This is coming up quickly, but we wanted to share the Lantern Walk with you.

Our friend and past client, Tiffany, has asked us top share this with you.

The mission of the organization that hosts the Lantern Walk, Tinkergarten, is to bring families together in green spaces and support children to learn skills like empathy and collaboration through play based learning.

I thought that was a great mission and I’m happy to share. Even if you don’t make it to this Sunday’s event, Tiffany hopes that the mission of this organization spreads.

As a mom, she knows well how important it is to instill empathy and collaboration at an early age.

I can get behind that.

If you’ve been following the rapid decline of bee populations in America, you are probably a wee bit alarmed. I’m definitely concerned. We would have a hard time growing food, were it not for these humble pollinators.

So, there is a movie I suggest you watch. I know I plan to be at this event on November 6th at 6:30.

Just in case you were worrying that this movie will be another depressing look at how we have permanently damaged our planet, don’t be.

I’ve not seen it, but from what I’m told, there is just as much in this movie that will empower you to help the pollinators through simple actions every day.

If you own a home, you can play a huge role in helping reverse the rapid bee population decline. You can help in two ways. First, you can plant flowers that are friendly to the common honey bee.

Second, you can do things that will support native bee populations, which could be increasingly important to our food supply if the common honey bee does not rebound.

I’m already looking at ways to build space for native Arizona bees in my back yard, with the help of my entomologist friend.

Look for videos on that soon.

Anyway, be sure to order your ticket right away if you are interested. This will probably fill up, as there is only one showing in the whole valley. Here is the link you will need.

Donna Reiner, a local historian and a good friend of Get Your PHX, has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history. We use her services when we list properties of historic significance to help us tell the stories behind the homes.

We are happy that Donna is allowing us to re-publish some of her articles on a monthly basis. If you or your business ever needs a historian, let Donna know at laydeescholar “at” hotmail.com.

McClintock Hall. McClintock High School. McClintock Road. Aren’t those all in Tempe?

So what do they have to do with Phoenix history?

James H. McClintock came to Arizona as a young boy in 1879 to visit his older brother who was the publisher of the Phoenix Herald. Like many others before and after him, McClintock fell in love with the area and never moved away. He did move around the territory for several years and eventually moved to Tempe where he decided to go back to school. Enrolling at Tempe Normal School (now ASU), he was a member of the first Tempe Normal graduating class in 1887. He briefly taught school in Tempe which was a far cry from his early dream of being a mechanical engineer. (The clues to why there are three places in Tempe where McClintock is honored.)

During the 1880s, McClintock worked for newspapers as an editor and/or journalist. He kept up this line of work for most of his adult life helping with the Arizona Republican in its early days, acting as correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and a number of other papers.

McClintock’s Republican political activities provided a variety of experiences too. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1886. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors named him to a team to scout for dam sites in 1889. The team did locate and map the site of what would be Roosevelt Dam. He was the state representative to the National Irrigation Congress which selected the Roosevelt Dam site following the passage of the Reclamation Act in 1902. Active in the Republican Party Committee for over 30 years, McClintock ultimately ran, unsuccessfully, for US Senator in 1922.

Service in the Spanish-American War with Bucky O’Neill, commander of a regiment to quell labor problems at the copper mines, deep interest in archaeology (he donated his library on this topic to Pueblo Grande Museum), State Historian, Phoenix Postmaster for 12 ½ years, author of a three-volume definitive history of Arizona, and school board member are just a few of the other civic activities McClintock participated in.

In 1911, McClintock and his wife moved into a lovely new 1 ½-story bungalow at 323 E. Willetta Street where they lived until shortly before his death in 1934. Dorothy McClintock was a botanist and authored a pamphlet on the classification of Southwestern flora. She also put her talents to work by landscaping their home with various fruit trees, roses and other flowers, and vegetables such as pumpkins and tomatoes. Today you only find juniper trees by the front entrance and date palms along the curb.

Colonel James H. McClintock was indeed a prominent Arizona pioneer.

Donna Reiner is the co-author of three books on Phoenix history.

The November Market Update witnesses the Cromford Index (showing seller’s advantage) leveling off a little.

That should not be read as a re-direction in the market.

The Index went from “really high” to “a little less really high”. Plus prices continue to be strong, as described by the Cromford Report:

“For the monthly period ending October 15, we are currently recording a sales $/SF of $171.20 averaged for all areas and types across the ARMLS database. This is up 1.0% or $1.74 from the $169.46 we now measure for September 15.

On October 15 the pending listings for all areas & types show an average list $/SF of $178.66, up 1.5% from the reading for September 15.

Our mid-point forecast for the average monthly sales $/SF on November 15 is $173.79, which is 1.5% above the October 15 reading. We have a 90% confidence that it will fall within ± 2% of this mid point, i.e. in the range $170.31 to $177.27.

Average $/SF for listings under contract has been rising fast over the past 2 months. It will be interesting to see how far the average for closed listings follows suit.”

For the Central Phoenix (historic neighborhood-dominated) areas, active listings are starting to recover a little, as they are valley-wide. You might recall that over the last months we were concerned about the low inventory, as compared to previous years.

What we need more than anything is for more listings to come on the market to increase affordability for those looking for a property.

But, if you have been thinking of selling, now might be the time. We are seeing signs of over-all economic shifting, and that could mean real estate market shifts to follow.

Call us at 602-4546-9388 and let’s build a strategy that is right for you.