Thanks again to George Hancock and Gregory Fretz, owners of the  Phoenix Ale Brewery, along with their Head Brewer John Donehower. We had a great time last month and the food from Lunche Libre hit the spot.

Its funny. Since we had our tour of the Phoenix Ale Brewer, I see their brews all over the place in town. It just goes to show you what a little exposure will do.

We have a unique treat for you this month. We are joining with our friends at Co+Hoots to bring you dinner and a movie at Angels Trumpet and FilmBar. For about $18, you will get a dinner and drink at Angels Trumpet.

Because this is a special event screening, please note that we will do things a little differently this month. We will be at Angels Trumpet from 5:30 to about 6:15, when we will all go across the street for the screening. Angels Trumpet will have a buffet selection of their fine foods for ticket holders. Your ticket includes dinner and a movie. Drinks are on your own.

Please buy your tickets through the FilmBar website BEFORE SEPT. 18TH so the chef at Angels Trumpet has an exact count for food. Go to the Calendar and watch for a listing on September 20th for out event. Filmbar will post that as soon as they have rights to show the movie we are working to get for you. You will not be able to purchase a ticket after Sept. 18th.

PLEASE PRINT YOUR TICKET AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO THE MOVIE.

So, here’s the backstory:

You are already familiar with Film Bar. They have given us our first true independent theater downtown. Film Bar was a sponsor of last year’s Phoestivus Market, as well. The beautiful coincidence is that Film Bar is located directly across the street from Angels Trumpet.

Angels Trumpet is a great experiment in the fine art of beer tasting. You can see over 30 types of beers on the huge blackboard and choose from an ever-changing list of very fresh brews. You have to see it to believe it.

We are working with the movie distributors now on a special presentation, which is uniquely relevant to all of the revitalization that we are doing in downtown Phoenix.  Please RSVP on our Facebook page and please stay tuned.

As the summer begins to tease us with signs of fading out–the sky is overcast and the rain is supposed to continue for the next week or so, I find myself thinking about the end of the year. Specifically, I think about how the older realtors always talk about the “slow months” –November through January.

Now, I’m no old hand, but I’m not that new and I can tell you that last Halloween through New Year’s was all work for me in the real estate business.

As the story goes, people stop buying or selling houses because the holidays just creep up on them and they get distracted. The common wisdom says that the market slows down after the summer and then maybe you may be able to negotiate a better deal during the holidays and Christmas. But that has not been the case the last two years.

If you look at previous years (see below), you will see that this is generally true; especially around Thanksgiving. In the first chart below you will see the last nine years. Some of them drop off drastically, but come back around February. In the second chart you will see 2004 and 2005 compared to 2010 and 2011. In ’10 and ’11 there was a little drop around November, but then we just picked right up again.

In other words, don’t assume that the end of the year is going to be slow!

The take away?

First: Don’t assume the end of the year is going to be slow. Whether you are selling or buying, take advantage of the active market.

Second, it’s been hectic the last two years. We have every reason to believe it’s going to be hectic this year, too.

And by the way, if you’re thinking to short sale, you’re running out of time if you want to avoid the tax repercussions of selling your home short. Please see this article and learn how the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act allows you to avoid paying taxes on mortgage debt forgiven by your lender. This act runs out at the end of this year.