One of the exciting things about living in the northwest valley is the brightly colored hot air balloons floating across our neighborhoods on an almost daily basis due the desirableness of the north valley as a fly over area. With the Sonoran Desert views, open desert and wild life many of the hot air balloon companies have chosen this area around Terramar, Stetson Valley, Stetson Hills and Norterra for their fights. This balloon launch was at 1-17 and Happy Valley on the southwest corner. I believe this event was provided by the Hot Air Expeditions Inc.. You can find their website at www.hotairexpeditions.com.
Have you ever wondered what causes interest rates to go up and down? Will these historical low rates last? I found this great video that tells all. We have seen very low rates in the northwest valley including Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria for the last year, now we know why. Don’t break out the popcorn, it is only 7 minutes long.
Many people in the valley are asking what 2010 will bring to the housing market in the metro Phoenix market. Check out the chart below provided as a courtesy of the Cromford Reports. Their statistical research indicates the following concerning the demand for homes in the valley: A number above 100 would indicate a higher than normal demand and a number below 100 indicate lower than normal demand. A number of 100 represents balance.
In Feb. 2005 with an index number of 136.9 the valley reached it peak for demand where as Nov,2007 the indicator was reached a low of 56.6. In Dec 2009 we were at a demand index number of 147.5 which would indicate strong demand. Demand is being driven by low interest rates plus low prices ,which are similar to prices we saw in 2000 in many areas. Demand is expected to remain strong according to housing market experts through the summer selling season.
This is the way we in the northwest valley like to enjoy our snow. Either admiring from afar, as I did when I took this photo, or if you are really missing the white stuff, in less than 2 hours you can drive to the mountains to enjoy it, hands on!
I drive past the Sunrise Mountain Library quite frequently while showing properties in the area. Today I finally decided to stop and check it out. Oops, Peoria’s latest library does not open until 1 p.m. on Sundays, so make sure you check out their hours of operation before heading over. The building is architecturally interesting so I shot a few pictures for you. I am looking forward to getting back over to this 22,000 sq ft library when they are open to see the amenities in person.
The library is convenient to Westwing Mountain, Vistancia, Terramar ,Stetson Hills, Stetson Valley and Arrowhead, or anyone who lives in the zip codes of 85308,85083, 86383 and 85382. If you live in Maricopa County you may use this facility so check out the Sunrise Mountain library website . They seem to have great programs for preschoolers, teens and adults.
The most exciting part for me was to learn how easy they have made returning books or renewing items with the easy drive through book return and online or phone renewal. No more excuses for late fees! Located at 21109 N. 98th Ave.,Peoria, Az. 85382. Let me know what your experience has been with this NORTHWEST VALLEY library. Hours. FAQ.
I am hear to say, we of the North West Valley in Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria including the zip codes of 85383, 85308 and 85083, got off pretty light in the winter monster storm of 2010. Many areas of the valley did experience heavy damage but as I drove around this part of the valley this morning, I did not see much for storm damage. Here are a few pictures of what I did find. A few trees down, My Pool with too much water in it, water retention areas filled like mini lakes and to my delight, New River on Happy Valley at the new bridge was filled and flowing with water. A rare but beautiful sight.
What goes up must come down? Well, we have all seen enough of falling prices with the Phoenix market correction over the last 2 years. But here, going down is great news. As we see on this chart active listings are down approximately 10,000 from a year ago. 3000 of that drop in active listings was just last month. We still need less listings for the market to be considered normal, but this is great news to see the number of actively listed home home decreasing at a nice pace. 5% interest rates, 2001 pricing in most areas and a $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers has certainly spurred the sale of homes this year.
Here is the monthly sold numbers for the last year for the MLS including the areas of North Phoenix,Peoria and Glendale. On the far left side of the graph you see March of 2008 in blue and March of 2009 on the right in gray. Gray is now a very lovely color when it represents a huge spike in sales this last month to 7544. A number we have not seen since the market was on fire in Spring of 2006. Click on the graph to see it larger.
I found this great article in the New York Times on the housing rescue plan that President Obama has been working on to stem the wave of foreclosures. I know many of you are wondering if you are a candidate for the refi program that is included in this bill. It covers such things as:
How to find out if your loan qualifies
What the guidelines are
Will I have to pay mortgage insurance if I am not currently doing so?
Some days are better than others and today is a good day. I had 2 clients with home purchases they were waiting to close escrow on. They were both also waiting to lock in their interest rates, desiring something a little better than 5.5%. (I don’t know when 5.5% became a less than desirable rate).
Well today their wait paid off, as they were able to lock in at rates of 5% due to the quick action of the loan officer Linda Hall at First Priority Financial who was closely watching the market for a rally. Being in the right place at the right time and having a good team to get you in the right place is a beautiful thing. It puts a smile on my face. Congratulations Mel, Terry and Christine on securing a great interest rate on your new homes!
Emmy McLeish~providing real estate services for intelligent people in North Phoenix,Peoria and Glendale, Arizona
