at Dolce Salon & Spa of Arrowhead, Peoria
• July 6: Indulge Your Spirit event Aji Spa at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, Chandler
• July 20: Be Well event at the Golden Door Spa at the Boulders Resort, Carefree
• Aug 3: Glamor-ama event at Dolce Salon & Spa at the Borgata, Scottsdale
• Aug 17: Explore Your Inner Energy event at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts & Southwest Institute of Natural Aesthetics, Tempe
• Aug 31: Get Moving, Fit & Fun event at The Spa at Gainey Village Health Club, Scottsdale

A generous portion of funds raised through these events go to support Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, a Phoenix-based organization that empowers women in need. For details and tickets, visit www.SummerSpaAZ.com. See ya this summer!

Bank-Owned Properties Drive Market

 

Valley home-owners who are trying to sell have some steep competition these days: motivated lenders.  A little more than 49 percent of all the resales recorded in Pinal Country in March were bank-owned properties, according to RL Brown’s Phoenix Housing Market Letter.  These “REO” – real estate owned – homes that have gone back to the lenders through foreclosures are selling for real deals, of course.

Maricopa Country’s REO sales are climbing as well, but make up a smaller portion of the area’s housing market.  About 22 percent of all resales in Maricopa were REO in March, Brown reported.  That compared with 21 percent in February and 16.7 percent in January.

Source: Catherine Reagor, In Pinal, lender-owned properties drive market, Arizona Republic 4/27/2008

 

Gilbert Home Auction

Looking for a good deal?  Not interested in the outskirts of Maricopa, Buckeye, Surprise, or Queen Creek?  Consider Gilbert!  Stillbrooke builders have thrown in the towel at their Higley Park Villages community and have handed over the 17 already-built homes over to a company to auction them off to the public at a steep discount.  What type of discount you ask?  How about $89,000 opening bid for a house that was once valued at $250,000?  The smallest home (1,550 square feet) in the Higley Park Villages going to auction starting out at $69,000 (allegedly once $236,000).  The largest home (2,302 square feet) will start bidding at $109,000 (allegedly once valued at $301,000).  Higley Park Villages is a neighborhood near the crossroads of Ray and Higley!

If you’d like to see pictures, prices and floorplans of the 17 homes being auctioned, let me know and I’ll get you the information.

The Auction will be held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Resort and Spa in Chandler on Saturday, April 19th only.  You must inspect properties prior to that date.  If you’d like more details about this action, feel welcome to email me at Becky@BeckyWyattOnline.com or call me at 480-383-9209. I plan on going to observe – I’d love some company!

WHAT IS SELLING?!?

Moral of the Story:  Homes that are priced $400,000 or LESS are selling the best, with an average selling time of about 4 months on the market.  Homes within the $100,000-$200,000 range are selling quicker than other ranges, and more units are selling overall (39% of homes that have sold).  Homes $100,000-$399,999 make up almost 70% of all the home sales!

If you are curious about what your home could sell for in today’s market, call Becky Wyatt at 480-383-9209 or send an email to Becky@BeckyWyattOnline and I will gladly provide a no obligation, FREE, market analysis tailored specifically to your home.

Windsor Square Historic Home & Garden Tour

The Windsor Square Neighborhood is hosting a self-guided tour of unique, historic homes in central Phoenix on Sunday, April 6, 2008.  The event showcases 12 homes and gardens that anyone with an interest in history, architecture, gardening or decorating will appreciate.  There will also be food, arts & crafts and music provided by street vendors in the neighborhood.  The event is held from 11am-4pm on Sunday and children under 12 are free.  Tickets for the event are $12, with 20% going to a charitable cause.

Windsor Square Historic Home and Garden Tour is located at the Northeast corner of Central and Camelback, behind AJ’s Fine Foods. Vehicles may enter the neighborhood off Central Avenue at Medlock Drive or off Camelback Road at 2nd or 6th streets.  

About Windsor Square District – The 260-home Historic District, bordered by Central Avenue and Seventh Street, Pasadena Avenue and Oregon Avenue, was considered the first suburb of Phoenix. Started in 1929, the curvy development with charming homes was created during a time where the population of Phoenix was 70,000 people and the trolley line ended at Thomas Road.
-from www.windsorsquarephoenix.org

 

TO VIEW SOME PICTURES I TOOK AT THE HOME TOUR ENJOY THE “VINTAGE SLIDE SHOW” I MADE BELOW. 

(The photos don’t do this tour justice – I didn’t even get a chance to take photos of the interior and garden masterpieces we saw! – too busy gawking!)