Urban Life

Campaign Promises... What a Joke

Did you read the Newswire piece in Wall Street Journal online... click here tauting the presidential candidates promising to fix the housing problem? Each is blaming someone else for the problem yet I have not heard them explain why they did nothing two to four years ago while the problem was created. Looking back at press clippings I only hear them patting themselves on the back for creating such a robust and vibrant economy.

I am a simple Realtor, so is my brother and business partner Ron. We don't have Harvard or Yale MBA's, nor do any JD letters follow our names. However, if you look back at our monthly newsletters published in 2005 and 2006 we cautioned our clients about getting 100% loans, we commented on the likely fall of the real estate market and we advised our clients to keep 25% or more equity in their homes to hedge against the falling home prices that would be seen in 2007 and 2008.

So, why is all this such a surprise to our enlightened leaders who have their fingers on the heart beat of America and understand business and economics? Why did they sit calmly while the problem was happening and only now rise up in arms?

Perhaps the term Realtor means more than I realized.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team
www.UrbanTeamAZ.com

Remax Office Failure

Most of us have read the story of the Remax 2000 office closure. It is times like these that we, the Urban Team, are thankful we joined Realty Executives. We would like to invite those agents who have been left stranded to give us a call and join an organization with the depth and strength to survive when the chips are down.

You won't find a giant hot air balloon here but you will find a group of seasoned professionals who provide exceptional real estate expertise day in and day out... its simply the Realty Executives way.

Ron and Gene Urban
The Urban Team
Realty Executives
602-234-5777

A Ritz Carlton in Mid-Town Scottsdale

From Jeff Burns at the East Valley Tribune...The Paradise Valley Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for a $1.5 million Ritz-Carlton project, which includes a 225-room hotel and nearly 160 residential units to be built by Five Star Development on vacant property northwest of Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road. 

Are you in favor of this project? Do you have any thoughts?

Here are some of mine...Scottsdale hasn't seen a fine hotel project in the mid-town area since the Phoenician Resort broke ground in the late 1980's. Sure there have been a number of rehab projects but nothing new.  To me, this is the fruit of the Waterfront Project and determination to keep downtown Scottsdale a viable region. I like the idea that it is a small hotel concept (only 225 rooms) and it combines a residential project. It would be nice if Scottsdale linked into the light rail to provide a lively mode of transportation to and from the area.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team
Realty Executives
www.urbanteamaz.com

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Just a note to wish you well on this Christmas Day 2007. May the hours be filled with great laughter, glad tidings, family, friends, doggies, cats and more.  Thanks for being in our lives.

Ron & Gene Urban

Greetings from Snowy Newport, RI

Gene Urban here with a quick post while on holiday vacation. Amy and I joined up with sister Sara to enjoy some winter time in Newport, RI.  It's a bit different in the Winter. Not a lot of sailing going on here right now.

I do have to admit thought... being in the snow makes it feel a bit more holiday-like.

Hope your holidays are filled with wonder and magic.

Gene Urban

A Great Wine Blog Site

As I get to know this blog thing with greater depth I am amazed at some of the content. I just found a site that reviews cheap wine... what a great place. Don't know about you, but after visiting Italy and having some great under $10.00 bottles of wine I wanted to find some equivalents I could buy in the States and not gag.  This site provides me with this much sought after info. Hope you enjoy too.

Check out Cheap Wine Ratings.  Tell them, via a comment, that you heard about it was your favorite Realtor guys... The Urban Team.

Sip well these holidays...

Gene Urban
Ron Urban

   

Our friends Dan & Pam just love to laugh... is it the wine or is it them?

More Good Real Estate News

The sales stats (ARMLS residential real estate) for November are encouraging. First, understand that sales stats actually reflect the market activity from 4-6 weeks prior. The ARMLS sales stats for November largely reflect the homes that went under contract from mid September to mid-to-late October.

With that bit of housekeeping in mind, let’s look at the possible good news here. We started to see the sales decline of 2007 stumble in June, fall down in July and seizure in September. ((See our Post on Realt Estate Myths Exposed on November 22, 2007 for the graph) The October numbers were virtually the same as September 3,457 (Oct.) verses 3,435 (Sept.). That indicates the tailspin of the summer leveled off.

The latest stats for November sales showed a similar leveling… the final number being 3280. Yes, this number is a little lower than Ocotober's which is normal as November's sales are historically 55 or so lower than October's.

We see this information as positive. The numbers have remained steady for 3 months now… even in the midst of all the fear the press could muster. We look for 2008 to bring some good news to both home sellers and buyers.

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
www.urbanteamaz.com

Who  are these fine looking people?

Jim who keeps our homes in good repair, Judy who finances them and Milt, the guru of home design... what a happy bunch playing at the UrbanTeam, Jimmy Buffett, have a lot of fun, client apprciation party.

AZ Central Staff ---Wake up & Love The City

The following is a rebuttal to an story written by Betty Beard on AZCentral.com. As you know, the continuous banter of how bad things are just makes me nuts!!! Clic on this link and read what she is saying. If it makes you as wild as me, tell her so. We have an amazing city, our newspaper staff writers need to lean this.

Betty, why does the staff continue to spin the negative? Sure housing prices have dropped they had to. True we are not at the top of the affordability charts on a national scale; we are not the same city we were in the 90's.

We now boast one of the top economies in American as well as a leader in job growth. A basic supply and demand model will tell you that when demand rises (due in our case to desirability) prices will rise. Where is the news here?

Actually there is a news story. "Due to its popularity, the housing market in Phoenix rose out of its quiet slumber like its mythological namesake and is no longer cheap. In fact, the Greater Phoenix market is still in demand as indicated by the relatively small downward hit it has taken. Aren't you glad you own property in this city rather than much of the mid-west where real estate is truly in the tank?

I hope that wisdom dominates the editorial staff as we come into January and see hundreds of thousands of people visiting our state. I dream of writers who love our cities and State and pen great verse about the wonders and opportunity of life here.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team
Realty Executives

Operation Fightback... Let's reclaim our neighborhoods

The Phoenix City Council has stepped up to the plate once again and has extended the Operation Fight Back program adding new neighborhoods to the mix.

If you go to the City of Phoenix site, you will learn about the areas that have been targeted for help. The City works with residents to curtail crime and other factors that have made their locale less than desirable to raise a family and simply live.

If you know of an area or live in one yourself, contact your City Council person and find out how to be part of a real solution.

Best to you... Gene Urban
www.urbanteamaz.com

Good Real Estate News... really!!

Just read an article in Realtor Magazine and another in the Wall Street Journal that spell good news for buyers and sellers alike.

The low rate and low prices are less-than-subtle clues that it is a good time to buy real estate. Bill Dallas, chairman of Dallas Capial, likens this to the stock market, where buying at a discount and holding for the long term is almost always a best practice. Kind of like buying Google in March of 2006 for 340.93 and holding it for a while... it hit $741.79 last month.

The National Association of Realtors suggest that by the 1st quarter of 2008 home price declines will be minimal and suggests many markets will see some decent price gains in the latter half of 2008.

For those of us who have been on the planet a while this comes as no surprise. Life is cyclic... so is real estate. We had big ups in 2004-2005, downturns in 2006-2007 and the cycle will rise again.

The significant question is... Will you gain by this knowledge or not .