Look for Mr. Jim Sexton in the Arizona Republic this weekend. He will be highlighted in the real estate sections’ Broker’s Corner. Just in case you’re not a newspaper kind of person, here’s the article.
The Big Game
When you say “Big Game” in Arizona you can’t help but think of the football game in Glendale, even if you’re not a football fan. Arizona also hosts other big games like the FBR Open and the Barrett/Jackson car auction; there is literally something for everyone. Even those who aren’t sports fans can’t help but appreciate the fabulous weather, stunning scenery and warm hospitality. But, the REAL “Big Game” in Arizona is real estate. I hope that the “white noise” of a negative national press in the financial sector doesn’t obscure the positive aspects of what is happening in Arizona. Local real estate gurus in their 2008 forecasts give us high marks in comparison with the rest of the country predicting a population growth of +2.7%, employment at +2%, personal income +5.5% and retail sales at +1.5%. This is when the knowledgeable players get in the game, to take advantage of interest rates at historic lows and the abundance of housing choices. Even the rise in foreclosures gives real estate a boost whether you are a buyer occupant or an investor. When you consider the fact that according to the National Association of REALTORS®, the value of homes nearly doubles every ten years, this would be the perfect time to get off the bench and start playing.
With all the bad news from the economic sector of our economy, you may have missed some of this; Forbes magazine ranks us 3rd in its “Best US Cities for Jobs” list, Business 2.0 magazine rates us a top destination city for relocations and one of America’s hottest job markets. And, CNN ranked the Phoenix/Tucson area as one of the top 10 “megapolitans” in the U.S.
You have to ask yourself, how bad is the economy when a 30 second commercial during the Super Bowl costs approximately $2.3 million? Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait. Whether you are a Patriots or Giants fan, its time to get off the sidelines and get into the REAL game in Arizona – real estate.
“Value of homes nearly doubles every 10 years!” What a horrible, misleading statement! Only in the hottest markets, only looking at a very disproportionate period, NOT TYPICAL, NOT ANYTHING TO COUNT ON! I belong to the NAR, and I’m embarressed they would even say that without some HUGE, HUGE qualifiers! It is similar to saying, hay, some people win millions buying lottery tickets, you should too! If your home does doublenearly every 10 years, you bought yourself a very fortunate lottery ticket, it is far, far more accurate to say it will HOPEFULLY keep pace with inflation, about 2-4% per year, doubling about every 20 years. Some houses will go up more than that, some less.
Wow, Jim is really an optimist isn’t he! NAR could be a bit biased to perhaps…..You think? It is very difficult to exactly time the market but one thing is for certain… Home prices in most cities in Arizona will continue to fall well into 2010 at the earliest and when the market does eventually start to swing in the other direction it will be very very slow going….despite the vast amount of would be buyers sitting patiently on the sidelines to take a big bite out of the astronomical inventory of homes currently on the market, many will find that most of the no money down and stated programs that lenders rolled out the last six years that put buyers in homes at record speed are all but gone. Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait? Wait for what foreclosure? Come on Jim, you’ll find people will respect you more if you tell it like it is. I think it’s time you take off your Rose Colored Glasses they seem to be blurring your vision.
I love Jim’s way of thinking! We are blessed to be in an area still experiencing fantastic growth in population, jobs and although the residential Real Estate marker has slowed a bit the commercial Real Estate market is pretty robust! Now is the time for people to realize their dreams hee in “The Valley of The Sun!”
Come on in, there’s plenty for everyone!…
Thanks for your comments Jim, we should have included the hotlink! Here is the site it comes from.
I firmly believe that if more brokers were to publish articles like this it would help everyone. There is no better time to buy, the number of active listings are flat for the first time and more importantly sales are up for the valley and especially the east valley.
Thank you for this publication, couldn’t agree more.
Kudos to Jim!! What a great article with the POSITIVE spin on the market we have needed and will continue to need throughout our correcting market! I agree with Ron Krystofik as well with regard to thinking more Brokers should publish articles like Jim’s on a regular basis just like what the media is doing in the negative connotation.
Thank you for putting out such a positive article/message to our Valley of the Sun residents and visiting guests….Good job!!
[...] Hall & Associates started the meeting with significant real estate influences in 2008: flexMLS, January’s BIG game, title company mergers, short sales and REO properties. All had their effect on real estate in The [...]
[...] Hall & Associates started the meeting with significant real estate influences in 2008: flexMLS, January’s BIG game, title company mergers, short sales and REO properties. All had their effect on real estate in The [...]