September 2010 Market Statistics for Homes Sold in Yavapai Hills, Prescott AZ (Single Family Residences sold between 8/1/10 and 9/30/10)   Active Listings: 39 Average days on market: 191 Average price per square foot: $121   Units sold 11 Average days on market: 238 Average Price per square foot: $129   Compared To September 2009   Units sold: 8 Average days on market: 101 Average Price per square foot: $137   If you would like updated information or details for this or any community in or around Prescott Arizona, please feel free to call or email. I would love to hear from you!   Courtesy of Dave Conners, Keller Williams Check Realty 928-713-2663   Dave Conners enjoys learning new ways to help his Prescott Arizona Real Estate Clients           10/12/2010

Yes you can buy a home anywhere in Yavapai County Arizona for just $1000 down. I am excited to share with you this new program offered by The Arizona Housing Finance Authority.  The program is called the MRB PLUS Program. --From the website-- The Finance Authority's MRB Plus program combines the attractive first mortgage interest rate of the Mortgage Revenue Bond loan (30-year fixed rate) with downpayment and closing cost assistance. MRB Plus offers 5% of the purchase price to be used toward a downpayment or closing costs of the loan. The program is available in all areas of Arizona outside of Maricopa and Pima counties. The homebuyer must not have had an ownership interest in a home in the past three years and the home must become the primary residence of the purchaser. Income limits, ... 10/05/2010

The Best Bagels we have found in Prescott AZ can be found at The Bagel Cafe, (formerly NY Bagels) at 212 E Gurley St.   Owner Melanie Gurvits has found a really cozy and comfortable spot in the Day Octagon building just down the street from Whiskey Row. She has also found a way to get fresh New York bagels to Prescott almost daily. Her speciality is a bagel with lox and cream cheese, but my personal favorite is the veggie, which for me is a toasted poppy seep bagel, hummus and avocodo, lettuce and grilled red peppers. This along with the Bagel Cafe's amazing selection of wonderful tea is more than enough to keep me comming back for more. If you enjoy reading about great food in Yavapai County please check out Yavapai Foodies Reviews. 10/01/2010

Pricing a home is one of the toughest jobs of a REALTOR, especially in today's market. There is a fine line between fulfilling our role to get the most for a property vs. keeping it competitive vs. making sure it appraises vs. underselling vs. obliging unrealistic sellers (our clients in some cases). How many sellers have had to lower the contract price because the appraisal came in below it? How many sellers have had their home linger on the market because their agent was not honest about the real value of the property? How many sellers STILL have not sold their home because they are not pricing the home in line with their agents recommendation? I bet everyone in today's market can nod their head in agreement with experiencing some of these scenarios. To all of you sellers out there...... 09/28/2010

When you visit  a new city do you ask where you can find an average Chinese restaurant? Or do you ask for the BEST Chinese restaurant in the area? If you needed heart surgery would you pick a doctor out of the yellow pages or would you ask friends who the BEST doctor for your surgery is?  The point is clear: we don't look for mediocrity; we look for excellence. And in today's Prescott Arizona real estate market we can choose to work with the best. Someone who specializes in a particular niche and takes extra classes and has more experience. Or we can accept average. Working with Prescott area bank owned homes is a very different experience than the retail home sale. Timelines for inspection are shorter, acceptable offer amounts are the subject of formulas, not emotion. There are often p... 09/27/2010

The Old Sage Bookshop located at the corner of Montezuma and Gurley Streets in Prescott overflows with warmth and charm. Susan McElheran the owner favors books of poetry, Native American history, general history and rare books. I always enjoy wandering in off Whiskey Row to the Hotel St. Michael shopping area which has many wonderful shops. Susan is always happy to help book lovers find whatever it is they need to find. She can often order books very quickly and at great prices. Some used book stores offer stacks of books and narrow isles. The Old Sage Bookshop offers a beautiful layout that makes one want to stay a while and relax. I suggest you drop by on your next trip to Prescott Arizona.   The Old Sage Bookshop 110 Montezuma St Prescott AZ 86303928-776-1136 begin_of_the_skype_highl... 09/27/2010

 Your Lake Arrowhead Realtor would like to share some local Lake Arrowhead Information with you. Did you know the locals actually pronounce Prescott, "Prez-Skit?" But regardless how you pronounce it, Prescott is one beautiful city!  Somewhat like Lake Arrowhead, Prescott sits a mile high plus in altitude, has four mild seasons and seems to have plenty of things going on all year long. Check out this month's Calendar of Events. They were having the Historic All Corvette Car Show during our visit.   A few facts about Prescott: Just 90 minutes north of Phoenix Home of the world's oldest rodeo. 800 buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places 95 miles from Grand Canyon National Park Named one of the best 50 places to live by National Geographic Adventure                        ... 09/18/2010

Are you retiring to Prescott, AZ? You're not alone. Prescott was just voted the 4th Best Place to Retire by CNNMoney.com: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/real_estate/1009/gallery.best_places_retire.moneymag/4.html And its not the first time.  For well over a decade Prescott has consistently been named of the best places to retire in the U.S.  Here too is a Youtube Video highlighting Prescott as a place to retire for its climate, outdoor active lifestyle and educational opportunities for retirees: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abVFdxRtAVw AARP names Prescott as one of the safest places to retire in the U.S. http://www.ehow.com/list_6966138_safest-places-retire.htmlin addition to its vibrant cutural life although many urbanites might argue the cultural offerings here as compared to a... 09/16/2010

Who is the best auto mechanic in Prescott Arizona? Today I had another great experience with my favorite auto mechanic, but before I write about today I want to describe my first encounter with David Janssen of Dave's Auto Repair.  Another Realtor I used to work with in 2001 recommended Dave's Auto Repair when I was still new in Prescott and needed to find a mechanic. I dropped off my Toyota Rav4 with Dave to look at. He called me less than an hour later and told me it was fixed. When I arrived to pick it up he told me there was no charge. I asked for an explanation and he told me that since it was a small part that he happened to have lying around and that the repair only took a couple minutes he didn't see the need to charge me. I asked him how he could sustain his business if he didn... 09/13/2010

Managing Change! So much change so little time!  Does your life resemble this? I have been invited by the Prescott Area WCR Women's Council of Realtors to present a talk on "Managing Change" in Prescott on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. till 1 p.m. The event includes lunch for $5.00 and will be held in the Yavapai Title conference room located at 1235 East Gurley St. Prescott, AZ.  Please call Pat Mercurio of REdo-REnew Interiors 777-0333 or redorenew@msn.com to make your reservation. Today's universe is all about change.  The world is evolving into a digital communication network through the Internet and mobile applications.  It is time to "build a bridge" and get over the anxiety of learning it and just DO IT. How do we manage the Mess? 1.  Identify the areas you need to le... 09/13/2010

Since I list and sell land parcels in Arizona. I am often asked why the development occurs in a checkerboard pattern. When the railroads were being developed, the railroads were given twelve square miles of land for each mile of track that was laid. The railroads were not given the land in contiguous tracts, but were given odd numbered sections only. This checkerboard land pattern of land use exists in many western states. In Arizona, at least in some areas, the remaining land eventually was given to the Arizona State Land Trust and was for the benefit of our school systems. The map below shows the town of Chino Valley and land on the west edge of the map known as Williamson Valley. Williamson Valley road runs through this starting at Iron Springs Road in Prescott.   I need to describe ... 09/11/2010

In Prescott Arizona, HUD or the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development sells houses. I love selling these houses for several reasons. Primarily its the lack of competition. You see, to sell a HUD home requires that your Realtor buy a special HUD Home key and learn how to navigate HUD's system. Also the brokerage must be registered with HUD. These are some relatively minor hurdles to overcome, but most Prescott AZ  Realtors don't want to learn new skills. In fact I have found that a large majority of real estate professionals tend to travel the familiar path. But in today's real estate market we are either constantly learning new skills or falling behind. So took classes on selling HUD homes, got the key and started writing contracts and here is what I found: HUD's system is... 09/10/2010

I got "pumped" about Active Rain when Ben Kenney was here last fall to do a seminar on social media marketing. Since then (December of 2009) I have been busy posting into the Active Rain blog with some success. So far my profile has been seen 2,200 times. Moreover, clients are learning about me on Active Rain. My first posting was an article about "Prescott RV Neighborhoods." I had five transactions that involved a place for RVs on the lot to be purchased, so this was a subject on which I felt qualified to speak. I spent a couple of hours writing the blog post, but it seemed to me to be worth it. This post has now been viewed 300 times and was in FIRST Place on Google the day after I posted it. Another early post was on Granite Mountain and Williamson Valley. This post has been seen ove... 09/04/2010

Zillow says that Prescott and Prescott Valley have either stopped depreciating or gained some value!!!That's some really great news even if it is only temporary.  Time will tell.  Here is a link to their page, just scroll down for our cities numbers: http://www.zillow.com/local-info/AZ-Yavapai-County-home-value/r_2112/ Prescott and Prescott Valley Real Estate are the only cities in Yavapai County that have either stopped depreciating (Prescott) or actually gained some value (Prescott Valley) for the last month and the last quarter according to Zillow.com.  Maybe its just a pause before further declines come. There are many reasons why prices rise and fall in any market.  The most common reason has to do with supply and demand.  How do you interpret these numbers?  Did the tax credit con... 09/02/2010

Energy Audits are a great tool to learn how energy efficient a home is before or after you buy.  Its also a great tool for sellers to market their property. Here's why... An Energy Audit uses Blower Door and Blower Duct tests among other tools to see how "tight" your home is.  Those tests pressurize those little leaks around doors, windows and in the ducts which cost you because your hot and cold air just blows away with your money. And remember, after your mortgage payment, its the utility bills that are your next largest expense. Right now in Arizona where APS, our local utility operates, you can get a home energy audit done for just $99. They usually cost anywhere from $300 - $400.  This is a fantastic deal. Go to Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®  program to learn more. As a Buyer,... 09/01/2010

How Many Prescott Short Sales & Foreclosure are currently on the market?  Today there are 614 active listings in the Prescott MLS that are either Short Sales or Foreclosures. If you are patient and willing to be guided through the process by a professional, you can own one and capitalize on perhaps the best opportunities available.  Everything from vacant land to luxury homes and everything in between are available at amazing prices. But you need to know where to look.  If you don't have he time, get with a REALTOR that is willing to send you listings that meet your criteria and just let them do the looking for you. Agents are motivated to help buyers ready to buy or sell in this market. Competition is fierce and agents are working hard.  I know I am. 2400SF HOME ON 1.5 ACRES IN GROOM C... 08/31/2010

I have several listings in Shadow Rock Ranch southwest of Seligman. This development was originally surveyed into lots with a minimum of 36 acres each. It is deed-restricted to 10 acre minimums. Only a few lots have been split. The red squares indicate parcels of land that are for sale. The red houses indicate residential properties. The green squares are parcels that I sold lately. Shadow Rock Ranch consists of seven sections of land. Access is via Our Street from Anvil Rock Road. I will update this post with links to virtual tours.  For now, see my listings on google maps. 08/28/2010

A few months ago, while walking a beautiful parcel of land I scared an owl as I approached. The owl flew away I wished I could have taken his picture, but he was gone before I could bring up my camera.  A little while later, I heard a Mountain Jay, decked out in irradescent blue fussing bigtime. He was in the same tree as the owl. The jay was either quie stupid or quite brave. I think the owl could have had a nice meal of the Jay if he desired. 08/28/2010

This is one of the most inspirational stories that I heard at Rain Camp yesterday.  Thanks for sharing with us yesterday Ben!  08/27/2010

I just finished Raincamp today in Prescott, Arizona. I am really proud to have my license with Keller Williams Check Realty. Co-owners Doug Bunch (Co-owner/Broker Extraordinaire) and Miki Nakajima (CTO/Team Leader/Co-owner) have established an organization that is helping KW dominate the market here in Prescott, Arizona. Ben Kinney presented a great seminar with the help of the Active Rain organization as well as some really great technology vendors. We had a massive number of KW agents here and I enjoyed meeting many marvelous agents in a really positive atmosphere. Thanks for bringing Raincamp to Prescott! GO Doug and Miki and KW Prescott!   08/27/2010