In light of the pandemic, and the lack of group activities or events, here are some links that we hope will be helpful to you as we struggle through this most unusual summer.

If you missed our last list, see here.

Stay safe. Stay healthy!

1) Building a Trolley Museum. The Phoenix Trolley Museum has launched a campaign to buy a property in the lower Grand Avenue area that they have been leasing since leaving Hance Park in 2017.

“This is an opportunity to re-establish the Trolley Museum on a firmer foundation than it has had in the last 40 years,” said John Mulhollen, President of the museum. “Now is the time to buy. Our lease has a purchase provision where we can get the property for $150,000, even though it’s worth about half a million.” The timing is critical, Mulhollen said, because the lease term comes up at the end of September and the property could become unaffordable after that. “So, it’s now or never.”

2) Local First Indie Week XXL. A little later in the year than usual, Indie Week XXL brings you a whole month to discover and support Arizona’s small, independent businesses through a special edition of Independents Week.

It is more important than ever to support local businesses. More of your dollars stay in our community, rather than going to out-of-state investors. You also help keep more people employed.

This year, download the playing card to see how you can support local businesses, and enter to win prizes.

3) Edible Backyard Summit 2020. As a mostly successful backyard gardener, I know that there is still a lot that I don’t know. There are so many plants that I still want to grow and I want to produce more to eat and to share.

Whether you’ve wanted to get started from square one, or you are trying to keep your garden healthy, as I am, this is a great opportunity to learn.

This 4-part series from UrbanFarm.org runs each day from 3pm through 5:30pm on September 15, 16, 17, and 18, and you can watch the videos for up to 24 hours after the event, if you can’t watch live.

Best of all, it is as free as the sunshine that grows our food!

4) Arizona Restaurant Week. During the new Arizona Restaurant Week: Dine in or Take Out, participating restaurants will follow all CDC guidelines for opening and social distancing, whether dining in or taking out. The ARA is anticipating more than 200 of the Valley’s most beloved restaurants — from five-star fine dining establishments to locally owned and operated “mom and pop” hidden gems — to get involved.

As in years past, participating restaurants around the state will offer culinary adventurers dedicated menus that showcase local chefs’ creative talents through innovative dishes. Featuring a unique tasting opportunity apart from their regular menus, restaurants will offer three-course, prix-fixe menus for just $33 or $44 per person. 

5) COVID-19 Mobile Testing. Testing for COVID-19 has been going on for a while, but you might find this list of mobile testing sites useful.

From what I’ve seen, the lines have been going down and the wait times for results are getting shorter. Naturally, this does not change the need to wear masks and wash hands. So, now may be a good time to get out and get it done.

6) Literacy Site Leaders. Read Better Be Better, an organization that helps young students with literacy, is hiring site leaders.

RBBB’s after-school reading comprehension program offers community members the opportunity and training to impact our education system by helping to build literacy and leadership skills in students across the Phoenix metro area. Site Leaders work directly with families enrolled in the Read Better Be Better at Home program to provide training on program implementation, track student progress, and conduct weekly check-ins.

7) Labor Day Weekend Fire Safety. If you are thinking of camping this weekend be sure to check out the fire restrictions before you go. Since Covid-19, the forests have been flooded with people who are new to the outdoors. They never learned how to respect nature. Plus, with decades of reduced funding for forest services and park rangers, fewer people are given an opportunity to learn forest etiquette. So, we are seeing more trash and more people ignoring fire restrictions.

Have fun and lead by example! You can pick up some useful tips from Leave No Trace, a non-profit that helps promote outdoor ethics. As the Boy Scouts taught me, “leave your campsite cleaner than you found it.”

For this September Market Update, there might be a slight shift coming over what we saw last month, but mostly because more listings are coming on at a slightly faster rate. We definitely need more of that.

First, this quote from our friends at the Cromford Report:

“It looks like it is not going to surpass 342, bur 341.7 is still the highest market index reading we have ever seen.

New listings are appearing at a faster rate now, up some 15 to 18% from this time last year. But demand is also very strong and is soaking up most of the new supply within a few days of its arrival. The market is still very difficult for buyers, but if the seasonal pattern conforms to the norm, we should see a few more listings to choose from during October and November.

Having said that, 2020 has so far failed to conform to any of the usual seasonal patterns.”

So, what does this mean for the rest of the year? Well, we only have four months left, so it is not likely that this dynamic will change in that time. So, if you are getting a listing ready, you can feel confident that things will be largely the same by January.

Remember, September through November is the second busiest time of the year, after February through June. Once people sit down for Thanksgiving dinner a general tired feeling comes over them and they seem to slow down until late January. I’m no medical professional, but I think its the tryptophan.

On a side note, I was on the phone with an interested buyer yesterday to said, “I heard that if Biden wins the election, that home prices are going to plummet.”

As much as I want to see a new administration, we have to reject the idea that home prices are going shift wildly, regardless of who wins. The real estate market just does not work that way.

So, if you hear that kind of speculation, just set it in the “wild partisan talking point” circular bin.

We are seeing high home prices because there is a shortage of inventory. I think that will change only when one or a few of the following things happen: people sell off homes they are using for short-term rental and/or long-term rental; laws are changed to make it easier to build condos; land is freed up to build more owner-occupied homes; or more homes are built.

And any one of those will take a while.

So, if you are looking to purchase, don’t expect the market to change soon. Get a home if you need it. If you are thinking of selling, get your listing ready for that end-of-summer market.