As if we needed more reasons to spend time (and money) at Whole Foods, the Valley's newest location is giving us a few more. Set to open at 9 a.m., tomorrow, the Whole Foods Market Camelback store (20th Street and Camelback in the Biltmore area) will feature a casual bar and restaurant as well as a juice bar and in-house roasted coffee along with its aisles of locally-sourced products, organic fruits and vegetables, and sustainable seafood. Here's the rundown. The Whole Foods Market on Camelback is … [Read more...]
Whole Foods Finally Set to Open Tomorrow on Camelback – Groceries, Wine Bar, 36 Beer Taps and Espresso Bar…and Much More!
September 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Is The Phoenix Housing Market Finally Back to ‘Normal’?
September 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
With big price gains, waning investor interest and plunging foreclosure activity, the metro Phoenix housing market was looking more “normal” this summer than its been for several years, according to a new report by Arizona State University. Even the number of buyers and sellers has finally begun showing some signs of balance after two years of a chronic shortage of homes for sale. But there is still much room for improvement, particularly in the new-home market where sales rates are still less than one third … [Read more...]
Condo Boom? Market Shows Signs of a Revival
September 13, 2013 by 1 Comment
This headline rings especially true for the immediate area surrounding our offices here in old town Scottsdale. There are currently 4 projects underway within a mile radius. And with an estimated 3,000 or so units available in the next few years, there should be a good mix of baby boomers and first time buyers flooding the area. This mass influx of residents to the old town area should have a significant impact on the area's infrastructure and commerce options - and we are already seeing the beginning of it … [Read more...]
Home Prices Edge Closer To Pre-Crash Levels
August 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
-In Arizona, we are still about 30% off pre-crash levels but those numbers are moving fast back in the right direction. Read below for further info on this trend. Home prices keep edging closer to pre-crash price levels and today's Home Price Index report from Lender Processing Services (LPS) indicates that national prices are now backwithin 15.2 percent of that peak. The index for June rose to $229,000 from 226,000 in May, an increase of 1.2 percent and is up 6.9 percent from the end of last year. The … [Read more...]
Buying A Flipped Home? Be Careful
August 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Home buyers always need to have an eye out for shoddy renovation work and defect coverups before purchasing a home. But when it’s a “flipped” home they’re considering, it’s wise to be even more careful, making sure the investor didn’t cut corners while prepping the home for sale. These days, a greater number of single-family homes are being flipped, or bought and resold within six months. In the first half of the year, flips were up 19% from a year ago and up 74% from the first half of 2011, according to data … [Read more...]
What Homeowners’ Discounts Are You Missing?
August 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Homeowners insurance isn’t a topic that most people like to think about except as the funny/scary ‘Mayhem’ ads for Allstate. For first-time homebuyers the prospect of adding home insurance to the other long list of costs can seem daunting. Yet homeowners’ insurance isn’t just required for your mortgage, it’s an important part of a plan to keep you and your home safe. Generally homeowners’ insurance covers damage from fire, most storms (some insurance does not include flood damage), theft, and more. It can also … [Read more...]
10 Safest Cities in the U.S. (hint: 2 Arizona cities made the list)
July 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
For the first time since 2006, violent crime was on the rise last year, according to FBI data. But in some cities, violent crime remains well below national averages. AOL Real Estate recently analyzed the FBI’s report on crime to find the cities with populations of more than 200,000 that have violent crime rates “substantially” below the national average. Here are the top 10 “safe zones” that made its list: Irvine, Calif. (ninth consecutive year named safest city in the nation) Fremont, Calif. Plano, … [Read more...]
The kids aren’t buying homes: Generation Y may be holding back the housing recovery
July 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The number of “missing households” — that is, Americans who would be owning or renting a home now if prerecession economic trends had continued — hit 2.4 million as of March, according to an analysis of raw monthly government data by real-estate marketplace Trulia. That is down slightly from its peak of 2.6 million in 2011, but up 100,000 from the year prior. And 18- to 34-year-olds account for more than half of the missing households, according to the data. “Household formation is the most important indicator of … [Read more...]
Pending Sales at Strongest Pace Since 2006
June 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Pending home sales rose in May to the highest level since late 2006, implying a possible spark as mortgage interest rates began to rise, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 6.7 percent to 112.3 in May from a downwardly revised 105.2 in April, and is 12.1 percent above May 2012 when it was 100.2. Contract activity is at its strongest pace since December 2006, when it reached 112.8. Also, pending sales … [Read more...]
Arizona home prices rise 17.3% over last year
June 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
WASHINGTON - U.S. home prices soared 12.1 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest gain since February 2006, as more buyers competed for fewer homes. Real estate data provider CoreLogic says prices rose in April from the previous April in 48 states. Prices also rose 3.2 percent in April from March, much better than the previous month-to-month gain of 1.9 percent. Prices in Nevada jumped 24.6 percent from a year earlier, the most among the states. California’s gain was next at 19.4 percent, followed … [Read more...]
