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Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking…

With the mortgage interest rates as low as they are, the changes that the mortgage industry just announced (money savings for borrowers), and inventory levels that are at the highest they have been since  this time last year, it’s now time to buy.  If you are a buyer, don’t wait until our traditional busy season.  If you start now, you’ll be loving life in your new living room while the “late to the party” buyers are out scrambling for homes and out bidding each other.  It happens nearly every year.  Be ready for it this year!   And Sellers, don’t think your home is going to sit on the market just because inventory levels are a little high…they always are this time of year.  The buyers are out there NOW buying up the inventory.  As long as you are properly priced for your condition, you’ll get activity in this market!  Call or text 480.250.0023 with any market condition questions.

Review of Le Salon De Beaute

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On one of the coldest mornings of the year, I waltz into Le Salon De Beaute of downtown Mesa with my black leather, knee high boots pulled over tattered skinny (yes, I said skinny jeans…10 months postpartum and I’m pretty proud to wear them!), my AC/DC sweatshirt (one of the warmest I own), and my “rats nest”…almost two feet of jet black, loosely curled mama hair neatly pulled back in the perpetual pony tail (to hopefully escape the curious mitts of my 10 month old).

Whitney, my new stylist, energetically welcomes me almost instantly.  I think I maybe sat waiting only long enough to text Daddy (my sons daddy that is…) the most recent instruction for the next two hours while mama is getting pampered.  Excitement now starts to appear as my petite, platinum blonde stylist shows me to her station.  I instantly LOVED her hair.  Point for Whitney.

Once seated I have the opportunity to take it all in.  It’s a good sized salon with two rows of stylist booths, maybe 20 or 25 or so.  The decor is more toward the upper end but attractive to all walks of life.  Since my hubby remodels homes for a living, I tend to daydream about remodeling all day long.  This place would look AMAZING with some “wood” tile in grey.  The originial tin ceiling and the feel of the older building was just perfect.  There was plenty of space for the sinks, nail techs, receptionist, and there was a good bathroom too.

Now, I know I don’t look a day over 35 😉 but I do have a good share of “the greys”.  So, as she’s applying color to my roots (oh…before she started she smeared some ointment by my hair line to keep the dye off my skin…brilliant!), I begin asking her about my new passion, Downtown Mesa.  It turns out that Whitney has been a stylist in that location ever since the owners established it so she has a pretty good take on what is going on downtown.  We talked about the historic home districts, who the business owners are in the area, the consensus on the light rail, etc… you name it.  2nd point for Whitney.

I liked that, during that conversation, she pointed to a cutie pie couple a few stations away and said “those are the owners”.  Him…originally from France, handsome, in jeans and black chucks.  Her…petite, the most BEAUTIFUL long, layered, blonde highlights and lowlights (I’m not sure if those are the correct terms but they sounded good here), and a pair of awesome red shoes.  I liked that they were there and alongside the rest of the crew.  I liked that they too had customers in their chairs.

My stylist was indeed the best shampoo girl I have ever had, a skill that she developed the first year of her tenure here.  With a brief description of my frustrations she quickly and uniquely transformed my mama hair to something that I’m happy to twist up in that pony tail by day but let down at night.  3rd Point for Whitney.

The impact on the wallet was less than a Scottsdale price but the experience was certainly one of the most enjoyable and I’m more than pleased with the results.  4th Point for Whitney.

Needless to say, I’ve found my salon.

Le Salon De Beaute Facebook

New Year Brings New Rules

Lower levels of inventory and low interest rates means the buyers that are out there are salivating for that perfect opportunity.  For sellers looking to sell, as long as you are priced correctly you should have more than enough buyers willing to place offers when you first hit the market.  For buyers looking to buy, make sure to double check with us regarding your loan program ASAP. January has brought about changes that may affect you.

Our Latest Renovation Project! See it Today!

Here’s the latest renovation project.  Currently under construction, this 1400+sf, 3 bed / 2 bath single level is sure to please.  Watch as this home is transformed from “undesirable” to “WOW, where do I sign” in the coming weeks.  Projected list date to be late January early February unless someone buys it prior to list.  Ray/Dobson area in Chandler.

We will show this property prior to listing in MLS but you must be on the list.  Email your name and phone number to [email protected] with “put me on the list for Chandler!” in the subject line.  We have a list for all of our homes that are under construction.  If you want consistent notification of our upcoming inventory (so you can snatch it up before it hits the MLS), email [email protected] with “put me on the general list!” in the subject line.  We have another coming up shortly in Moon Valley.

6 Reasons to Buy Now!

To take advantage of near-record low mortgage interest rates and home prices undervalued by as much as three percent nationwide, now is a great time to buy a home.

You’ve already missed the bottom of the market, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t great buys to be had out there. Your community may not have appreciated as quickly as some of the big metro areas have recently. Your boom may yet come. 

But there are even better reasons to buy a home right now. Here are just a few:

1. More jobs are available

The Labor Department announced that the jobless rate is now below six percent. Consider how far the job market has come since January 2010 when unemployment was 9.7 percent

2. Houses hedge against inflation

The Consumer Price for All Urban Consumers is up 1.7% from August 2013 to August 2014, excluding volatile food and gas prices. The food index has risen 2.7 percent over the span, while the energy index has increased 0.4 percent. This is the first month that the index hasn’t risen since 2010.

Why is that good for homeowners? Even in a tepid inflationary environment, when prices rise, a major asset such as a home, purchased at a fixed cost, becomes more valuable. Typically, in an inflationary environment, housing prices rise.

3. Housing price gains are slowing

The median existing-home price in August was $219,800, which is 4.8 percent higher than home prices in August 2013. This marks the 30th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains. In 2013, home prices rose in the double digits.

4. Mortgage interest rates are still low

According to Freddie Mac’s archives, the lowest that mortgage interest rates have been in modern history (since 1971) was in November and December 2012 at 3.35 percent with 0.7 points for a benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan, and that was back in 2012 before the housing recovery began in earnest. The most recent Freddie Mac survey found national averages at 4.16 percent with .05 percent points in September 2014.

5. Pent-up demand ready to release

Household Formation has been muted since the Great Recession, preventing as many as 2.5 million people from forming households who otherwise would have. Economists with Harvard’s Center for Joint Housing Studies predict that annual U.S. housing starts should average 1.4 to 1.5 million over the coming decade. Considering that the largest generation ever –81 million Echo Boomers — are well into renting and homebuying age, the numbers should be closer to the 2.3% annual growth of the 1970’s, when 78 million Baby Boomers reached adulthoo

6. Buy VS rent ratios favor homeownership

Trulia, a real estate marketplace and research group announced that nationally, rents rose 6.5% year-over-year in September 2014. Apartment rents were up 6.9%, while single-family home rents gained 5.2%. At the same time, housing prices have leveled off.

The Takeaway

A housing market never remains even. There are always surges and dips. Buyers could wait for better market conditions, but the present alignment of low mortgage interest rates, slowing home prices, rising rents and pent-up demand add up to great reasons to buy a home right now

Via [Realty Times]

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