About Phoenix's Desert Ridge

CityCenter CityNorth AZ, the much anticipated development in North Phoenix is celebrating the Grand Opening of High Street - Blockparty style! CityNorth refers to their project as a New City Rising and if you live in the area, that is what it definitely feels like.

CityNorth is designed to unite the best in city living, shopping, dining and working. The Blockparty is from 5-9pm tonight, November 13th. Subsequent events will be held through the weekend. You can go to the City North Block Party website for more details.

Join the party to tonight with live bands, food & drink, street performs, mariachi’s, clowns, sales & special offers, raffle prizes and a special Circle of Life exhibit presented by Disney’s The Lion King and The Phoenix Zoo.

Hope to see you at the party!

The first annual Festival in the Desert is coming to the Desert Ridge community October 10, 11 & 12 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa.

Festival in the Desert will bring a diverse blend of music from famed artists such as Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Pat Benatar, Boz Scaggs, Euge Groove and many more. The Festival will also feature Art Booths with local artists showing off their creative talents.

The Festival in the Desert parking will be located at Toscana of Desert Ridge, 5450 E. Deer Valley Dr., Phoenix, in the West and East side parking lots. Visitors will park in these lots and be conveniently bused in via local PV School buses.

The Festival sponsors will create the annual Music to Our Ears donation fund that will directly support the Pinnacle High School Music Program towards music and travel.

Desert Ridge residents can receive discounted tickets by visiting http://jwfestivalinthedesert.com/hoa. All non-residents can get tickets at http://jwfestivalinthedesert.com. The JW Marriott Desert Ridge resort is also offering resort packages for the 3 day festival.

Have a good time! ~ Kim

Ready to Sell You Your Slice of the Arizona Sunshine!

While reviewing the sales statistics for September and current inventory for Desert Ridge I got to thinking about what constitutes a “good deal” in this market? What will it take for a buyer to feel like they “bought right” while making a purchase in 2008.

In the midst of bank bailouts, a real estate down turn and a fledgling economy, it is tough to get buyers to sign on the dotted line. When people ask me if I think we have reached “bottom” I always respond by saying that it depends on several factors. If they want to know if we have hit bottom as far as real estate prices, I also say that some homes are priced at what I would consider a bottom. How do I know that? They are evidenced by mulitple offers after 1-3 days on market. Usually these are bank owned properties and obviously are in varying condition. These are usually under $150k.

In a an are like Desert Ridge, it can be tough to determine. The home prices are higher, especially in Aviano where they can exceed 1.5 million. There is still a lot of inventory relative to monthly closings. Today there are 52 active listings in Aviano. Something will have to give to move that many properties considering only 2 properties closed in September. Prices have already experienced a major price correction in Aviano, so we are close. That being said, is it imperative to buy at the absolute bottom?

What is most important? Buying a distressed property may elicit the best price, but may need work. Without having a strong understanding what repairs and/or upgrades are going to cost, a good deal may not be that good of deal when it is all said and done. When I show or preview properties I always pay close attention to what the previous owner has already done. Is the landscaping complete? Are there window coverings? What kind of upgrades were done? Are there necessary repairs? Is it a premium lot?

Each month I will recap the monthly Desert Ridge & Cave Creek statistics, but beyond that I want to really breakdown the stats. I want to highlight what I consider to be the best deals and why. I want to help sellers be ahead of the curve so we can list home prices appropriate and sell them quickly. I want to help educate buyers on what is a good deal for THEM! By the way, with interest rates as good as they are now, a buyer doesn’t have to worry about hitting the absolute bottom. If they are going to live in the home for more than 5 years, the rate intself will be as important as the sales price. If you wait to see if prices are going to drop a lot more and rates go up, you will wind up paying more for the home.

In addition to the market analysis I will highlight homes that are offering creative financing. For many this will be the definition of a good deal. Stay tuned! I will be providing you with NEWS YOU CAN USE!

~Kim

Ready to sell you your slice of the Arizona sunshine!

Michael Clancy of the The Republic and AZcentral.com recentely reported ...

that the the Mulit-Billion dollar project "CityNorth" (northeast part of Phoenix)

near Desert Ridge (loop 101 & 56th st.)

has added 10 high quality retailers and several restaurants.

The first phase of CityNorth, called High Street,

is scheduled to open November 13th and according to the article will have 44 retail stores and 7 restaurants.

The project will also have office space and condos. However, the details are yet to be released.

City North will be a huge boon to an already burgeoning area that has seen a tremendous amount of real estate development (commercial and residential) over the past several years.

In my opinion, this is not a bet or a gamble by the billions of dollars behind the CityNorth project. It is a intelligent investment into the heart of growth in Phoenix and Scottsdale.

If you have any updates on the condo portion or residential development, I encourage you to share.

Look forward to seeing you at Yogurberry in November.

James Wexler