If there is one true statement that can be made about the Real Estate Market, it never stays the same. For the past five years we have been in a buyers market but many buyers couldn't buy for any number of reasons. Today there are more buyers in the market place but the market has shifted again. Where we have had too much inventory to sell, much of it Bank Owned or Short Sale properties, today we are leaning back toward a seller's market. That means that there is less inventory and prices are beginning to stabilize and in some cases increase.The buyers are beginning to come back in to the marketplace only to be disappointed in their choices. We no longer have an unlimited supply of homes for buyers to look at and the choices are far fewer than they were even a year ago. Many buyers sat ... 07/08/2012

Hello Everyone, I was listening to the TBWS Daily show today and they brought up a good question.  We have been hearing forever about all the Shadow Inventory the Banks are sitting on and my question is; Where is it?  We sure aren't seeing it in Northern Arizona and from what I understand they aren't seeing it in the large metro areas in the deserts either.  The inventory of affordable homes is at it's lowest point in years.  Does that mean they have already sold all that backlog of homes off in Arizona or are they just sitting on it waiting for prices to rise?  My inclination is the later.  The REO's that are hitting our market are coming out at much closer to retail pricing and the prices aren't dropping much.  Buyers are having a hard time finding anything to buy because most of the ... 05/15/2012

After five years of declining markets many sellers have reached their limit.  I don't know about other places but this year we are seeing a marked lack of listings in our marketplace. That does not bode well for the summer season in the White Mountains. My thinking is that sellers have reached the point where they can't drop their prices any more so they have decided not to sell. Who can blame them? Prices have dropped an dropped and it gets to a point where they have no choice, if they drop any more it is going to mean a Short Sale.  They are going to have to try and prove a hardship to the bank but if their only true hardship is lost value, the banks are going to ignore their request.  Add to that the burden of the credit hit they are going to take if they do sell that house "short" a... 02/20/2012

Good Afternoon Everyone, Sometimes I have the overwhelming desire to take Zillow out behind the Barn and shoot it like an old rabid dog! I know online exposure is necessary but I really have a problem with Zillow's zestimates.  I just went on to Zillow to update the pricing on one of my listings and I was reviewing the Zestimates and only one of them was even close to a realistic price.  It is so totally unfair to our sellers to have their listings exposed to millions of people who all think Zillow's Zestimates are the God of values.  What do they base those figures on, does anyone have any idea?  All I know is that every one of those values was so far off that it made me sick.  What chance do our sellers have of getting a fair price for their properties when buyers come in with an expe... 02/15/2012

Showlow 1092 Rim View DR Show Low, AZ 85901 Half Acre 3 bedroom home sale in Linden Unsub Home Photo Gallery Virtual Tour Property Map Payment Info Request Showing Ed OlivaRealtor Direct:: 480-980-3032 Office: (480) 980-2611 Website: Visit Website Price : $139,900 Bedrooms : 3 Bathrooms : 2 Square Foot : 2,020 County : Navajo Property Type : Detached Year Built : 1996 MLS Number : 4672445 click for more information and pictures Property Description Open floor plan on 1/2 acre of beautiful land. Towering ponderosa pines surround the back yard which is fenced. Large covered front deck. Inside is an open floor plan home with vaulted ceilings and skylights. Kitchen with an abundance of cabinets and walk-in pantry. Wonderful family home with a bonus room off the master suite for office or si... 02/03/2012

Okay, not so much a lesson but a rant.  I swear there are a lot of Real Estate Agents out there who don't know which end of the camara to hold on to when they are taking listing pictures or if they do, they must be cross eyed! I know I have seen this discussion before but I experienced first hand yesterday how horrible some of the MLS pictures are.  I was helping a friend look for property out of town via Realtor.com.  Most of the listings either had no pictures, or just a couple of pictures, or pictures that were so horrible you couldn't tell anything at all about the houses.  How in the world do they expect to get anyone to call on them when they take pictures that are not identifiable?  I mean seriously, some of those pictures were so bad you didn't know what you were looking at.  So... 12/21/2011

Good Afternoon Everyone, Don't know if anyone besides me has noticed but the inventory of Homes For Sale is WAY down.  I had clients in town over the weekend and they were really disappointed to find that 2 of the 7 homes they wanted to see had sold between Wed. & Friday.  What homes we did view while very nice homes, were higher priced than the buyers wanted to go.   They came thinking they were going to find the perfect home at a great price and went home realizing that wasn't the case any longer.  It is possible that the people who have been sitting on their proverbial fences may have waited a bit too long.  The market is shifting again.  I'm not sure whether this signals the end of the REO market and that most of the inventory in our area is depleted or if it simply means that peopl... 05/17/2011

AR REALLY DOES BRING IN BUSINESS! I have been busier than I have been in a long time and it is wonderful.  Much of that business is thanks to AR and the wonderful people who share their experiences on AR.  I have had several referrals lately from AR and I really appreciate every one of them and I haven't even had time to do much blogging or posting lately either.  It just seems to be the nature of Real Estate to be very very busy, or sitting around wondering if you are ever going to talk to another client.  Right now it seems like I'm running in circles chasing my tail and I just can't catch it.  Never-the-less, I decided to just say Thanks to all the fantastic people who are on AR and are willing to share their experiences and their special vision of our industry and for the referrals ... 04/20/2011

SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT USE 6.71 ACRE PARCEL WITH ALMOST 1000' FOR STATE HIGHWAY FRONTAGE Level Acreage fronting main Highway in to Show Low, Arizona.  So many possibilities here, Buyer should verify uses with Navajo County, Zoning Restrictions, access to Utilities, Etc.  Level Parcel with easy access.  Motivated Seller! $295,000 Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI, SFR 03/09/2011

Good Saturday Morning Everyone, I have a question for you today?  What would you do if you found the perfect property at the right price, would you move or let fear stop you from buying it? Fear, such a little word with such a big meaning.  The uncertainty of the economy in the past few years has made us all fearful.  Buyers are afraid to buy for fear the value of the property they want will drop more.  Sellers are afraid to drop their prices because they think prices will go up again.  Renters are afraid to buy because they are more comfortable letting someone else worry about the care and upkeep of their home.  Everyone is afraid because the economy is still on very shaky ground. I can't blame anyone for their fears but many people are losing out because of it.  I can't tell you how ... 02/05/2011

After a very long Saturday at the Office I am not convinced the phone had to be broken.  That is the only explanation for a whole day without a single phone call.  I don't understand how a Real Estate Office can be open on a Saturday without one single call!  My only conclusion is that the phone must be broken! So what accounts for the slow traffic right now?  Is it because it is winter?  Is it because the buyers have given up on the market?  Is it because Lending is so tight that no one can qualify? Any insights on what is happening in other places would be appreciated.  It has been painfully slow in the White Mountains of Arizona for a couple of months now.  A few people out showing but I keep watching those pending numbers go down so I am concerned.  Is it going to turn around? Just ... 01/29/2011

Good Saturday Evening Everyone, I was thinking today it must be the after Christmas Blahs!  It has been painfully quiet for the past couple of weeks, everyone I talk to is saying the same thing.   My site is getting activity but I guess everyone is just sitting on the computer, not really actively seeking an agent to list or sell them property. Of course the fact that it has been really cold hasn't helped.  I had to go out today and show property and it was the first day I've been out since New Year's Day that it wasn't positively frigid!  It actually got above freezing today. My clients were from the desert so they weren't prepared for the after snow  - mud! I told my clients it was only the beginning.  First we have the snow then we have the mud and frankly the snow is preferable.  I... 01/15/2011

Good Sunday Morning Everyone, I'll just bet you thought you were never going to hear from me again.  Well, it has been a very hectic and exciting first week in 2011.  As of New Year's Day I made the decision to change Real Estate Companies.  I didn't come to this decision easily or without a certain amount of second guessing myself.  However after several days of agonizing over the decision I made it and jumped. I must say that changing companies is not easy.  Not only is there a good deal of paperwork involved in changing organizations and notifying the State of Arizona of my decision, but also listings to transfer, buyers to contact, and in general just a lot of changing over of information on various websites including this one. This week has been pretty stressful but I'm getting th... 01/09/2011

How often do we hear this from our clients today?  Everyday perhaps! I can't tell you how many times I am on a Listing Appointment and the Seller asks me where they need to be on price to get the property sold in 60 days?  The latest now that we are late in the year is, I'd really like this sold before the end of the year, can you do that?  Well of course I can do that.  List it for a dollar and I can have it sold tomorrow!  Oh, you want more than a dollar for the property, well now that is another story entirely. How do we politely tell our prospective clients that our crystal ball broke last week and we have no way of knowing how long it is going to take for their property to sell?  Anyone listing this time of year in our area has to be in a hurry to sell otherwise they would wait un... 10/27/2010

  Fall Colors Have Arrived In Torreon! I took this photo this morning while on my walk.  Come up soon, so you can enjoy this great time of year! Laurie                       Torreon Featured Properties              Torreon Events Calendar          White Mountain Events Calendar    10/14/2010

At first I didn't even realize that the people I had been working with for the last year were Activerain referrals.  For some reason I had it in my head that they were Craigslist buyers.  But no, when I was working up the Broker's file today I notice that they had contacted me almost a year ago off a listing I had posted on AR.  Hurray, another testimonial that AR does work.  I have been listening to a lot of agents moaning and groaning that they aren't getting any business.  When I ask them if they have a website or if they are on the Social Networks, they say no.  I truly don't know how an Agent can survive in this market without an online presence.  It is a lot of work to set up a website.  It take time and energy to write a blog post or send out a new listing on all the sites but I... 09/06/2010

Show Low, AZ, was established in 1870, and it was incorporated in 1953, which gives the town plenty of history and character.  It lies atop the Mongollon Rim in the Eastern section of Arizona, and it is surrounded by mountain tops and national forests.It is situated at 6,400 feet above sea level, which makes for temperatures around 30 degrees less than the average in Phoenix.  The town lies at the U.S. Highway 60 and Arizona Highway 260 junction, which places it at almost the same distance from Phoenix (175 miles southwest) and Tucson (200 miles south).If you are considering a place in Arizona where you do not have endure the desert heat, then you definitely need to take a look at Show Low, AZ Homes For Sale.  This is a town that offers peaceful mountain living at its best, whether you ... 08/10/2010

Good Afternoon Everyone, A few days ago I suggested to sellers that if they didn't have a note against their property they might consider carrying a note.  There are many buyers out there now who for one reason or another cannot qualify through conventional means for a loan. After that post I had several calls from Buyers looking for Seller Carry-backs so they could purchase a home.  Many of those Buyers were a bit confused on what having the Seller Carry the Note really meant, and what would be required of them should they pursue that option.  I decided that I needed to follow-up that post with some things to clarify what a Seller Carry is and what would be required of the Buyers.  I really appreciate the calls, and hopefully some of them will turn in to serious buyers, but....there a... 07/24/2010

  Good Afternoon Everyone, I was talking to a seller today about the possibility of listing their property and we got in to a discussion about a Seller Carry for a buyer.  At first this seller was opposed to the idea stating that he didn't want to get himself in the same fix as the banks.  After we talked a while though he saw that it might be a possibility.   There are a lot of potential buyers in the marketplace today who have good incomes, steady jobs, and money in the bank.  Unfortunately they are not qualified for a traditional mortgage because they are self employed.  Business people, particularly owners of Mom & Pop type operations, write a lot of their business income off at the end of the year in the form of expenses.  As a result their net incomes on their tax returns are not ... 07/21/2010

Good Evening Everyone, I thought I would address the potential buyers out there who are looking for property but not buying property.  I have to ask you what are you waiting for?  The home prices in our area have dropped anywhere from 20 to 40%.  The interest rates are at an all time low and they aren't going to stay there forever.  The tax credits may be gone but you have to look at these interest rates as a lifetime gift.  The tax credit was a one time shot, if you take advantage of these rates now you are looking at something that will benefit you for 30+ years! Jumbo loans are back for the higher end buyers.  FHA, VA & USDA are wonderful opportunities for First Time or Move up buyers.  USDA is specifically geared for Rural Communities such as the Show Low area. So I ask again, what... 07/13/2010