Google Reader

I went to a class on real estate blogging last week and learned a few things. One thing I found out about was Google Reader. You can sign up for a free account or use your current Google login. Then, you search for and sign up for various feeds of news stories that would be of interest to you. I'm still learning how use this to just feed me the information that I want. You can see what we've been reading through Google Reader by looking at the box on the right of this blog labeled "What We've Been Reading". You can click on any of the articles of interest to you.

I also learned about CommonCraft.com which has some great easy to understand videos. Here is one of their videos that explains how to make the news come to you.

ASU Report on Housing Market

Realty Studies from ASU's Polytechnic Campus posted a housing report on May 13Th which shows some positive news. April had 5,585 recorded sales a 15 % increase over the 4,855 sales in April of 2007 and an increase of 29% over the 4,335 sales in March of this year.

One of the factors driving the market is the increase of home affordability as average home prices have decreased since they peaked in 2005. The amount of change in home prices varies considerably by neighborhood and city. Generally those houses in centrally located areas have retained their value better than homes in outlying areas. The increasing gas prices have also affected the price of homes in outlying areas as fewer buyers are willing to purchase a home in these areas even though the prices are lower because they will have longer commutes.

To read the full article, click the link below:

Greater Phoenix resale numbers up for April, median prices down

Has the Housing Market Reached Bottom?

There was an interesting opinion column in the Wall Street Journal on 5/6/08, The Housing Crisis is Over. I recommend that you read the article. Everyone always wants to know when the market has hit bottom because they want to time the market perfectly. However, we all know that few of us ever get to time the market perfectly, whether it is the stock market or the housing market. Who doesn't wish they had bought stock in Microsoft back at the beginning? Buying a house should not be just about timing the housing market. Buying a house should be based upon personal factors including affordability, how long you plan to live in the area, and your financial situation. Is this the right time for you to buy a home? One of the factors to consider is affordability, which the WSJ article's writer indicates will be a driving factor in the improvement of the housing market. I agree with this. Home affordability is coming back in line with pre-2005 levels. Interest rates are good and loans are still available. One factor I will be watching for is a decline in inventory of existing homes for sale. I'll continue to post the numbers here as they become available. (I'm still waiting for ARMLS to post numbers for April.).

There is a follow-up article from the Wall Street Journal on 5/7/08 which is also interesting. In it one college professor offers the opinion that there have to be bargins in Arizona, Florida, and Nevada. The Housing Crisis is Over? There are lots of comments following this article from people all over the country.

Leave a comment here to tell us what you think of the housing market in the East Valley.

AZ Archer to Compete in Olympics

Brady Ellison who is from Glendale, Arizona won the men's U.S. Olympic Archery Trials this weekend at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix. He is one of three men who will be representing the United States at the Beijing Games. Brady is 19 years old and in the past has competed as a youth archer in Arizona. He has also spent time at the Olympic Training facility in CA. Brady Ellison Article- AZ Republic 05/04/08.

If you are interested in target archery, Arizona has tournments for youth and adults. Our son used to compete and we have meet a lot of great people through archery. For more information:

• Arizona State University Archery Club


• Arizona Junior and Collegiate Archery (JOAD)


• Arizona State Archery Association

When Is a Termite Report Clear?

Whenever I speak with people about real estate they always ask me how it is dealing with today's real estate market. I tell them that we are selling houses but that everything is harder and more work than in past years. The newest wrinkle is the termite report.

Most lenders require that a termite report be done and that a clear report be issued before they will approve/fund a loan. It used to be that the report needed to show "no visible evidence of infestation from wood destroying insects was observed". If evidence was observed, then proof of a recent treatment needed to be provided or a treatment needed to be done and then a clear report provided. Now lenders particularly for FHA loans are requiring that if any "conditions conducive to infestation" are listed on the termite report they must be corrected and a clear report issued before the loan can be approved/funded. The conditions may include excessive moisture, wood to earth contact, and dry rot. It is best to ask for these repairs as part of the Buyer's Inspection Notice and Seller's Response. However, sometimes the lender is not notifying the parties until right before closing that these items need to be fixed which results in a scramble to get them corrected and often times a delay of closing.

A/C Servicing - Who to Believe

SRP has a program where you can schedule a 16 point service check-up for your air-conditioning system for $29.95. You call them up and they send out one of their contractors. We decided to do this since it would less expensive than having the service done by the company that installed our a/c system. They came out today and gave us a whole list of things that they recommend be fixed up to and including replacement of the whole system. We had him give us a written list of what he thought was wrong with the system. This is a system that is currently working. So, it is difficult to know if what they are recommending is really needed or not. So, here are our next steps:

1) Look up the company who did the service today at the Arizona Registrar of Contractors site. I can see that there are two resolved complaints and that the company has been in business since 2002. I strongly recommend that you look-up any contractor on this site for any type of work before signing a contract with them.

To look-up contractor by license number (license number is usually in ads and on invoices as ROC#)
To look-up contractor by name

2) Someone else from his company will come out in a few days to give us estimates on replacing the whole system or just the inside air-handler. The outside unit was replaced several years ago but the inside unit is original to the house. It can be difficult to replace an inside unit only and make it fit with the existing outside unit.

3) After we have this written estimate, then we will have the company that replaced the outside unit come out and review the recommendations and provide an estimate for any work they feel needs to be done.

4) If we feel that it is needed, get an estimate from a third company as well.

5) See what we can do to validate the information provided. For example, he said the inside unit was working harder than it should. We can compare our electric bill to the typical electric bill for a house our size. SRP sent us a year end statement that shows we are paying more than the average amount for a house our size. Is this due to the a/c unit or other factors?

6) Research incentive programs and tax breaks that might help off-set the cost if we replace the unit. We already found one - SRP PowerWise Cool Rebate.

We'll keep you posted on our experiences. If you have any recommendations, please leave a comment.

ASU School of Sustainability

Did you know that Arizona State Univeristy had a School of Sustainability? This school is the first of its kind in the nation and was featured on NBC Nightly News. According to ASU "Sustainability is more than environmental studies; it's the interconnectedness of the Earth with science, politics, economics, people and cultures." Watch video clips highlighting this program and how ASU is preparing students to preserve the future.