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McCormick Ranch Bars on Bikes

 Chris, one of the dog lovers from the park, put together the “McCormick Ranch Bars on Bikes.” The weather was great! I caught up with them at Downside Risk. I didn’t know half the people there so it was a lot of fun meeting new folks as well as talking with my old friends. It was a blast! MORE at http://www.mrbarsonbikes.com. The route included; • Altitude Coffee Lab • Wally’s Pub • Downside Risk • The Vig • Zips Sports Grill John

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Why mortgage lending standards are way too tight

 “Lowest rates of delinquency ever measured” From Lou Barnes at Inman News. Too many defaults means that underwriting was too easy… Too few defaults is the signature of too tough… But as you tighten toward no defaults, you reach a diminishing return, turning down acceptable credits in mania for perfection. Specifics. In normal times 1945-2000, Fannie-style underwriting produced delinquency rates just above 4 percent and foreclosure rates near 0.7 percent. Today the overall U.S. delinquency rate is still 6.25 percent, some 4.5 million loans. However, new loans made since 2010 have had the lowest rates of delinquency ever measured. One of the best metrics is early default: Performance in the…

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Scottsdale named one of the best run cities in America

 Via Scottsdale Living Magazine. “With the fourth lowest crime rate in the nation, 10th lowest unemployment rate and residents who make it one of the wealthiest and beautiful cities in the country, 24/7 Wall Street has named Scottsdale the sixth best-run city in America.” • Violent crime per 100,000: 147 (4th lowest) • 2012 Unemployment rate: 5.7% (tied-10th lowest) “Scottsdale has some of the wealthiest residents of any large U.S. city. A typical household in the area made $72,102 last year, about $20,000 more than the national median income. Residents are well off by several other measures as well. As of last year, more than 95% of adults had a…

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Arizona property taxes MUCH less than in Northeast, California, Chicago, Texas, Washington, Florida and Oregon

 One thing the graphs don’t capture are programs like those in California where new home owners can pay tons more in property taxes than the old timers next door. Or policies like in Florida where vacation homeowners pay more than full time residents. In Arizona We Treat You with Respect In Arizona you’ll pretty much pay the same property tax as your neighbors whether you’re the new kid on the block or you’re only a part-time resident. When choosing where to live, be sure and include property taxes when estimating your cost of living. Via the Tax Policy Center.

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Why didn’t more home sellers buy another home when prices were great in 2011?

 Here’s an interesting economic phenomenon. I wouldn’t have expected the difference to be so large. “More than two-thirds (69 percent) of home sellers purchased a home after selling their previous residence, up from nearly half (47 percent) in 2012, and from only 12 percent in 2011.” CAR.org. A psychological fact that helps explain a lot of weird economic behavior is that losing $1 hurts people a lot more emotionally than the pleasure of gaining $1. Fear of loss is twice (or more) the motivator than the opportunity for gain. You can see that effect in the quote above very clearly. It’s a Wash Home prices were much lower in 2011…

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Heard Museum closing North Scottsdale location

 Via azcentral.com. Exhibitions will close April 1 at The Summit at Scottsdale on north Scottsdale Road. The Gallery Café and the Shop will close May 1. Heard Museum North has operated for 15 years in the North Valley, first at el Pedregal and since 2007 at The Summit at Scottsdale. At a Heard Museum board meeting last week, members decided not to renew its lease. Henry said one of the primary reasons was that anticipated development around the area never happened. “At the time, things were booming. But to continue to have a sustainable operations we needed the foot traffic,” he said. Also, homes that did exist in the area…

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Phoenix Real Estate Market at a Glance and 2014 Forecast – January 2014 Report

 John Wake analyses the Phoenix real estate market using Phoenix MLS (Multiple Listing Service) data. The metro Phoenix MLS comes out with new data each month on the number of homes sold, the median price of the homes sold, the number of unsold homes listed for sale, and the number of new listings that hit the Phoenix market each month. See all past “Phoenix Real Estate Market at a Glance” reports on a single page. See the interactive graphs HERE. January 2014 Conclusions The median home price in Metro Phoenix continued flat and I forecast only small positive gains (3%-6%) for Metro Phoenix as a whole in 2014. The number…

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