Just 20 minutes northeast of Mesa, Arizona, you can moor your boat for water skiing and water sports.

Today, we have 53,438 active listings..........

Those of us who use the 60 East in Mesa through the stretch from, say, Gilbert Road on out to Signal Butte have been dodging all of the construction for what seems forever. There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel. ADOT is putting the finishing touches on the 202 north from the 60 from Southern to University! YES!!! They will be opening that stretch by the middle of July and finishing the remainder all of the way to Power by next summer. That will be wonderful. 

Another tidbit of welcome news is that the section between Signal Butte and Crismon Road will be rubberized later this year. After it's not too hot, and before it gets too cold. That will eliminate a great deal of the noise for those homeowners living near the freeway. I have been told that if those who do live near that open section complain in writing about the truck noise, debris, that it will encourage ADOT to put up a sound wall.  None is planned as of now. But if enough people make noise about the noise, it would be much better.

Today, our active listings total 54,192. We still have a 10 month supply of homes. As I recommended in my last post, sellers need to think about staging their homes, and buyers? What are you waiting for? Interest rates are going up and home prices are down. Now's a good time to buy that home!

It is amazing though, after living in Southern California for a number of years, how quickly the freeways do get completed here.

Teri

An important addition to the already popular list of how to sell your home is having it staged! Staging is about making your home look like a model home. Have you noticed? As you trapse through model homes, how open and roomy and tasteful it is? How many times have you said, "I'll buy this just like it is now."  I hear that comment almost everytime I take a buyer to view model homes. Heck, I've thought that myself. How DO they do this!

My recommendation is for everyone listing and selling their home. You can meet with a stager, give them your budget, agree on a price and off they go. They will move your "stuff" around - sometimes into the garage (or into a storage unit) until you sell your home. They will add those special touches and rearrange your furniture, wall hangings, etc. to appeal to more buyers. They will suggest that you repaint to neutral colors instead of your favorite mustard color that you love. After all, isn't it your strong desire to "sell" your home? For the most money? If your home has all of these special collector knick knacks.....the stager will probably suggest you pack them and store them. Just notice the next time you're in a model, the tables were cleared of "stuff," the counters had no "stuff" on them, the bathrooms have minimal "stuff" in them. Bottom line: There is no clutter. That's one reason the homes look so good.

I've provided a link of before and after photos that help you "get" the idea of how staging your home can make a HUGE difference: http://www.stagedfirstimpressions.com/gallery.html

Save yourself some grief. Save yourself some money. Whether your home is vacant or you're living in it..... hire a stager. Need help to find one? Call me......

As evidenced by our current active listings, and less than half of the homes selling compared to last year, some of the areas suffering the most is Queen Creek and/or Pinal County. The further you are from the freeways, the longer it will take to sell your home. Many sellers are getting more realistic about their prices realizing that they "must" list their homes for much less than even a year ago. That said, homes are selling in areas like Mesa and East Mesa and areas closer in to Phoenix.

Keep in mind that not forever will the market in the outlying areas be soft. They will pick up as the market picks up and as Ironwood finishes being widened and the proposed Queen Creek Freeway is an actuality. New stores, new schools, and new homes are going up like crazy in Queen Creek. If you can handle the drive and wait it out, now's a good time to make deals. On another note, interest rates are higher than they have been for a year, and they are predicting them to go up to seven percent by the end of 2007.

Existing home sales show slight bump in dragging market, from the East Valley Tribune, reports on the recent sales and price report from ASU. It adds that the market is dealing with a huge overhang of housing inventory, which hit record highs in recent months-- soaring to more than 50,000. Many are investment properties. The slump has hit some areas harder than others. Those closer to freeways and jobs are holding steady, while prices in outlying areas continue to drop. Sellers in Pinal County and the West Valley are struggling to compete with builders offering larger homes, landscaping and other incentives at resale prices, said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at ASU. High energy prices and traffic congestion are also impacting sales, he said.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/91454

Today, our listings total 53,752. Now is a great time to buy - don't wait too long, or the interest rates will be higher than you'd like.