Judi Boad

A SIGN OF THE TIMES Costco announced that it will start accepting food stamps at its warehouse clubs nationwide. Quite a change for the retailer that enjoyed the allure of exclusivity for shoppers not afraid to walk out the door with sales receipts usually in the hundreds of dollars or more per visit! By Thanksgiving, people will be able to spend food stamps in any Costco across the country. I would view this as a sign of our hard economic times to be sure. Food stamp use has hit a record 36 million to date. We are witnessing a very unique era in our country. I think we will get through to a time of relative prosperity and balance again sooner than later. Watching the story of our economy, health care rights, and the housing market is a full time job with the changes that take place daily!

 For more information please contact: www.accuraterealtygroup.com

Well, here it is Thursday and I am happy to stop for a moment and reflect on what I am happy for this week.

I have not been participating like I should in Active Rain due to a little thing called open heart surgery I had about seven weeks ago.

I am thankful to be back at my desk in the office. Thankful to be feeling better and on the road to good health. Thankful for the little plastic valve in my chest, my grandkids, children, husband, this beautiful day...

You get the idea! This Thursday, I am thankful for everything good I have enjoyed this week, including my participation in Active Rain...

Best wishes,

Judi

Everyone is talking about the tax credit! Good, bad or indifferent the statistics are in and home prices rose for the third straight month helping to stabilize the housing market!

It would appear that demand is returning to the U.S. housing market after a three year slump slashed values nationwide, leading to the record foreclosures we have all been left to deal with.

We all know mortgage rates are down as well making yet another positive for the housing market! The release of bank owned assets in the form of more foreclosures will actually improve the chances for first time home buyers to find the right home by giving them more choices, as will the completion of subdivision build outs with all the incentives offered!

I have to take the optimistic road on this one and say things are looking up!...

What goes into a food product you purchase is one thing, what's wrapped around it is a whole different subject. If you stop emptying your kitchen's trash bin for a week and you'll find yourself surrounded by food packaging in the form of milk cartons, cereal boxes, frozen food trays and all the double to triple layers of wrap around cookies, crackers, you name it!

Did you know nearly a third of all the garbage we toss every year is packaging? Avoid the whole landfill bound mess by buying in bulk and bringing your own reusable bags shopping with you. Some stores even give credit for every bag you use!

Choose loose lettuce instead of bagged. Buy concentrated ingredients like broth in dry form instead of bulkier watered-down cartons. And when you have a choice, pick food products in glass containers. Glass doesn't leach toxins like tin cans and some plastics can.

Good news!

Arizona is reviving more than thirty stalled affordable housing project for families, seniors and the disabled with federal stimulus package funding!

The $66 million provided, will create at least a thousand homes for people who cannot find affordable housing, and at least 2,000 construction, government and service jobs.

The low income residential projects are diverse and range from apartments in downtown Phoenix to subdivisions in Sierra Vista. All funds must be spent by early 2012, which will insure the timely completion of projects.

Arizona is at a record high for our homeless population. The housing projects began under a tax credit program offered by the government for building low income housing and keeping rents below market rates for at least fifteen years.

Investors including Fannie May, put money into the projects. When our housing market hit the wall and collapsed, investors either ran out of funds or ran from the projects leaving unfinished housing projects in Phoenix, Prescott Valley, Globe, Tucson, Flagstaff, and Tempe to name a few.