Looking back (2007)

Hard to believe that today is the last day of 2007. But hey... we had fun, right??

I have seen ton's of 'Year in Review' types of articles and TV shows by now and I thought I should produce my own... MOCO style... of course.

I'm not ready to finalize the wrap up of the sales reports for 2007 as of yet, but quickly looking at the data I venture to guess that sales of single family homes in my data area is off some 38% as compared to 2006 (and off 58% as compared to 2005). This year marks the worst year in overall unit sales since I began tracking the data myself in 2004 and it is the second year in a row the numbers fell from the peak year of 2005. That folks is a bad trend for a growing area.

I'll have much more next month once I finish all of the reports... it won't be pretty.

How about some other highlights from the year that was...

In January a community group took hold and helped cause some local commotion. They called themselves the watchdogs and were intent to 'protect' Kingman. They had their eye on certain development plans and made it known that they didn't want to see more traffic on Kingman streets... well... certain 'sacred' city streets... in their neighborhood.

Yours truly was NOT selected by the city to serve on the city Planning & Zoning Commission... which helped lead to a different decision for a later time.

But I was quoted in an article about the delay in the Hoover Dam Bypass project and the implications it could have on the Mohave County real estate market. So I have that going for me.

February is the shortest month of the year and it was a bit slow here at MOCO. Some highlights included Mohave County receiving an 'A' rating and the property owner on the north side of the Interstate near Kingman Crossing introducing themselves to the city and community. Kingman Crossing certainly was a hot topic all year long.

Of course I also started hearing grumblings from the local REALTORS about the new MLS organization that was brought on line at the end of 2006. Some of the comments were really funny... to me.

During the month of March, MOCO Real turned one year old... I'm almost over the uncontrollable 'drooling' stage at this point (I hope). MOCO Real also welcomed a co-contributor to the ranks. Yvonne has been a solid addition... when she has the time... when she is not closing four deals every other week (or so it seems).

At the state Association's Winter Conference, the Membership elected me to represent as the Region 1 Vice President to assume duties for 2008 and 2009. It was an easy election to win, there were nine less candidates for that position than there are for the upcoming City Council elections.

In April the local media covered our local Associations Government Affairs Committee that I had the pleasure of chairing in 2007... the article ran on a Friday... my house was egged on Sunday. Probably a coincidence or some old high school chum getting me back for toilet papering his parents house some 16 years ago.

On a better note, Kingman was included on a list of 100 best places to live. In the rumor mill, a large developer from outside of Kingman planning to build a large scale master planned community in Golden Valley was reported to be pulling up and bugging out. That rumor remains a bad rumor.

May brought probably the proudest moment of my involvement with our local REALTOR Association. Approximately 100 Members showed up at a city council meeting to weigh in on a council decision to change the Kingman General Plan for a parcel of property that the residents of this city own. The city council approved the major amendment to the General Plan, which was nice, but then came the referendum drive and the misinformation campaign that not many people were ready for (especially voters).

Kingman also saw another controversy emerge... the infamous quest of city staff emails.

Also that month I was able to attend the national REALTOR convention in Washington DC once again and a MOCO reader sent me some photo's of the progress at the Hoover Dam Bypass.

June was the month the full court press was in effect for the removal of the Kingman city manager. It wasn't even the July 4th celebration yet, but the fireworks began in earnest at city council meetings.

This was also the month that an informal citizens meeting was held the day of and preceding a city council meeting. The who's who of the good old boy network was fully represented among others. This is the meeting where one attendee furnished the quote of the year, most likely. You might remember quote comparing the current city council as, "six monkey's that are poisoning our city."

I also made my own revelation after that meeting. You'll have to scroll down towards the bottom of that blog post to see what I revealed.

Oh... and the state of Arizona held an auction for one section of land near the Kingman Crossing area. Nobody bid on that property that day.

Whew... that was the first 6 months...

My fisking scissors needed to be sharpened after July. Like I said... at this time there was a major misinformation effort afoot regarding issues surrounding the area known as Kingman Crossing. I felt that response was in order and did so at will. Here are three examples.

This is also the month I offered to work to bring the community together and come up with solutions that could satisfy enough interests to put most of the commotion to bed... let's face it, nobody can be proud of the things that were said in the media and at city council meetings throughout the summer. Of course... my effort was blown off by the various interests.

The embattled city manager made it through the first city council executive session in June, but in August he did not. I broke the news on this blog, but the local media did a much better job covering the news.

Perhaps the best blog post of the year came from this month (since I have to say so myself). This is the post about the local rental market. Please read it again.

We also saw prominent members of the community attacking a certain community group. No, not that so called watchdog group (they are in good graces with the good old boys dontcha know), but a different group with a simple mission to inform the public on issues and to register voters.

We also heard about a new hospital in the Kingman Crossing area for the first time... and most importantly to me in August... Avery Harper Linn was born (my second 'granddaughter').

The ballot pamphlets for the local issues election hit mailboxes in September and voters were asked to consider, among other things, on the fate of the resident owned property via Proposition 301.

Meanwhile, voters in Golden Valley said no to incorporating and becoming a city.

Back to the misinformation about the Prop 301... I had a couple of posts to write spurred by one of the many folks that began to comment here on the blog. The important thing in my eyes was the discussion that was going on about the issues that were brought up. My hope is that MOCO Real remains a great place to continue such discussions going forward.

Yvonne posted this article in October about her observations about comparing Santee and El Cajon California and how Kingman is poised to head in one direction or the other (hopefully towards the Santee solution). Plenty of good discussion ensued.

I attended an ice hockey game in Prescott Valley and fell in love... with the building the teams played in and hope that one day somewhere in Mohave County we might get our own version so we can all fall in love in the same manner.

The watchdog group proclaimed to everyone that Kingman should wait a year before working towards positive solutions. The columns and the letters to the editor were flying back and forth by all sides and I even poked around at the RAID website... only to be 'rebuffed' once again.

I was also witness to one of the eight wins of the season enjoyed by my beloved Philadelphia Eagles... I was lucky to be the witness of this event in Minnesota. No playoffs for the Birds but in December they beat the evil Cowgirls... which satisfies the season in my eyes since they didn't qualify for the quest to lose to the Patriots in the championship game.

Remember, remember the month of November. Actually there were some things I'd rather forget about November but that won't stop me from including the month in this year end wrap up.

MOCO Real got some exposure in the local media via an opinion piece... one that I'm still not commenting about. I did notice a spike in traffic for this blog though and I believe that covering the local issue elections played a big role in that to boot. I know of a good recipe for humble pie and for some good eatin' crow if you need them by chance.

Even though the elections did not go as I hoped, it did not deter me from my earlier proclamation to run for the office of City Council in the next election.

And after lots of help from many great folks, in December we all gathered enough signatures to be placed on the ballot for that upcoming election. It turns out that nine other community residents did the very same thing for the three open seats. Three candidates will face off for the office of Mayor.

After five years as a leader of the local Realtor Association, I attended my last Board of Directors meeting as a member of the board. This was truly an honor to serve others during that time. The Association is in good hands moving forward and am very proud of the others that give of their time to move the Association in a positive direction.

I was moved by the generosity of private individuals that came together to provide a plentiful Christmas holiday for over 75 family's in this great community that otherwise may not have been able to provide to their family. A very inspiring effort.

I've neglected the blog in the last week and a half or so during the holiday season for one reason only... I was able to spend quality time with my family. Not only my Kingman family, but I was able to spend time with my own family including my mother, grandfather, and uncle at my sisters family home now located in Las Vegas. My family hasn't spent many holiday's together since days gone by that I can hardly remember. Mainly because of location. We certainly are spread out through the country in places like Reno, San Diego, Florida, and before my sis moved to Vegas -- she and her family were in Hawaii. This holiday season has been especially gratifying to me this year... and I hope your season was as fulfilling.

To the many readers here at MOCO Real... thanks so much for stopping by and making 2007 a truly wonderful year.

I look forward to posting about what the new year will bring in 2008 and hope you will take part.

Be safe tonight, enjoy college football tomorrow, and I'll see you all back here for the first listings report of the new year.

Cheers!!