There. I said it. Gas Stoves are Dangerous.

It is a heretical thing for a realtor to say, especially knowing that so many of our clients want them.

Heck, I have one in my home!

But with more information coming out about how dangerous they can be, particularly for children, I’m considering switching out to a induction stove.

There are two major reasons that we all need to consider removing gas stoves from our homes. The first is personal lung health. The second is about climate change.

Gas Stoves are Bad for Your Lungs

Let’s start by addressing the idea that fossil gas, or what the industry likes to call “clean natural” gas for marketing purposes, is not really as clean… especially when it is in your home.

Gas in home use releases dangerous levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde; levels that the EPA considers dangerous for even outdoor exposure. This can trigger breathing problems for people with asthma, particularly kids.

And, let’s face it, how often do you remember to turn on the fan above your stove? As a realtor, I’ve seen homes where there is only an interior fan over a gas stove –meaning it just recirculates carbon monoxide and other poisons inside the kitchen. The inspector usually points it out, but the buyers move ahead because they’ve been lead to believe that gas is clean-burning.

The multi-billion dollar, multi-decade, “cooking with gas” campaign from the gas industry has mislead people.

Gas is a Huge Contributor to Climate Change

The gas industry spends incredible amounts of money to tell us, for instance, that burning gas is better than burning coal. They also spend incredible amounts convincing lawmakers of the same.

Coal fire power plants are terrible and need to go away. But the idea that methane gas is a good alternative, or “bridge fuel” is very mistaken.

According to National Geographic, “On a 20-year timescale, a methane molecule is roughly 90 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than a molecule of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that wields the most control over Earth’s future warming in the long-term.” (emphasis added)

Furthermore, unlike coal, we have millions of miles of pipes all over the earth that deliver gas to homes, or from refineries, or from gas fields… and they all leak at rates we vastly under-estimated.

As such, we learn more and we know more. We need to move even more quickly as individuals and as governments to transition away from gas.

Can You Be Blamed for Not Knowing?

I don’t think so. The challenge is that the information has been evolving. For instance, back when I was the director of the state’s energy office in 2005-06, the common thinking was that it was better for the environment to have a gas water heater. That was because it took 60 gallons of water to generate the energy at a coal-fired power plant 300 miles away just to heat one gallon of water at your house.

So, of course it was better to heat that gallon of water with a flame in your home.

But, the calculation is changing. As we have shut down more coal fire power plants and more renewables have come on line, it is increasingly better every year for you to use electric to heat water, heat your home and cook your food.

Furthermore, the more we learn about the huge problems with leaks (and explosions) throughout the system, the more it makes sense to move to electricity.

Heck, I wish I would have thought of that before I installed a gas-fired tankless water heater back in 2014. So, we are all learning.

What Can Be Done?

1. Rebates for electric appliances. We need to demand from our policy makers and our utilities that they provide rebates for moving from gas stoves, gas water heaters and gas home heating. We did it with great success when we moved from incandescent light bulbs to CFLs and then LEDs.

2. If you can make the shift now, consider doing it. Perhaps your water heater is getting old, consider making the shift. I am.

3. Look in to cooking with induction stove tops. As a realtor, many people I talk to wants a gas range. But many folks don’t know that you can brown those potatoes just as well with an induction stove top. Plus it cleans up better! There are a bunch of YouTube videos out there of professional chefs debunking gas industry myths.

As with everything in this realm, cleaner energy is a combination of personal change and political change. We need both.

Phoestivus 2021 is happening this year and there are a lot of things that you need to know. Be sure to follow us on Instagram for updates.

1. Phoestivus 2021 is, for the first time, two nights in a row. — December 15th and 16th, from 5pm to 10pm. So, please mark your calendars! This change has been coming for a long time and it allows us to save money on infrastructure so that we can bring you a better experience, and so that more of what we raise goes to the weekly downtown farmer’s market.

2. Vendors are Central to Our Mission. — Our vendors are still locally-owned and create locally-made goods. We just stopped taking applications for vendors, and we are still sorting out exactly how many there will be. But expect well over 150.

3. Our Footprint is Expanding. — To assure that we can have more socially-distant shopping space, we are expanding over to 1st Street. So, that means there will be shopping, food and drinks on the normal Public Market footprint, but also on McKinley, Pierce and 1st St.

4. Your Old Favorites are Here Again. — Phredie the Yeti, Hipster Santa as well as Phoestivus traditions like the Phoestivus Pole, Pheats of Strength, and the Airing of Grievances are also making their triumphant return to Phoestivus.

5. We have some surprises. We can’t say yet, but it involved Phoestivus Ale, some other new ale houses and some new traditions around local music. Stay tuned!

As the founder of Phoestivus, I’m thrilled that the event is back. We’ve been hearing from fans just how excited they are. So, expect a lot of people to be out and about on those two nights.

Here are some comments from a couple very important people to the Phoestivus 2021 event:

“Phoenix loves Phoestivus and it has grown into a special annual event that people look forward to every year, so we’re extremely excited to bring everyone back together to host this collaborative community celebration,“ said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego

“The effects of the pandemic have been challenging for, well, everyone but especially small businesses. This event provides a needed platform for guests to support local businesses and entrepreneurs, which is critical now more than ever, in a fun, fanciful and festive environment that’s unique to Phoestivus.”  said Tanya Chakravarty Executive Director of Community Food Connections.

In this November Shortage Report, I want to explore why we still have this shortage, and why it might be going away soon. I do that in this short video on Facebook.

First, you’ve heard me raise alarms about ibuyers and short term rentals (STRs) in the past, here and here. Those can be institutional investors, or even massive real estate “brokerages” that use meta-data about the market to play the market for their own multi-billion dollar profits.

The Arizona Republic published a must-read article this last week about the tactics that ibuyers have used to shut out first-time home buyers. The take-away: as I’ve said for years, ibuyers have bought up inventory so that there is less for everyone else, leading to price increases.

Frankly, I think its ethically criminal and the sale of residential homes to institutional investors should be prohibited.

If you want to see a very entertaining and enlightening summation of what ibuyers are doing to play the system, watch this Las Vegas realtor’s TikTok video. He explains just how these massive brokers use the data they collect when people research for homes on their very well-known websites to harm home buyers.

As I see it, every realtor has a fiduciary responsibility to their clients. When ibuyers are more interested in playing the market, they are failing this very basic legal requirement. Unfortunately, our real estate commissioner (as least in this state) has not taken that position.

So, here’s the possible silver lining. According to the Republic and other sources, at lease Zillow and possibly other massive buyers are going to stop buying up properties and they are looking at selling off their massive inventory of homes, which are just sitting there.

I don’t know if they expect to sell them at a loss, but we will see what happens if prices begin to flatten or fall.

One of the problems we have as we consider the November shortage report is that we don’t have accurate data about how many homes are being used as investment properties, particularly short-term rentals. The county requires you to register if your home is being used as a rental property. But we don’t require that of short term rentals. We should.

The Republic article mentioned that 26% of all home sales has been investor buyers in the past year, way up from 10% in the summer 2020.

Similarly, but causing the same shortage problem, a report to the Maricopa Association of Governments, data analyst AirDNA presented the following slide, which showed in some cases hundreds of STRs per one census block.

However the staff at the Cromford Report cautioned when I asked about what data they have, that numbers in all reports are really just guesses, based on the name of the owner in the MLS.

In other words, this is a reasonable cause for the county or the state to require STR and investor buyers to at the very least register when they purchase a residential home for investment purposes.

Again, that is the very least. We need to seriously consider restricting all of this activity.

The fact is that these residential neighborhoods were never designed to be investor markets for billionaires.

They were meant to be safe neighborhoods and places where people could find affordable housing while they save for their future.

Just a month ago we shared with you our new listing and it is already closing this month. This 3br/1.75ba, 2,045sf home saw gads of praise from realtors who specialize in historic homes. The owners spent precious time and resources making certain that they honored the historic charm of the home, all while upgrading the kitchens, bathrooms, floors, plumbing and landscaping.

This beautiful home in the Del Norte Historic Neighborhood was renovated, top to bottom, preserving important historic elements, including matching new kitchen and bathroom tile to the original tile from the 1930’s.

The bathrooms have been expanded and updated, while preserving their vintage charm. The new kitchen has stainless steel appliances, a new breakfast nook with built-in seating, new A/C and heating, along with renovations to the pool and landscaping.

The unique pass-throughs between the kitchen and living room add to the already light-bathed living space. There is even a bonus room perfect for a home office. The home is close to many of downtown Phoenix’s favorite attractions: Encanto Park, golf, restaurants, inviting walking areas, and downtown entertainment.

It was no wonder that it is closing this month. We took in multiple offers within days and accepted a great offer with a quick close.

It was a nice complement to hear from agents who specialize in historic home, wanting to know how the owners pulled this one off. With most homes now being gutted and renovated with what can only be called a “uniform look”, the buyers, in particular, were excited to see what they had done. You can learn more about the importance of historic preservation at this website.

Whether looking to see what is closing this month, or what we have coming soon, always check out our listings page on this site for more photos.

We are all responsible for the state of water in Arizona. Well, maybe not if you just moved here. But, you will if you stay here. And taking responsibility is the only hope for water in Arizona.

I begin this post with that sentence, taking the serious risk that it will turn you off and you will think that I’m going to try to shame you about your life here in the desert.

I promise I won’t. Really.

After all, we are all responsible, including me. We all live in the desert and we all use water. We could all do better.

I posted this piece from Slate Magazine and one climate change denier told me I was just a preaching liberal do-gooder who wanted to look down his nose at everyone else. My response: I’m responsible, too.

The nature of responsibility, especially if we want to create change, is to look at ourselves. There are many things that I did at my home to reduce water use: drained and covered the old pool, eliminated the grass in my front yard. But there are other things that I could still do.

But, more than that, as a realtor I’ve said many times that we realtors have an ethical responsibility to our clients to think about water and energy in the desert.

How can I ethically sign you up for a 30-year mortgage for your home knowing that your house may be worth a fraction of what it could be because we have failed to take care of our sustainability future.

Again, we don’t have to completely run out of water for people and businesses to choose not to live in Arizona anymore, thus tanking the housing market and over-all economy.

Realtors and home builders should be water and energy conservation hawks, but sadly they are not.

Of course, this takes us to the tired, old false dichotomy about whether any individual can solve major problems like water conservation and climate change.

It’s just that, a false dichotomy. I won’t fix all the problems by draining my pool or recycling or driving an electric car. But I should do those things AND vote only for people who promise to dramatically reform water and energy policy in Arizona. Here’s a great scorecard map showing who cares and who does not.

It’s a simple equation. Like losing weight. Fad diets won’t do it. Only a mix of diet and exercise will do it.

So, responsibility should not be about shaming. It is about taking personal action and demanding policy action, together.

This October Shortage Update continues to see an over-all shortage, but some movement in the market in a different direction, hopefully. Active Listings are lower than last year, but up 11% over last month. Monthly sales are down 2.7% from last year, but up 3.6% from last month.Monthly Average Sales Price per Sq. Ft. is $252.19 versus $198.80 last year – up 26.9% – and up 1.1% from $249.41 last month.

According to our friends at the Cromford Report, investor buyers are dominating the market, an issue that I’ve opined is causing dramatic problems for regular people. Hopefully soon we will see some limitations on how much investment can be done in our residential neighborhoods, which were never designed for this.

Quote follows:

“More short-term twists and turns in the market are creating a confused situation. Yes, we still have very much a seller’s market with supply inadequate to meet demand.

However, the demand is increasingly dictated by investors and iBuyers rather than traditional buyers – the owner-occupiers that make up the heart of the housing market. Demand from iBuyers surged dramatically in June, July and August, but not all iBuyers behaved the same.

Opendoor increased their purchases from 66 in August 2020 to 728 in August 2021, but their buying tailed off in the second half of September. Zillow went from 34 in August 2020 to 253 in August 2021. Their purchases peaked at 90 during the second week of September but have since dropped back a little. OfferPad has been less volatile with 82 purchases in August 2020 growing to 152 in August 2021.

All the iBuyers have sold far less than they have bought, meaning there are many properties in inventory. The could mean an increase in supply over the next several weeks.

Active listing counts (excluding UCB and CCBS) are moving higher again after a lull in August. There was a rise of almost 25% during July, so the September increase of just over 11% is not as dramatic. However, the underlying trend seems to be for buyers to find a few more homes for sale, which must be a relief for them.

Demand looked strong all the way through September, but not so much at the beginning of October. (emphasis added)

Under contract counts and sales numbers suggest we may have seen the best of 2021 demand. With supply rising and demand appearing to plateau, we could possibly be in for some cooling during 4Q. But do not expect prices to fall. Indeed September pricing was significantly higher than August and brings to an end the summer lull that started in June.”

I added the emphasis above because it is clear to me, specifically from the Cromford Index, that if you are thinking to sell, we are pretty much at the high point of the market. We don’t know how long it will take to drop, but we are pretty certain things are changing.

Donn Reiner, has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials.  This month, Donna reviews some of the Phoenix Church History. Or, I should say, a limited review of some of the history of the architecture of churches in Phoenix.

American history courses have stressed that this country was founded on religious freedom. And indeed over the past 240 years since our founding, the United States has seen the ebb and flow of new religious groups as well as those previously established in other countries.

Newly formed congregations often started in homes and then rented small sites until they were able to purchase land and raise the necessary funds to build their permanent structure. It would be the home that would often serve their needs for many years with additions and alterations. Sometimes these congregations would outgrow their initial home and find a place to build a larger campus. In that case, the church buildings might be sold to a new congregation of even a different faith. Other congregations divided and formed new churches that would then seek a new home. And in a few exceptions, congregations disbanded and the church languished until it was demolished or found another use.

Whatever the case may be, the church building provided a sense of place in the community and often in the memory of the public still symbolized the original faith that built it.

Perhaps you have seen a sketch of the purportedly earliest church in Phoenix constructed from branches. As Phoenix became more established, more permanent construction materials were used such as adobe, wood, stone, brick, or concrete.

Within the area labelled downtown, you can find many church buildings which date from the early part of the 20^th Century. The current sanctuary of St. Mary’s Basilica is perhaps the oldest with construction between 1903-1913. (The congregation is much older than that.)

The 1920s saw a surge of new church buildings. Historic First Presbyterian Church at Monroe and 4^th Avenue, now home to City of Grace Church, was built in 1927.  First Baptist Church, located at 3^rd Ave and Monroe, in 1929. After being vacant for a number of years, current owners have undertaken massive restoration efforts which will allow for new uses of this classic building.

The Gothic style Grace Lutheran on 3^rd St and Moreland dates from 1928.

Nearby is the First Congregational Church at 2^nd St and Willetta (a much older building housed the congregation before the current 1942 structure was built). The first Jewish synagogue at 122 E. Culver, now home to the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center, was built in 1921-22. Tanner Chapel A.M.E. at 8^th Street and Jefferson was built in 1929. All except the First Congregational Church are listed on the City of Phoenix Historic Property Register.

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

Coming Soon, specifically October 8th, will be a 2,045sf home in the Del Norte Historic Neighborhood. The owners have renovated it, top to bottom, with a new bathroom, new flooring, a new kitchen and updated bathrooms, new A/C and heating, along with plenty of renovations to the pool and landscaping.

We are taking photos this week, so I’m going to share with you now the previous photo. I just want to make certain you see this coming soon notice. The property will be listed just shy of $700,000.

The owners did a wonderful job preserving some of the most important historic elements, going so far as to match new kitchen tile in the bathrooms and kitchen to historically-accurate tile from the 1930’s, when this home was built.

So, if you want to get in and see this right away, please contact us this coming Thursday, or keep an eye on our listings page for more.

Contributed by Allison Hawley

One of many homes featured in the soon-to-be-released coffee table book, Historic Homes in the Heart of Phoenix, Frenchy Vieux is located in the Roosevelt Historic District and named for Marcellin “Frenchy” Vieux (1872-1951). A native of France, “Frenchy” Vieux emigrated to the U.S. in 1902 and became a prominent cement contractor and developer who used the tools of his trade to build his home in 1912. To this day, the stamps bearing his name can be seen on thousands of linear feet of Phoenix’s streets and sidewalks.

Featuring the expert photography of Alex Rentzis of Sparta Photo and Kevin Kaminski of Kevin Kaminski Photography, Historic Homes in the Heart of Phoenix is a high-quality coffee table book that will take you on a journey through Phoenix’s most iconic and revered historic homes. The story begins in Roosevelt, Phoenix’s first designated Historic District which, after years of abuse and neglect, is today an important and thriving part of the downtown Phoenix landscape, largely due to the efforts of former Mayor Terry Goddard, who honored us by authoring the Forward for our book.

Also featured is the ever-charming Willo Historic District, with its bungalows and tree-lined streets. Built as many little “street-car” subdivisions of modest homes, Willo is

now one of Phoenix’s largest historic districts and a delight to residents and visitors alike, as evidenced by the crowds who flock to the annual Willo Home Tour.

A cohesive and friendly neighborhood with a bit of a boho vibe, the homes of F.Q. Story are as unique as their owners in this close-knit District. As the Historic Homes in the Heart of Phoenix book came together, a common thread emerged among F.Q. Story homeowners who used words like “caretaker” and “keeper” to describe their time in the amazing homes they cherish.

The owners of the magnificent homes in the Encanto/Palmcroft Historic District delighted us with stories of the past, invoking images of days gone by when dinner guests were greeted by the sounds of a string quartet playing from a balcony high above the grand ballroom. What the guests didn’t see was each musician, instrument in hand, climbing a tall ladder to reach the balcony before commencing to entertain the guests far below their perch.

With an October 2021 release date, Historic Homes in the Heart of Phoenix is nothing short of a work of art. Our goal was to bring you a high-end book of generous size — perfect for showcasing the rich details you will find yourself pouring over again and again. We owe a debt of gratitude to each homeowner who shared their homes with us, and we are so pleased to now share them with you.

Historic Homes in the Heart of Phoenix is now available for purchase. Please order via this link and be sure to include our promo code “GYPHX10” for a 10% discount available through the month of October.

It is finally getting cool and the October happenings are rolling out.

Well, to be fair, if you think 95 degrees is hot, it is not yet cool. But, seriously, this time of year it peaks at 95 for about an hour so before and after that is much nicer, especially over night.

So, here’s our curated list of October happenings that sparked our interest. If you have suggestions for November, please share.

Phoestivus is happening! Okay, it’s obviously not going to happen in October, but I want to make certain you know two crucially important facts. First, Phoestivus is happening on December 15th and 16th. That’s two days in a row -Wednesday and Thursday. We are no longer going to host the event two Thursdays in a row. We took the opportunity of the year off to make this change which we’ve been wanting to do for a while.

Let me repeat that. Please don’t show up a week after you see that the first night of Phoestivus happened and expect to find anything more than an empty parking lot, with tumbleweeds and all.

Second, we are asking for a small $5 ticket purchase. I really, really, really did not want to do that. But the pandemic virtually eliminated our fundraising last year. Remember, this is a fundraiser for Community Food Connections, which produces the Downtown Public Market. But, be assured that your $5 goes directly to running the weekly market that you’ve come to love so much.

All Puppet Players is Back. Frankly, these guys should be paying me because I talk about their shows so much. Aw, but no. I couldn’t. They are just so funny and innovative.

Imagine a cross between the muppets and adult improve comedy –but without the uncomfortable silence you get at improve comedy. All Puppet Players is back now with their new adaptation of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

In December, they will be back with their holiday favorite, Die Hard – A Christmas Story. Seriously, if you’ve not seen this, do it. These guys are hilarious. Leave the kids at home unless you are prepared for them to repeat some seriously adult themes around the dinner table for the rest of their childhoods.

The Art & Science of Arachnids. The Phoenix Science Museum has something for all ages, in case you need to make it up to them for that time you got a baby sitter so you could go to a puppet show; their big eyes welling up with tears as they watch you walk out the door, saying, “Why, mumsie? Why can’t we see the puppets?”

Uh, yeah. Anyway. Arachnids. They are creepy, crawlie and the art is to behold. The Art & Science of Arachnids features 3 themed cubes which hold 100 live arachnids. The Science Cube discusses arachnids that are not spiders or scorpions, deadly spiders of North America, and arachnids in medicine. The Arts Cube illustrates the connection we have with arachnids in film, literature, and music. Various flip panels allow interaction with the guests. The Culture Cube highlights arachnid folklore and mythology, arachnid conservation, and arachnids as food. Open daily

Play DTPHX Lotería to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Explore new places, discover local businesses, and appreciate some cool, Mexican-inspired art by playing DTPHX Lotería, Wednesday, Sept 15th – Friday, Oct. 15th. Part art walk, part game, part scavenger hunt, participating in DTPHX Lotería is an easy and fun activity for whole family. How to Play: Pick up a “tabla” (bingo-like playing card) at any participating downtown business, or from a DTPHX Ambassador. Each tabla will feature 16 downtown businesses depicted Loteria style – a colorfully-illustrated card symbolizing the location. Find the card that corresponds with the business (the artist-designed poster will be displayed in the window or on property), go inside and get your tabla stamped. Once you get at least four in a row, that’s Loteria! Players who get four across, in a row, diagonal, a two-by-two box (4 images) anywhere on the tabla get a free sticker sheet. ?Fill the entire card to get a commemorative enamel pin!? Free.

Oscar Muñoz – Invisibilia at The Phoenix Art Museum. Oscar Muñoz: Invisibilia is the first mid-career survey of Colombian artist Oscar Muñoz’s work in the United States. this exhibition will introduce U.S. audiences to a broad scope of his evolving practice. Beginning with his early, stark charcoal drawings from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The exhibition will also include approximately 50 exemplary works from his most evocative series created during the late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s to the present day, including site-specific work, to trace the evolution of his practice. Katz Wing for Modern Art. $23.

The Match Guide to Wine event is at FOUND:RE on October 13th. I’ve been pretty open about my limited knowledge of wine. I just don’t taste those hints of raisin, chocolate and goat cheese that they claim is in a wine from a valley next to another valley that has a candy factory specializing in raisin and goat cheese chocolate bar. But I do like a nice wine tour and do my best to learn. Anywho! The Match Guide to Wine will discuss all the things that I fail to absorb about wine and offer wine tasting samples accompanied by light fare. Bottles of the wine sampled will be available for purchase with a 15% off discount. $25.

Chicano Batman will be at the Van Buren on October 24th. I’ll be honest, I’ve had it in my mind for a decade to see them in person. My problem is really just organization. I don’t keep a handy list of the bands I want to see in person. Then I’m remiss in checking calendars and, poof, I miss them. I don’t plan to do that this time. You might see me at their show. The band’s signature funky style can be attributed to their musical influences, The Beatles and Black soul musicians Curtis Mayfield and the Delfonics, according to Wikipedia. You might see me there wiggling my hips to the beats.

The Local First October Business Mixer will be at DigIt Gardens on October 13th. Frankly, its just nice to see these events happening again. DigIt is regularly a sponsor of the Phoestivus Market. So, naturally, we love them. October’s Phoenix Business Mixer is hosted by Dig It Gardens. Join Local First Arizona in a beautiful and unique venue surrounded by green plants, art, music, and positive atmosphere. Business Mixers are held on a monthly basis for LFA Members. Even non-members may join in.