Arizona Real Estate Informer

Christmas Poem

The lights, garland and mistletoe

And a nice touch is falling snow

Trees stand tall with angels atop

Shoppers scurrying till they nearly drop 

Carolers sing songs of longing and praise

We wait on Santa, counting down the days

But up in the sky, and far away

There was a star as bright as day

Wise men followed it, long, long ago

Offering gifts to Him, just hoping to know

A child and Savior who’d become our King

Let us remember Him, when sleigh bells ring.

--David Roney

Merry Christmas to all!!!

The lights, garland and mistletoe

And a nice touch is falling snow

Trees stand tall with angels atop

Shoppers scurrying till they nearly drop 

Carolers sing songs of longing and praise

We wait on Santa, counting down the days

But up in the sky, and far away

There was a star as bright as day

Wise men followed it, long, long ago

Offering gifts to Him, just hoping to know

A child and Savior who’d become our King

Let us remember Him, when sleigh bells ring.

--David Roney

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Costly buyer mistakes in a down market

With plenty of homes on the market, prices falling and mortgage rates down, it appears to be a plum time for house hunters. But even in a buyer's market, buyers can make expensive goofs, writes Linda Stern of The Boston Globe.

Know your local market, Ms. Stern counsels. While there are bargains to be had, it's not smart to buy on the cheap if prices in your area are still falling. For instance, now might not be the time to make a purchase in Rust Belt cities like Cleveland and Rochester, N.Y., where more price corrections may be on the way. But buying a beach house now while buyers are looking to unload their properties before spring may be a good move, she says.  More...

Martha Stewart, KB Home Lure Buyers Despite Housing Slump

All across the country, home builders are gasping for air as sales plunge, inventories rise and profits disappear. But in one small corner of the housing market, the sales picture is a little brighter: There is steady demand for houses designed in part by Martha Stewart and built by Los Angeles-based KB Home "I love all her things," says Menyon Green, a 42-year-old nurse who bought a Martha Stewart-KB Home in this Atlanta suburb earlier this year. "I just knew this was going to be a good subdivision." More...

$1 billion north Scottsdale lease sets state land deal record

A $1 billion lease for land, the most expensive in Arizona Land Department history, was auctioned Thursday to a developer who plans to build high-end offices on the property on Loop 101 in north Scottsdale.
The 99-year lease on the 125-acre site, situated on the east side of the elbow made by Loop 101’s Pima Freeway, just north of Bell Road, went for $65.8 million, a figure that will be used to calculate the annual rent. More...

Looking for a new Blogger

Due to time constraints, we're on hiatus indefinitely.  We'd love to find someone with 30 minutes a day to spare who can post articles to the blog.  If you know someone, please let us know.  Until then, while the postings will be scarce, the content on the rest of the blog will be updated automatically.

What You Get for ... $2.5 Million

Scottsdale, Ariz. WHAT: Three-bedroom house with guest house HOW MUCH: $2,425,000 PER SQUARE FOOT: $515 More...

Housing Market Shows Promise Though Mortgage Activity Slows

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced this morning that the number of Americans applying for a mortgage to purchase a home or refinance their current mortgage decreased in the past week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). For the week ending February 16, the MBA's survey showed that the weekly Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 5.2 percent overall from the previous week. Refinance applications decreased by 5.4 percent, while purchase applications went down by 4.8 percent. More...

Landscaping investment to improve home's curb appeal can pay off at selling time

If location, location and location are the three most important qualities for a residential property then the fourth is likely curb appeal. More...

Why Let a Lender Pay Your Taxes?

MOST people keep up well enough with their monthly bills. So why do so many homeowners allow mortgage lenders to pay their real estate tax and insurance bills for them? That is the proposition at the core of mortgage escrow services, in which lenders collect money on the borrower’s behalf as part of the monthly mortgage payment, then use those funds to pay the borrower’s real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance, usually twice a year. Mortgage industry executives say a majority of the nation’s borrowers use escrow services, either out of choice or as a requirement. More...

More Defaults Prompt Lenders To Cut Back on Risky Loans

A rise in defaults is prompting some lenders to clamp down on the use of "piggyback" mortgages, a risky type of loan that helped prolong the housing boom by allowing borrowers to finance up to 100% of the purchase price.  More...