Tortilla Flat, AZ

There has been some recent articles highlighting urban projects that have failed and also announcements of receivership, foreclosures and bankruptcy. While these are ugly words and traumatic events to developers, it's a natural progression given our current market. Greedy developers, unrealistic market demand, speculative buyers and poor financing has caused this and it's probably a good thing. Our values did not equate to the product and location. This now will allow new developers to re-concept the product based upon the true fundamentals of the market and it's demand. This will allow these critical projects to survive, thrive and add to the urban community. I applaud those new developers for their ability to see great opportunities and playing a role in the turnaround.

When looking at some of the positive signs of the real estate recovery there are a couple bright spots. One is the fringe where speculation, mass production of track homes and bad financing caused huge drops in property value and huge increases in foreclosures. This has brought back affordability again but at a sacrifice, distance. The second bright spot has been properties located near the core. The old real estate adage 'location, location, location' has really proved it's merit given the current market conditions. Phoenix zip codes have outperformed all others when it comes to values retained, sales of existing homes (very important) and first time buyers (another very important stat). This supports our niche and purpose. Bring or keep people in the core. Less driving, support locally owned business's, appropriately sized homes, connect with your community and neighbors, etc... I hate to say we told you so but we did. However we would love to help you if you haven't made the move yet as we want you here:).

Currently I've see the market 'come back in' in downtown Phoenix. This began in November and continues today. There has been enough pent-up demand for sometime but until late last year the buyers were too cautious to make a move. Now, post-election and multiple stimulus'sthe buyers 'feel' good about their prospects. I will tell you that feeling rides the tides of news which is still disturbing. During the boom, people were emotional and looked at real estate fromthe heard mentality. Not seem to learning from past examples, people are replicating that same behavior which is really too bad. Most people 'think' they know real estate since it's such a common commodity which it isn't and urban is the most complex. There are amazing opportunities out there and for some product, the time for 'steals' has passed while others still have some clouds on the horizon. There is no longer no light at the end of the tunnel. There is light and it's getting brighter.

I have plenty of possible buyers looking for a 'deal' and want to focus on short sales or bank foreclosures. Short sales and bank foreclosures are not a garantee of a good value. Many people are willing to buy at 30% off of asking no matter what asking price really is or what the trends in that subdivision are. Come on people you need to get smarter about your money. You need to look between the lines not just at the discount or that the property is considered distressed. I see how difficult the market is right now and still people are not asking tough questions or looking for strong advisors to help them with their purchase. There are allot of deals to be had but they not apparent to the average buyer or agent. M.

In the past month I've seen allot of interested renters looking at The Summit at Coppersquare. The building (next door from Chase Field and one block from US Airways Arena) has some amazing amenities which include a negative edge pool on 5th, rooftop patio with gas firepits (great for watching D-Backs fireworks), a very nice gym, etc... Some of the corner units have amazing views of the stadium, city and mountain vistas. For the urban renter there are not much better options for the money. More info: http://www.phoenixurbanliving.com/downtownphoenixhighrise.html