Thoughts on Eliminating the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction from Rick Sharga, EVP, Carrington Mortgage Holdings | RISMedia

Thoughts on Eliminating the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction from Rick Sharga, EVP, Carrington Mortgage Holdings | RISMedia

Set off on a holiday jaunt with peace of mind, knowing you've taken the right steps toward keeping your home secure

Set off on a holiday jaunt with peace of mind, knowing you've taken the right steps toward keeping your home secure

10 (Okay, 11) Best First Tastes of 2012 in Greater Phoenix - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

 

10 (Okay, 11) Best First Tastes of 2012 in Greater Phoenix - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

Brookings ranks Phoenix No. 3 for economic recovery - Phoenix Business Journal

 

Brookings ranks Phoenix No. 3 for economic recovery - Phoenix Business Journal

Top 10 Things REALTORS Need to Know About the 3.8% Tax | realtor.org

Top 10 Things REALTORS Need to Know About the 3.8% Tax | realtor.org

Fannie Mae: Housing market 'has turned the corner' | Inman News

 

Fannie Mae: Housing market 'has turned the corner' | Inman News

Get alerts on criminal activity in your neighborhood!

RAIDS Online: Regional Analysis and Information Sharing

Oh, My, Bertie's of Arcadia Is Retro-Riffic! - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

 

Oh, My, Bertie's of Arcadia Is Retro-Riffic! - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

9 Best New Restaurants of 2012 in Greater Phoenix - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

9 Best New Restaurants of 2012 in Greater Phoenix - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

Happening this weekend: Cruisin' With Santa

 

Cruisin' with Santa on Main Street 6-9pm
Watch as Santa arrives in style to the coolest car show in town! Bring your favorite vehicle for display* and enjoy:
* Santa meet and greet
* Snowfall at 7pm & 8pm
Located in the gathering area between Harkins Theatres and Pita Jungle

* Children's Museum of Phoenix Play & Learn Experience
In the suite next to Victoria's Secret
* DVUSD student performances:
Near Victoria's Secret
6pm: BCHS Choir
7pm: SDOHS Choir
8pm: Sunrise Music
* Music by Come Back Buddy
Near Bath & Body Works
* Horse-drawn carriage rides
Located in front of Sauce

First-Time Home Buyers Are Missing Out on Housing Recovery - US News and World Report

 

First-Time Home Buyers Are Missing Out on Housing Recovery - US News and World Report

Buy Scottsdale Auction Tickets | Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

January 13 - 20, 2013

Time to purchase your tickets!


Buy Scottsdale Auction Tickets | Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

Stein: Eliminating mortgage deduction is "foolish" - CBS News

 
Stein: Eliminating mortgage deduction is "foolish" - CBS News

12 Favorite Spots to Score Tamales in Greater Phoenix - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

12 Favorite Spots to Score Tamales in Greater Phoenix - Phoenix - Restaurants and Dining - Chow Bella

Home Prices Post Another Big Gain | Realtor Magazine (Spoiler: Arizona is #1)

Home Prices Post Another Big Gain | Realtor Magazine

Pending Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Rose 5.2% in October - Bloomberg

Pending Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Rose 5.2% in October - Bloomberg

Where to See Holiday Lights in Phoenix?

Click here to read article

WSJ: Five Reasons Home Prices Have Been Rising

Home prices rose by 0.1% in September from the prior month and by 3.6% from one year ago, the largest such gain in six years, according to a report released Monday by Lender Processing Services.



 Read Article

Time to Buy Your Kid a Condo | Realtor Magazine

Time to Buy Your Kid a Condo | Realtor Magazine

8 Markets Where Homes Are Selling the Fastest (Phoenix area is #7)

The median age of inventory of for-sale homes has dropped nearly 12 percent compared to year-ago levels, according to October housing data from Realtor.com.
With inventories shrinking nationwide and hovering at historic lows, homes are selling faster in many parts of the country.
“Lower inventories, combined with somewhat higher median list prices, suggest that the housing market ending the 2012 home-buying season is in better shape than it was a year ago,” according to a Realtor.com release.
California boasts the most number of housing markets seeing some of the lowest median age of inventory in October. In Oakland, Calif., the median age of inventory is the lowest in the country at 21 days, a 57 percent decrease over year ago levels.  Read more

8 Best Neighborhood Happy Hours: Best of Phoenix 2012

 

 We've spent the last year in the laboratory putting Phoenix under the microscope to reveal hundreds of specimens of the best culture, outdoor adventures, shopping, dining, and nightlife the city has to offer. And we're finally ready to publish our results.
Read article

MSN Real Estate: Home prices to rise 15% in the next 3 years?

Read article

Ariz. economy brightens across all areas

 

 

For the third consecutive month, initial jobless claims in Arizona fell in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 18,024initial monthly jobless-claims total in September was the lowest of the year. The peak for 2012 was in April, when there were 29,208 initial jobless claims.  Read more

Where are Home Prices Headed?

 We are often asked where we think home prices are headed over the next year. Recently, several groups have stepped forward and given their projections as to what level of appreciation we can expect by the end of 2013. Here is what they said:  Read article

Measure of US home prices rise most in 6 years

"Home prices in Arizona jumped 18.7 percent in the past year, the most of any state."  Read more

11/9 - 12 11/9-12: Chiles & Chocolate Fest at Desert Botanical Garden

 A variety of food vendors will pass out samples of tasty sweet and spicy treats during the Chiles and Chocolate Festival at the Desert Botanical Garden Nov. 9-12, 2012, in Phoenix.  Read more

Home prices up 7.6% over last year

Sale prices for single-family homes rose in 120 of the 149 markets tracked by the National Association of Realtors in the third quarter, showing a 7.6% increase nationwide over the same period last year.  Read more

Inman News: Tight inventories, rising home prices complicate appraisals

Recent surveys by the National Association of Realtors found that about one in three Realtors have experienced contract problems related to home appraisals during the last three months.  Read article

AZ Central: Answers to market questions

Metro Phoenix housing analyst Mike Orr participated in a live chat on azcentral.com this week about the state of the residential market.
Orr, publisher of the Cromford Report and director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business, shared his views on prices, sales, appraisers and mortgage

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2012/10/31/20121031answers-market-questions.html#ixzz2BBtoENEe

3.8% Tax: What's True, What's Not

Rumors about the 3.8% Medicare tax continue to circulate. Here's the definitive word on what's true and what's not on how the tax impacts real estate.  Read article

Experts see metro Phoenix home prices increasing

Metro Phoenix home prices are expected to continue climbing during the next few years.
Housing analysts agree that demand for homes in the region is strong, and many don’t appear to be concerned about prices rising too fast and shutting the door on regular homebuyers or investors.
Several experts are looking for metro Phoenix home prices to climb more than 10 percent annually during the next three years.
“We think Phoenix home prices will appreciate 12 percent in 2013, 12 percent in 2014 and 10 percent in 2015,” said national housing analyst John Burns of Los Angeles.  Read article

The Top 10 markets for Gen Y jobs; Phoenix 19th

Phoenix is No. 19 on the list of the 20 best cities in the U.S. for Gen Y workers to find job opportunities, according to new research from PayScale.com.  Read article

Article Comments (6) Business » Realestate » Article Phoenix-area homeowners see market on the rebound

By Catherine Reagor The Republic | azcentral.com Sat Oct 27, 2012 11:33 PM

 

For the past five years, tens of thousands of homeowners have been frozen in place, unable to sell their homes for a profit.
Now, there are signs a thaw is under way.   Read article

12 Favorite Places to Eat Outdoors in Greater Phoenix

 At last! Blissfully cool mornings, evenings with a hint of chill and daytime temps that mean we can lunch on a shaded patio without swimming in sweat. This right here, this seasonal slice of heaven is why we endure traffic, tourists and summer  Read article

Home Prices Up 11 Percent

Home Prices Up 11 Percent
 

Bank of America hit with $1B mortgage fraud lawsuit

The federal government filed a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against Bank of America Corp., accusing it of deliberately generating and selling thousands of toxic home loans that later defaulted to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Read more

Phoenix home price gains lead nation

Phoenix-area home values have been climbing at the fastest rate of any major metropolitan area this year and the dramatic surge may continue to outpace the rest of the nation through the next year, according to the latest report released Tuesday by Zillow Inc..  Read article

http://www.ecollegetimes.com/calendar/scottsdale-aims-to-host-rose-bowl-of-polo-1.2781324#.UIHiD5Kfy9V

Polo isn’t a sport for only the British to enjoy; now Americans can enjoy it here in Arizona. The second annual Scottsdale Polo Championships will have more than just polo, and includes exotic cars, Arabian horses, cigars, cocktails and DJs.  Read more.

A Motivated Seller by Any Other Name... - WSJ.com

 Houses that real-estate agents describe as "move-in condition" sell 12% faster than homes listed without those words. "Starter homes" sell 9% faster. But be careful: A house called a "handyman special" sells about 50% faster, but the final price is 30% lower than listings that lack those words.

A Motivated Seller by Any Other Name... - WSJ.com

 

Vovomeena: A Rose Between Two Fry Baskets at Seventh Avenue and McDowell

Although Vovomeena's locally crafted coffee and fresh-made breakfast and brunch items might seem out of place in an area where sushi rolls made Subway-style and fast-food burger joints placed directly across the street from each other pass for progress, it's a dining option that's desperately needed at the chain-infested, historic district corner of Seventh Avenue and McDowell in Phoenix.
And thanks to DJ Fernandes, owner of the Tuck Shop and its next-door little sister Astor House, Vovomeena (named after his grandmother) isn't just a comfortable spot to vote local, several dishes make it one worth stuffing the ballet box for.  Read more

Phoenix-area home prices surge 22 percent in past year

 Even during what is usually a summer slowdown, the lively rally of Arizona’s housing market continues as the state ranked No. 1 in the nation for gains in home prices, according to the latest data released Tuesday by CoreLogic.  Read article.

Bank of America to extinguish up to 150,000 second liens

Read article

House of the Week: Phyllis Diller's dream house

Many celebrities move from house to house, providing fodder for bloggers like me as they buy and sell.

And then there are those few who stay put. Pioneering comedian Phyllis Diller found her dream house in 1965 and lived there until she died last month at 95. The house has just gone on the market with an asking price of $12.9 million.   Read article

More Buyers Choose Conventional over FHA Loans | RISMedia

More Buyers Choose Conventional over FHA Loans | RISMedia

Bloomberg: America's 50 Best Cities

The Best Places to Live

It's impossible to say what's "best" for everyone, of course. But where's the fun in not trying? Welcome to Businessweek.com’s second America’s Best Cities ranking.  Read more

Home prices rose in July across US, dramatically in Phoenix Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/state/home-prices-rose-in-july-across-us-dramatically-in-phoenix#ixzz27bI6c0BP

Home prices rose in July across US, dramatically in Phoenix

Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/state/home-prices-rose-in-july-across-us-dramatically-in-phoenix#ixzz27bI6c0BP

Home prices, consumer confidence gain

 

( Reuters) - Home prices continued to rise in July, the latest evidence that the recovery in the housing market is on track, data showed on Tuesday.

 

Read article

New report: Valley to be in top 5 nationally for job growth - East Valley Tribune: Money

New report: Valley to be in top 5 nationally for job growth - East Valley Tribune: Money

47 Skills You Need to Survive Homeownership This Old House magazine

 

Too bad a house doesn't come with an owner's manual. And a week-long seminar where you learn what every button, switch, and wire is for. Alas, the keys to the castle come with no troubleshooting guide to dog-ear—and, we're betting, no wise master to unlock the mysteries of the place you call home.  

Read more

MSN: Home prices show best performance in 6 years

Prices rose 3.8% from July 2011 to July 2012, according to CoreLogic. Arizona had the greatest appreciation and Delaware the greatest drop in values.

Read more

 

Visit Phoenix: 3rd Annual Brazilian Day Arizona

Details

ABC News: US Home Prices Rise in July by Most in 6 Years

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON September 4, 2012 (AP)

 

U.S. home prices jumped 3.8 percent in the 12 months ending in July, according to a private real estate data provider. The year-over-year increase was the biggest in six years, further evidence that the housing market is steadily recovering.
CoreLogic said Tuesday that home prices also rose 1.3 percent in July from June. That's the fifth straight increase in both the monthly and year-over-year price indexes.
The index is the third national measure to show steady increases. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index posted its first annual increase in nearly two years last week. And a federal government housing agency has also reported annual increases.
The states with the biggest gains according to CoreLogic over the past 12 months were Arizona, Idaho, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado. In Arizona, prices have risen 16.6 percent since July 2011. Idaho has posted a 10-percent gain in that time.
But not all states are seeing increases. In Delaware, prices dropped 4.8 percent in the 12-month period. Prices fell 4.6 percent in Alabama in that stretch.
The housing market has been slowly recovering this year. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are up. Builders are more confident and starting work on more homes. And mortgage rates are near their lowest levels of the past six decades.
Prices are also rising because the supply of available homes remains tight.
Still, the housing market's recovery is just beginning. Prices remain 27 percent below their peak in April 2006, CoreLogic said.
The recent improvements have been widespread. Out of 100 large cities tracked by CoreLogic, only 23 posted year-over-year declines in July. That's four fewer than in June.

Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses & Horsepower

|

by 3TV

GMAZ interview by Scott Pasmore

Posted on September 4, 2012 at 11:01 AM

PHOENIX -- Nic Roldan, one of the biggest names in American Polo, sat down with 3TV's Scott Pasmore Tuesday to talk about an upcoming event he's taking part in at WestWorld of Scottsdale.
Roldan, who was born in Buenos Aires and raised in the U.S., is a third-generation polo player who reached professional status by age 14.


Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses & Horsepower
Oct. 20 on the Polo Fields at WestWorld
11 a.m., 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. matches
Roldan match starts at 3 p.m.
www.thepoloparty.com

Need to check out this new restaurant for Happy Hour!

Chow Bella:  New Italian Restaurant Coming to Gainey Ranch, Will Offer Free Pasta and Appetizers for Happy Hour

Read Article

5 emotional mistakes made by homebuyers

Read Article

Realtor Magazine: More Home Owners Come Out From ‘Underwater’

Read article

Downtown Phoenix: It's Cooler Than You Think

 

 Savvy locals know that downtown Phoenix is filled with independent restaurants, live entertainment, cultural attractions, and great hotels within walking distance of it all. But some visitors still manage to wander around in a state of blissful grumpiness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK_BlCWOg24&feature=youtu.be

Existing home sales, prices rise in July

Existing-home sales kept up their recovery in July, rising 2.3% as prices jumped 9.4 from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors, but the market's progress disappointed analysts who expected more.  Read article

Daily Real Estate News: Phoenix up 29% Over a Year Ago

Read Article

Phoenix area housing market sees signs of health

Catherine Reagor - Jul. 21, 2012 11:09 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

The rapid run-up in Valley home prices this year could signal that the long-awaited housing recovery is finally happening.
Metro Phoenix's median home price has shot up more than 30 percent in the past year. The number of houses for sale is at a six-year low, and realistically priced homes are drawing dozens of offers, mostly from investors.  Read more

Mortgage rates drop to historic lows

Read article

Ben and Jack's Steakhouse coming this fall

Heads up, chichi Scottsdaleans with a penchant for prime, dry-aged porterhouse steaks: New York's Ben & Jack's Steakhouse is planning a move to your fair city this fall!  Read More

Inventory of For-Sale Homes Continues to Plummet | Realtor Magazine

Inventory of For-Sale Homes Continues to Plummet | Realtor Magazine

House of the Day: Louis Kahn's interlocked cubes - MSN Real Estate

Listing of the Week: Louis Kahn's interlocked cubes - MSN Real Estate

House of the Day in NYC

 

ABC 15:  How a Couple Lives in a 240-square-foot Apartment

By: Katrina Schaefer

A New York couple has become creative to find a way to live in a 240-square-foot apartment, according to a Wednesday report.

Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/water_cooler/erin-boyle-james-casey-live-in-240-square-foot-ny-apartment#ixzz20SRcYJbW

 

Home Prices Continue to Move Higher, No Matter the Measure

 

 

The May Existing Home Sales release published in late June showed another strong rise in home prices from a year ago – 7.9 percent for the median priced existing home sold. This marks the third consecutive month of year-over-year gains according to NAR data.  Read article

10 Cheapest U.S. Cities You'll Want to Visit - Kiplinger

Phoenix is #2 

10 Cheapest U.S. Cities You'll Want to Visit - Kiplinger