I’m thrilled and honored to be listing 90 West Virginia, historically the Fairhope School.

This 4,183 square foot Spanish Revival home is THE flagship Willo Neighborhood property, sitting on just about 3/4 of an acre. There is no other parcel of this size in Willo, as this home was once the Fairhope School.

This recently-renovated 4-bedroom, 3.5 bath property includes a guest house, pool and incredible features, which you must see to believe.

Owning this property is like owning a piece of Phoenix history.  Built in 1930, the Fairhope school was a private academy for young ladies. It was billed as a modern marvel because it had the amenities to actually heat lunches for the children to eat.

In 1949, the school was remodeled in to a bed and breakfast called the Yum Yum Tree. It stayed that way until the 1970s when it was traded to a local attorney named Neal Roberts. Who is Neal Roberts you might ask? Well, this is where the history gets truly amazing.

He was one of the individuals implicated in the famous assassination of Arizona Republic journalist, Don Bolles at the Clarendon Hotel in June of 1976. Roberts owned the property and lived and worked there.

Sad history, yes, but this is the stuff that lovers of historic homes live for.

Later still, there were attempts to make it a bed and breakfast again. In fact, you can still see it listed on Trip Advisor.

The current owner and his wife lived at the Yum Yum tree for a short time in the early 1990s. So inspired by the history of the building and their memories, they bought the property and renovated it in 2008 with the help of well-known Phoenix Architect, Jerry Cook. Their work earned them the 2009 Phoenix New Times “Best Historic Renovation” honor.

I will have more “before and after” photos for you soon. For now, enjoy the “now” photos, below.

This is the kind of property that a true lover of history and architecture will naturally seek out. Viewings of this home are by appointment only. Please contact me at 602-456-9388 for more information.

Some features include: solar panels, bamboo flooring & tankless water heaters, fully restored 1950’s O’keefe & Merritt stove, Paperstone counters, walk-in pantry and an 800-bottle wine room.

Beautiful glassed gate doors attach structures to make one seamless property.

The veranda is classic Spanish Revival.

How did the know this was my dream kitchen?

Now, kids, repeat after me, "O'Keefe & Merritt stove."

They put the "master" in bathroom.

Naturally-lit master bedroom.

This is living!

The way a Phoenix pool SHOULD look.

Christmas has come early! Statistics and Graphs galore! If you’re looking for a home here in Phoenix, here is a trend that you might want to know about.

As a general rule, fewer  people buy houses between October and February. With the beautiful winter weather here in the valley, you would think sales would rise. But, most home buyers move in the late spring and summer in order to change schools. So, what does that mean for real estate agents….other than that we should probably go out and get second jobs waiting tables or pre-stocking for Black Friday?

What does it mean for you? Well, it’s great news if you’re a soon to be home buyer. As you can see by the graphs, sales per month is down between October and February while the monthly supply stays relatively the same. Aren’t graphs amazing?

Continue for more witty comments, below the graphs.

So, follow me here. If the sales per month are down and the inventory stays largely the same that is great for you if you are a buyer. It means that sellers are more desperate to sell. Not only are you going to have a greater selection, you might have an opportunity to negotiate the price!

So, get out into the beautiful weather and buy! If  you have any questions I’d be happy to help, just give me a call 602-456-9388

It’s that time of year again, when dreams of turkey and starches fill our daydreams and the pressures of dieting float away with the autumn breeze.  The St. Mary’s Food Bank has  guaranteed those turkey dreams for struggling families around the valley for more than four decades.

Last year, St. Mary’s needed six thousand turkeys and that number is only expected to grow. With 16% of the population falling under the poverty line, and turkey donations down this year, and the food bank is worried that for the first time in 45 years, they may not be able to meet their demands.  St. Mary’s is hosting “Super Saturday” Turkey Drive on from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 19^th in hopes of closing the turkey gap. The drive will expand to 16 locations around the Valley and in Flagstaff for what will be “an unprecedented need for the 2011 holiday season,” according to the food bank.

This Thursday is our November Get Your PHX Event at Steele Indian School Dog Park. In addition to your adorable pooch, we ask that you bring 5 dollars to donate to St. Mary’s Food Bank Turkey Drive. With your help, we can give families all over the family a meal to be thankful for.

This is totally informal, but we will get your contribution directly over to St. Mary’s the next day.

To learn more about ways to give, visit the St. Mary’s Food Bank Website 

At the November Get Your PHX we get to celebrate a whole list of new beginnings. We will visit the new dog park at Steele Indian School Park, learn about new plans for our largest CenPho public park and hear about how the downtown Margaret T. Hance Park is being re-imagined.

Our fine sponsors for this event will be Wag n’ Wash and Noble Beast. In addition to the food and libations, our sponsors will have goodies for your pooch! Please certain to visit with them when you come. We can’t do it without them!

So, we will have three fun and informative presentations for you.

Tom Byrne, Landscape Architect with the Parks and Recreations Deparment, will tell us about the evolution of CenPho’s first dog park.

Bryan Flanigan, Indian School Park Manager with the Parks and Recreation Department, will tell us about the history, future and planned renovations to the old Indian School buildings at the park.

Our own Kate Kunberger will give us a presentation on the very newsworthy plans for changes to Margaret T. Hance park, downtown.

We are also proud to announce that long-time park advocate Councilman Tom Simplot will join us for this event, too.

Further, this will be an interactive show and your opinions count.

The event will be broken in to two parts. We hope that you will join us with your pooch at 5:30 for some playtime at the park.

At about 6:00, we will begin the program at a ramada directly to the west of the dog park. Feel free to bring your dog over on a leash.

Keep an eye on our Facebook Fan Page for updates. As you know, there are always surprises.

November Get Your PHX
Thursday, November 17th from 5:30 to 7:30.
300 East Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85013 Map here

NOTE: We suggest you enter the park through the 7th St entrance which is immediately north of the VA hospital property.

For anyone looking to live downtown knows, safe and affordable housing is a commodity. As downtown Phoenix experiences a renewed interest and cultural growth, we as a community need to think about ways to pursue reasonably priced housing options for the increasingly diverse population. Native American Connections has come up with a great housing option, that maybe you didn’t even know existed.

For over 40 years, Native American Connections has built community for our growing, city-dwelling Native American populations. In January, they will be opening mixed-use, mixed-income apartments, Devine Legacy, just across from the Campbell & Central light rail station.

For those of you who don’t know, mixed-income and mixed-use housing is pretty common place across major US cities, but is a fairly recent development in Phoenix.  So what does it mean? Mixed income housing is the idea that increasing diversity of the residents will improve the overall standard of living for the community. In Phoenix, we’re probably more familiar with mixed-use housing which is simply property which is used for both commercial and residential use. Commercial uses can help subsidize projects to allow for affordable or low-income housing.

One of the biggest problems facing mixed-use projects, both nationally and locally, is they require significant public subsidies. Through an IRS program and Arizona Department of Housing allocations, Devine Legacy has been funded through a unique low income tax credit system which allows support from the public as well as the government. This is only one of many projects Native American Connections is pursuing in Phoenix.

Devine Legacy, in addition to it 12000 square foot commercial space, will feature 65 units, ranging from studio apartments to town homes and lofts.   The Apartment includes  artist elements from local artists Randy Kemp and David Montour, high end appliances, ground floor parking, and a public court yard fully equipped with a sound system for community events, not to mention convenient access to the light rail.  The complex is also a part of the LEED Platinum community, which means Devine Legacy homes are  beautiful and safe at an affordable price.

If you’re interested in learning more about the project or units available you can visit their website. Applications are now being accepted for January and February move-ins.

Its that time of year again! The Local First Fall Festival is on!

(Added extra: this year it actually feels like fall!)

Did you know that Arizona is home to more than one hundred local and organic food providers, over one hundred advertising and marketing agencies, more than two hundred art suppliers and venues, and other great local businesses?

I would not blame you if you didn’t know that. It’s not like you hear about it on our local news. (But that’s a different post.)

Local First Arizona is an organization that supports local businesses around the state. The local first philosophy is driven by the benefits the local business have on the economy and community culture. This weekend LFA will be hosting their seventh annual fall festival. The festival boasts a ton of food from independent eateries and 66 local vendors.

Last year over 6,000 participants joined local businesses for family friendly fair. Musicians and bands and bands from across the state will provide entertainment. There will be local wineries and breweries on site for the adults as well as activities, like rock climbing, for the kids.

But why support local businesses? The simplest answer is it’s socially responsible. As our economy comes back, we need to support our local communities first. By patronizing our local businesses, we are directly supporting our own communities by keeping tax dollars in the state.

Join your fellow locavores this Saturday at The Duck and Decanter, 1651 E Camelback, from 10-4 pm. You can read more about Local First Arizona on their website

You’ve probably noticed by now that I am a huge fan of reuse and re-purposing in Phoenix. With all the available space downtown, why not?

The Cathedral Town homes are a great example of adaptive reuse. This building, which used to be owned by the church across the street as rental property, has transformed in to elegant and (actually spacious) urban condos.

The developer, Metro West Development,  took an historic 1913 building and converted it into four modern townhouse-style condo’s ranging in size from 1,674 to 1,886 square feet. Located about 200 feet away from the Arts District light rail stop, the condos are just a short walk from dozens of local restaurants, markets, large entertainment venues, as well as Hance and the Downtown Civic Space Parks.  And though the neighborhood surrounding is great, it’s what’s inside that really gets me excited.

Metro West Development has a history of great work in downtown renovations. The Cathedral Townhomes have been stripped to the bone and rebuilt.  While these homes have been updated, the developer has gone the extra mile to maintaining a historical feel. Homes come with new Kohler fixtures, quartz kitchen countertops, double hung windows (many original that have been restored), and historically accurate high baseboards.

Through the years, I’ve seen many renovations and I’m genuinely impressed by this one. Three of the units are still available. The condos are currently priced in the $200s with a 140/mo HOA fee.

I don’t represent these homes, but I’m happy to show you. Please contact me at 602-456-9388

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As you may have realized from the festive pink everything and Komen walk earlier this month, that October is breast cancer awareness month. One group, Don’t be a Chump! Check for a Lump! stays active all year round.

Next Friday November 4th from 5:30 to 8:30 Don’t Be a Chump will be holding their second annual Fall Fling Shopping Extravaganza. The event will support local artists and vendors while reminding men and women to examine themselves for lumps monthly and schedule their next mammogram.

I went to this event last year. It was amazing. Lots of very cool stuff. For instance, if you are a fan of Amy Love’s Love Buttons, then you need to be there.

In addition to their nearly monthly events, Don’t Be a Chump sends out monthly reminders through e-mail to anyone who signs up on their website. The goal of organizations like this, as well as Breast Cancer awareness month, is to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. If you haven’t done your monthly exam and scheduled your next mammogram make sure you do it today!

The Fall Fling Shopping extravaganza will be held at 528 W. Lynwood, Phoenix, AZ 85003. More info can be found on the Don’t Be a Chump’s Website 

For more information on Breast Cancer Awareness Month visit their website and to find a certified mammography provider visit the National Cancer Institute.

Well, its market analysis time again. That’s right, gear up because I’m going to throw some wonky charts at you. Don’t be too intimidated. I promise to be gentle.
It’s short and sweet, really. The number of pending foreclosures continues to go down. The entire pie is shrinking, leaving an increasing percentage of the pie as short sale homes. So let’s get down to business and see what I’m really talking about.

“REO” you’re probably wondering what does that mean? Simply just a fancy term for a foreclosed property.
“AWC” simply means Active with Contingencies. In other words it is simply a short sale home. The buyer has already agreed upon the price yet, their waiting on the bank for the final decision.Have you noticed a trend yet? All of the categories are shrinking therefore the inventory of homes, are going down.
What’s going to happen next you ask? The prices start to go up because scarcity creates demand.

The numbers of pending foreclosures are taking a dive and it doesn’t look pretty.
Have you heard about the new wave foreclosures based on nation-wide estimates of how many people are slacking on their house payment? This is completely misleading for three reasons:

1.   Nation-wide averages are not Arizona.
2. It is easy to double count those people who are late, but not in foreclosures and those who are late and in foreclosures.
3. Finally, the banks will not sell more properties than the market will bear. Hello everyone.  They want the prices to go up, not down.

Heck, if the banks are sitting on a bunch of homes. Please let them out! My clients who are on their 6^th offer after being beat out by cash buyers would love to see some more homes in their horizon!
What does all of this mean for you? It means that the market is becoming more competitive and the days of low-balling on prices are long gone.

If you have more questions about the market, please contact me at  (602) 456-9388

I gotta say. I’m really shocked that this $29,900, 2br/1.75ba, 1,100sqft condo is still on the market.

I don’t represent this property. But I do live at this condo complex and I think anybody should beg, borrow or steal to live here –especially if you are looking for something very inexpensive. I’ve been inside. It looks almost like nobody lived there.

Click here for the listing information. Call me if you have questions: 602-456-9388.