Your February Market update indicates a continued strong market with sellers having the advantage as we go in to the busiest time of year.

Here’s what our friends at the Cromford Report have to say:

“New listings have been arriving at a slower rate than last year, adding to the problems faced by buyers. Although the overall number of active listings excluding UCB increased by 2.4% during the month, this is an unusually low growth for January and many areas have experienced an unexpected decline in listings over the past 31 days.

This imbalance between supply and demand is true throughout most of the low and mid price ranges, but is less of a factor in the higher price areas, particularly in the outer locations. While this imbalance persists, it is likely to lead to further price rises. We saw a substantial 1.1% rise in the average price per sq. ft. during last month, but the median sales price remained flat for the second month. The average price per sq. ft. is a better reflection of what is going on.”

Anecdotally in CenPho and the historic neighborhoods, we are continuing to see a strong seller’s market, as well as new listings. There is a little dip in prices in the chart below, but it is yet to be seen as to whether this is the hold-over from the end of the year. I would guess that it is more of a blip because the contract ratios are still moving upward, as we would expect this time of year.

In short, if you are looking purchase, you will want to either get on it now or wait for at least a year.

If you are thinking of selling, 2017 is definitely the time to do it.

By the way, we also work in other areas of town. We do this analysis for CenPho and the historic neighborhoods because we get most requests for that analysis.

If you would like us to analyze the market for you in any other area of Maricopa county, please give us a call at 602-456-9388.

Handy-dandy charts for your February Market Update are below:

The market analysis shows a small shift in prices, but probably not significant.

The seller’s advantage continues upward as the year begins.

The number of listings continues to climb. Will that eventually put a downward pressure on prices?

Contract Ratios -the ratio of homes that close in any given month, of all of those on the market of any status

The new Recyclebank innovation from the City of Phoenix allows you to get credits at local businesses for recycling your trash.

Recyclebank, Phoenix’s new partner in waste diversion and sustainability, invites Phoenix residents and other members of the community to a family-friendly event 5 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the Arizona Science Center, 600 E. Washington St. The goal of the event to introduce the Phoenix community to a new rewards program that educates participants on how to divert more waste from the landfill while earning redeemable points.

The rewards program works by going to recyclebank.com, where participants can easily sign up to activate their account. The website offers several sustainability articles and waste diversion tips participants can read and then earn points that will be added to their account. The site also has videos, recycling tips, craft ideas using recyclable materials, as well as opportunities to enroll in any of Phoenix’s solid waste programs, all of which allow participants to earn points.

Points can be redeemed for savings at local businesses and national chains, such as Bunky Boutique, AMC Theatres and Target.

For mobile device users, the Recyclebank app can be downloaded for free.

At the free, family-friendly community event, guests can enjoy activities that help them understand the importance of sustainability through hands-on demonstrations presented by the Arizona Science Center staff. In the Urban Heat Island demonstration, guests will explore ways to change landscapes to adapt to hot environments and conserve water; the Plarn demonstration, guests learn how to make yarn out of the world’s most thrown-out objects; and in the Water Roll demonstration, guests become a sustainability scientist and learn about water conservation.

There is no cost to attend the event, but RSVPs are strongly encouraged at Eventbrite.

Recyclebank’s rewards program is part of the city’s effort to educate the community about recycling more, recycling right and other waste diversion programs. Under the Reimagine Phoenix initiative, Phoenix strives to reach its goal of a 40 percent waste diversion rate by 2020 through enhanced solid waste programs, public-private partnerships and expansion of its community and educational outreach.

The Green Cleaning Tip for February from our friends at GoingGreenHouse.com is particularly useful if you have any stainless steel in your home and you don’t want to use poisonous chemicals.

Many of our major household appliances are stainless steel. If you’ve owned one for long enough, though, you know it’s not exactly “stainless”.  Greasy fingerprints and water stains are all too common on refrigerators, dishwashers, and stoves—and it definitely doesn’t look pretty. Luckily, there is an amazing, all natural way to clean the unsightly mess from your stainless appliances. All you need is olive oil and vinegar.

You’ll need:

• Spray bottle
• 1 part vinegar and 1 part water mixture
• Microfiber cloth
• Olive oil

1. Start by cleaning your appliance with the vinegar and water mixture. Be generous. Use paper towel or cloth to wipe clean in the direction of the grain. This should remove the basic debris, like stuck on food or sticky fingerprints.
2. Dip your microfiber cloth in a small bit of olive oil. You can always dip again if you need more.
3. Polish the appliance in the direction of the grain. The fingerprints and water marks should start to disappear.
4. Buff out any streaks, and BAM! Now you’ve got a shiny appliance again!

It really is as simple as that. If you’ve used this natural magic to clean all your stainless appliances, and are bummed you have nothing left to make shiny, you can also do something similar to your stainless steel sink! Yep, that’s right!

Now, obviously the sink gets a lot more use than the other appliances, so olive oil would not be used for this, but hang on to that vinegar and water mixture!

You’ll need:

• Spray bottle
• 1 part vinegar 1 part water mixture
• Baking soda
• Water
• Microfiber towels

1. Spray the vinegar and water mixture all over the sink to clean the initial mess. For added shine (and fresh, citrusy goodness) cut a lemon in half and rub all over sink and faucet.
2. Mix baking soda and water together until it forms a paste.
3. Scrub the sink with the paste. For extra tough stains or spots, let it sit for 20 mins. Then rinse clean.
4. Dry with microfiber cloth.

All this heavenly shine from just a few ingredients you probably already have lying around the house! So, if you’re tired of your dull, messy stainless steel appliances, give this a try! It’s amazing!

Green Cleaning Tip for February