Freezing Credit Files To Prevent ID Theft

Information on the new laws allowing people to freeze their credit file to protect themselves from ID theft are being reviewed on a state-by-state basis. Many states are now requiring that the big 3 credit bureaus make freezing one's credit file not only inexpensive, but easy to do. While freezing your credit file may seem an extreme measure, current trends indicate that the credit bureaus will be encouraging the public to use this concept as a solution to avoiding some forms of identity theft. Full article - Jean

The Nation's Housing Problems & The Stock Market

Today's market activity is an interesting story: Existing home sales plunged 8% for the past month, the lowest on record in a one-month period. This sent the stock market down 13%, or about 170 points. But guess what happened by the close of business bell? The market had rebounded to its opening bell position. That's a strong signal that our nation's economy is much stronger than many of the doom-and-gloomers would have us believe it is. Many who remember, say the current problems in th housing market have strong echos of the S&L bailout of 1990 - 1991. Jim Cramer, of Bloggingstocks.com, provides an excellent analysis of the market from an economic standpoint, and a view as to why we as a nation are actually in better shape in today's market than we were 17 years ago. Read on - Jean Click here for whole story...

Scottsdale and Phoenix Home Values By Zipcode for 2007

Greetings…The Arizona Republic just came out with their 2007 Home Values Report which was in the Arizona Republic this past weekend! Below is the link to the site where you can search by the categories of ALL SALES, RESALES AND NEW HOME. Just enter your zip code and county and the information appears. THEN…click on the details section to get an in depth comparison of the last several years (appreciation, number of sales etc.). CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS REPORT

Homes Sold In Scottsdale

The Scottsdale Homes Sales Report for September is ready! Click here to sign up for your email copy of homes sold by neighborhood. You choose the communities you want to receive reports about. Reports are delivered automatically to your email every month so you can stay informed on what the Scottsdale real estate market is doing.

How I Sold My Home in Six Days - One Happy Woman's Story

Here's a great story that holds a lot of truisms - if you want to sell your home fast, you need to make it move-in ready, and have above-average appeal. You also need to work with an expert - a real estate agent who knows you particular market, what sells, and what you need to do to capture the buyers out there. Finally, you as the seller need to be willing to make the investment in time, money and effort to bring it all about and make the sale happen. Read the full article

How Do McMansions Affect Your Home Value? One Neighborhood's Story

What happens when your neighbor down the street puts in that big addition? Or the guy across the way decides to do a teardown of his house and put up a new bigger, better one that makes yours look like a bungalow? Read on to get one neighborhood's story

New Home Builders Anxious - Pile on the Incentives

If you are in the Scottsdale real estate market to buy a new home and haven't noticed that the largest home builders are offering some incredible incntives, hopefully this article will make you sit up and pay attention. There 's no question that today's housing market is one of the strongest real estate markets for all the buyers out there. As a buyer looking for a new home, you should be able to capitalize on the glut of over-produced new construction that is available in the Scottsdale and Phoenix housing markets at considerably less than what the same home would have cost you a year ago. Not only will you walk away with a lot more house, but you'll also be walking into instant equity. Read the whole article now

The Secret Buying Season In Arizona Real Estate

Have you always dreamed of owning that great golf course getaway home on the 10th fairway of one of Arizona's top-notch golf communities? Your dream and about 50 million other people just like you. But some of them actually make the dream happen. They know some secrets to the golf and luxury home market in Arizona that the average handicapper doesn't.

We all know that this year has seen some of the most significant price reductions in golf and luxury properties since the Savings & Loan bailout of 1991. We all know it's a "buyer's market". But what distinguishes the people taking action from the people just dreaming about the chance to own a home on the golf course is the power of information, and acting on the right opportunity.

Some people know about the "Secret Season" in Arizona real estate. Here is the strategy in a nutshell. Serious buyers - those people who want to own that home on the golf course or in a luxury resort community in Scottsdale or Phoenix - come out in what is called the "off season". The off season in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona runs from mid-May to October. This is the time of year when most of the golf courses dramatically reduce their greens fees, resorts offer special pricing on spa packages and hotel stays, and sales in real estate slows down. After all, it isn't anywhere near as fun to run around looking at luxury homes and golf villas in 110-degree heat versus doing it when there's a crispness in the air, and the daytime temperature is something more bearabale, say 75 degrees. Couple this off-season with the fact that we are in what has been the best buyer's market in real estate in almost 15 years, and you can see there are definite advantages to buying during the off months.

And for those of us that are serious about buying, that is exactly what is going on. Buyers are coming quietly into the Scottsdale and Phoenix market in the dead of the off season, and buying up properties which have been languishing on the market. And they are getting these homes at prices which they could never get them at during high season, which is the peak buying period for Arizona real estate, hence there is more competition in the market. The smart buyers who are buying up their next second home, vacation home or golf getaway now, are also making out well with negotaiting what they want out of the deal, since there is nowhere near the number of buyers in town that there will be come November. With fewer buyers in town, and sellers becoming more aggressive on their terms, it becomes an attractive strategy. Even if it means having to do your house hunting in the dog days of summer in Arizona.

If you want to learn more about leveraging the off-season for real estate purchases in the Scottsdale, Phoenix, or anywhere in the Valley of the Sun, feel free to send me your comments or questions at Jean@JeanGlass.com

If New York Is Doing It, Something Must Be Right!

All of us want to know what the next move is in real estate. I look anxiously each day to hear and see what the Fed may be whispering, and second-guessing what Ben Bernanke may be thinking. This small group of people shape our great economy in the U.S. This information can make or break my day. When Alan Greenspan wants to go on prime time TV to float his new biography, the world still listens intently to what his opinion is. More often than not, Greenspan's spoken phrases have a profound effect on what the markets will do over he next several weeks.

And what a market year this has been. I am a true believer in the "Next Wave" of information to the public when it comes to real estate investing, buying and selling. I want to make my reading audience and my clients smarter. What I mean specifically, is that the MORE INFORMATION you share with the public, the greater the payback. I am a professional in the Real Estate industry, and also an investor, and I live by this credo: share the information, increase your wealth. The more I share with my clients, the more money they realize and the more income I make. That is what investing is all about.

And that is why we are all here on this site reading the latest tips and information. Take a look at what New York is doing. The last great hold out of the Multiple Listing Service has finally succumbed to the New Technology. For years, agents have had a strangle-hold on the NY residential market with their exclusive listings, charging buyers and sellers a fortune to transact real estate in New York. No longer is this true. This should be a call to action for teh rest of us nationwide - those who ar not afraid to share their information, multiply their success a hubdred-fold! Click here to read the full article