Buy or Sell Homes in South East Valley of Arizona

February finds our real estate market still leaning in the seller’s favor but with definite and continued movement toward a buyer/seller balance. Home supply is still below average, and demand for homes is well below this same time last year. That said, comparing to this same time last year, the number of active listings is up  10.6%  and the monthly median sales price of  $262,000  is up  6.9%. Our continued price appreciation on housing, combined with higher interest rates, naturally makes for less demand, and listings under contract are down  13.9%  from last year. Many buyers are sitting on the sidelines, apparently uncomfortable with current pricing and interest rate uncertainty. The flux in the stock market is also a factor in buyer uncertainty.   On the interest rate front, the Fed has recently announced that it will pause its planned interest rate hikes for 2019 and instead more closely monitor the U.S. and other world economies. Th...

Understanding how your property taxes are calculated can often feel like unraveling one of the deepest mysteries of the universe. However, it’s vitally important that you get your arms around this tax, if you are subject to it, as it’s often a large expense that you may be saddled with for a lifetime. Property taxes can vary wildly, not only between different areas of the country, but even between different parts of the same municipality. Just how do property taxes work? Shouldn’t they be the same for everyone? First, Real Property Versus Personal Property When we refer to “property taxes,” what we really mean is “real property tax.” The term “real property” means the land you own and everything that is permanently affixed to it. For example, if you have a stick-built house, a garage, a shed with a permanent foundation — these are all things that would be considered “real property.” On the other hand, you may also have “personal property,” which is basically anything else th...