Advantage Home Team Blog

Our office adopted a family for the holidays as another way to say thank you and give back to our community. Their need is even greater today then it was last week. We located this family with 7 children because one little boy was terminally ill, and we just found out that he passed away last night.

As the mourning process begins and the family recovers from this loss, we are in hopes that we can make a difference for them this holiday season. We have a tree in our office where anyone is welcome to come in and take a card for a specific gift for one of the children or for a monetary gift. Please call if you would like us to email you a gift request: 520-836-9301.

 Thank in in advance for your prayers and your generosity.

Some quick observations from this week in real esate in Casa Grande:

1. Brown Family Homes closed locations through out Arizona including the location on Kortsen at Los Portales. I received several phone calls from concerned home owners and encouraged them to contact the Homeowner’s Association for questions about what will happen to the common areas. As for the partially completed homes and the vacant lots, most likely the bank will sell the lots to a land banker and finish the homes under construction. There are only a handful of new home builders left in Casa Grande which translates to slowed growth and an opportunity for our market to recover and correct itself from the overbuilding.

2. The Fed lowered the prime rate to 1% at the end of the week, but as of Friday the rate cut did not trickle through to the mortgage rates. Buyers who are waiting for prices to drop may not realized a savings if interest rates continue to rise which is a strong possibility over the next few months as banks have less money to lend and are trying to recoup the losses that are mounting.

3. Bank of America announced it is going to freeze the foreclosure process on 2,000 valley homes that were originated by Countrywide (now owned by B of A). Those homeowners should receive a call the first part of December to discuss the work out options/arrrangements. Is this the beginning of the slowing of the foreclosures that the our government is working toward with the ”bail out” package?

4. October month end sales report for single family homes shows the average sales price dropped again in Casa Grande to $135,723. This is a $40,000 drop in the last 6 months!

It seems there are changes taking place almost every day in terms of the real estate market and lending practices. I will be updating this blog more regularly now and look forward to your questions and comments. Feel free to call or email me at our office: colleen@advhometeam.com or 520-836-9301.

 Colleen

A few friends and family members have asked me about Proposition 100. The intent of the measure is to protect the equity in real estate by eliminating the possibility of a Real Estate Transfer Tax. This type of tax has been proposed in the past and introduced for legistative action. This measure will prohibit the state, any county, city, or town from imposing any new tax, fee, or other assessment on the sale, purchase, or tranfer of real estate.

This is one of the easier decisions on the ballot. Please vote “yes” on Prop 100, but most importantly, please vote!  

Please do not mail any earnest money, security deposits, or other type fees to individuals posting homes for rent or for sale on Craig’s List!  

 One of our office listings recently surfaced on Craig’s List for rent. The posting shows the correct exterior photo of the home, but the interior photos are not the home. The description and interior photos are incorrect. The person who posted the home for rent instructed the prospective tenant not to contact the phone number on the sign out front, that he is the owner and is renting. He then requested $215 deposit be mailed to him and he would in turn mail the keys. If the prospective tenant decided not to rent then he would refund her money.

Our office has reported this scam to the Arizona Department of Real Estate and to Craig’s List. This is a new scam and difficult to control/monitor. Please help us by reporting and suspicious postings.

Pinal County is largely an agriculture based county with many farm families who have lived in the area for generations. I am very proud that I had the priviledge to be a part of the ag community and a member of the Casa Grande Valley Cotton Women.

A good friend and farming advocate, Julie Murphree, has a blog that is loaded with information about the industry. Her post today is information regarding livestock agriculture…an industry under heavy scrutiny and new regulations. Take a look and let me know what you think!

http://juliemurphree.org/?p=1088

Hard to believe May we are already moving into June! The numbers for May are not in yet, but a preliminary look at the numbers show another decrease in the number of homes on the market, another decrease in the average sales price, and more homes pending than the prior months. For a detailed look give us a call. The graphs will be available soon.

Happy May 1st! 

Are you looking for a foreclosure? If you are, you are not alone. The bank owned properties are priced to move and that is exactly what they are doing…moving!

 We are back to multiple offers in certain hot spots! The number of foreclosures are still high with 40% of all sales in Pinal County in March being bank owned. Call our office to find out where the great buys are and what is moving fast!

I am very excited to post this first of what I hope to be many postings in the future.  There are so many changes taking place in real estate, and in Casa Grande, and I hope this site will be full of the latest happenings.

 First, if you haven’t heard, the Advantage Home Team is lead by me, Colleen Bechtel, and Neal Buckner. We partnered this year and opened our office in September. We are very proud to have a team of the best agents in Casa Grande; Jeneen Sermeno, Sandra McGee, and Darla Johnson. Our licensed assitants, Randee Ramirez and Alicia Ortega, keep the team running smoothly. Stop by and say “hi” anytime!

 Watch this blog monthly for my Market Stats, plus sign up for our eNewsletter!

Welcome to Colleen Bechtel’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Casa Grande.