The Phoenix Real Estate Advisor

We’ve all wanted to know the price of a home for sale in our area. Most of you wish you could get the price without having to talk to an agent? How about getting an email with details and pictures?  Now you can!

Think about how this could help you when you’re looking for your new home…you’re driving by a home for sale and you simply dail a local number and enter the street number (IE: 123 Main St would be 123) and the system gives you all the details about this home for sale without having to call an agent.

If you live in or looking for a home in the metro Phoenix, Arizona area you can now have this ability. All you need to do is contact me so I can activate you in the system. You can call me at 623.271.4234 or email me at Jay@valleyREadvisor.com. I need your name, email address and any phone numbers you would like acitivated. It will only takes a few minutes for me to enter you into the system and you’re all set.

I can activate up to 3 phones per family and of course this is at no cost or obligation to you! Listen to this short intro-

If you have any questions about this service or if you’d like to get started you can always reach me at 623.271.4234!

Pulte Homes Inc. agreed to acquire Centex Corp. Wednesday in a stock-for-stock deal valued at $1.3 billion that will create the nation’s largest homebuilding company.

The transaction, which also includes $1.8 billion of debt, will give the combined business a strong liquidity position with more than $3.4 billion in cash as of March 31.

The pairing of Pulte and Centex comes at a time when homebuilders are still struggling to find their footing as credit remains tight and buyers continue to be leery of big-ticket purchases. The industry in turn has attempted to stem the bleeding by drastically scaling back new construction and throwing more incentives at potential buyers in order to unload existing inventory.

The companies called the deal a merger, but Pulte stockholders will own about 68 percent of the combined business and Centex shareholders will own the remaining 32 percent. The acquisition comes a little over a month after Pulte adopted a shareholder rights plan to help preserve the value of some deferred tax assets generated by net operating losses, as well as other tax benefits.

The newly combined company will have access to more than 59 U.S. markets and gives Pulte access to Centex’s land holdings in Texas as well as North and South Carolina.

Pulte and Centex contend that the deal will help them capitalize on what many see as a bit of an uptick in the housing market. Last month the Commerce Department said new home sales climbed 4.7 percent in February, providing some hope that the sales may have reached their bottom and are on their way toward a recovery.

“We believe this is the right combination at the right time in the business cycle. By acting decisively now, we’re creating unrivaled firepower to capitalize on the opportunities in homebuilding that are now becoming visible on the horizon,” Centex Chairman and CEO Timothy Eller said in a statement.

The acquisition, which was unanimously approved by both homebuilders’ boards, is expected to close in the third quarter. It is expected to qualify as a tax-free reorganization.

This last week was a good week for working with clients. It all started early on Sunday and continued through yesterday with 2 listing presentations. It’s funny, every time someone hears I’m a REALTOR they say something like “Oh I’m sorry” or “Things must be really bad”. The good part is I get to say that I’ve never been busier then I am right now. Of course they look at me wondering if I’m telling the truth.

I had 2 clients from out of town and 3 clients local looking at homes and asking about selling their home. I spent a lot of time out at Sun City Festival in Buckeye, in fact they started to think I worked there after seeing almost everyday last week. Then Trilogy at Vistancia and Sun City Grand a couple of times before heading to north-central Phoenix to show homes and ending up in Glendale and Ventana Lakes on a listing appointments.

If anyone wondered if homes were selling or if the market is getting better I can tell you in Arizona things have started to heatup. I guess the combo of Low Pricing and Really Low Interest Rates is combanation to bring out the buyers.

How about this week? So far only 2 clients want to see homes but the weeks early!

What a busy weekend! I had several clients that wanted to get out and see homes this weekend. I was sent in two very different directions.

Saturday I spent the morning and early afternoon in North-Central Phoenix & South Scottsdale looking at homes in the $230,000 to $350,000 range. My clients goal was to find a home that was centrally located but in a neighborhood that was well kept. They didn’t mind a home that needs a little work but want to buy a home they can count on appreciating in the coming years.

I showed a couple of homes in the south Scottsdale that needed a lot of work. One home was even gutted and need a total remodel and it was priced at $320,000. The good news for a buyer that has the ability to remodel a home like this is the surrounding homes were priced from $400,000 to around $600,00.

In the North-Central Phoenix area the homes were a more like what my client was looking for. The homes were for the most part very well kept and offered a fantastic deal from what they were priced just a couple years ago. One home they liked offered a great deal although it needs all new flooring and good (I mean good) cleaning. This home is priced at $230,000 and I think my client is going to move on this home once I complete my market analysis.

Sunday came a trip around the Northern Glendale & Phoenix area. These clients are looking for a home that offers the best of the best. They have great taste and want their home to reflect this.

We started up in Fireside at Anthem, a Del Webb community. This is a great area and have amenties not found in typical neighborhoods. Pools, Playgrounds, Exercise Room, Dancing, Tennis, and more for a low HOA fee of $95 a month. The homes start in the low 200’s and go up to over $500,000 and most homes have great mountain views.

After a quick trip thru a couple of homes there we headed back to Glendale. We looked a couple homes there, one being 4900 sq ft, finished basement, 6 car+ garage and the best of everything. It needed a little work but at $619,000 it seemed to be a good deal.

Then came Sonoron Mountain Ranch and Camelot Homes. OK you want the best? Then you need see these homes. The model is currently selling for $795,000 and a few years ago they were selling for over 1.3 million. Is that a deal?? In Sonoron Mountain Ranch the homes start in the low 200’s and go up to over $800,000 in the gated areas.

If you have any questions about these areas or others please feel free to give me a call at 623.271.4234.