Today's letter to the editor goes into the Hall of ... something

As you might be able to tell, I like to catch up on things on the Kingman Daily Miner's letter to the editor section every few days. Now that the Miner has upgraded their website, the discussions found at the bottom of articles, columns, and letters provide a source of entertainment for me. It is certainly great to see more voices joining the discussion and even more letters being published in the paper.

Today's letter though takes the cake. Actually after reading today's letter (I'll get to it in a moment) I had to check to see if I was still sleeping, or fell in a worm hole into another dimension, or if I ended up in a 'funny farm' wearing a straight-jacket. I really needed Cher's character in the movie 'Moonstruck' to slap me across the face and yell at me to "snap out of it!!" when I tried to make sense of the letter to the editor I had just read.

Look, it is no secret that I have had disagreements with certain columns, articles, and letters over the last few years. I've even written letters to the editor in response to some of the things I have disagreed with. In fact participating in doing so helped lead me to the needed inspiration to run for city office (but I have learned my lesson for now... and thusly do not write letters to the editor any longer... for now at least).

Lately there has been a letter or two that has taken a jab at one particular journalist at the Miner. Of course the first salvo was followed by a letter and some comments defending the young man, which I have no problem with. Everything on the opinion page is, after all, an opinion... and I think we are all entitled to our opinions.

It would be interesting to see who comes out of the woodwork to take issue with today's letter.

Check it out at this link.

Of course I feel compelled to add my two cents so here goes...

Nicholas Wilbur's May 9 column, a mindless article consuming 84 square inches of space, might have aroused a bit of curiosity had it been left blank, but surely it would not have been crude or offensive.

Wilbur's mindless attack left a stigma on the editor's judgment in evaluating the pros and cons of Miner writers' submitted columns. Apparently, he experienced nothing other than pride. Wilbur's column defamed and denounced RAID.

This is just the beginning, AND the reason why I thought I may have fallen of a turnip truck this morning. My reading comprehension skills are lacking big time these days if indeed the young staff writer defamed and denounced RAID.

Here is the column the letter writer refers to.

What am I missing?? To me that particular column was aimed at the KDMiner's readers that commented below articles found on their website. To me the column was dripping with sarcasm for those comments left on the KDM site.

I have to believe that my reading comprehension skills are still in tact for only one reason... the former president... founding member... the treasurer... or whatever title the man holds with that group these days never fired back at the very same publication that 'made' their 'watchdog' group what it is today. RAID was silent, at least in the paper, after the column appeared.

More from today's episode...

Otherwise, Editor Mark Borgard would have felt compunction when considering and allowing Wilbur to submit another column on May 21, titled, in part, "RAID bashing," which I'm sure he wrote with glee and exuberance. Of course, the Realtors managed to have the beneficiaries of commercial enterprise attend the meeting. Baron Yankowitz managed to vociferously attack RAID, which I am convinced ticked Wilbur sillier than normal.

First off the words written by the young staff writer on May 21 did not come from the opinion page, they came from a news article (linked here). In the very same article, at least one member of RAID was quoted on various issues including responding to allegations of his wife saying things that may or may not be true (I'm Switzerland on that issue).

I find the extreme sensitivity of the author of this letter to be hilarious... 'vociferously attack'?? It is funny because a citizen (Mr. Yankowitz) took it upon himself to address the City Council at one particular evening to let his voice be heard, to take issue with a group of people that have never been elected to serve the community, to speak his own mind, someone that is NOT a Realtor or even a developer, and it is construed as a vociferous attack!! I expect this kind of thing when I'm watching episodes of 'The Office', but maybe some Hollywood types should send some script writers out to our neck of the woods as there is plenty of comic relief to be found.

Wacky Wilbur did not realize, in essence, that he was siding with the average homeowner when he included a picture of the Realty Experts marquee which read "Mommy who elected RAID to speak for us?" which preceded "Caution! RAID kills more than insects," and "Recall RAID."

Cue the rock 'n' roll music for either Golden Earring's or Rush's rendition of their own version of the song 'Twilight Zone' for the above... hell... cue Rod Serling back from the grave!! Since when is siding with the 'average home owner' a bad thing?? Didn't our newly elected mayor win on a ticket promising to represent the 'regular' people of this great community??

A photo that appeared along side a news article equals a young staff writer siding with average home owners now?? If this is true... then I hit my head at least three times this morning falling off that turnip truck. Wow... where's the Tylenol??

In conclusion, may I slip back to the "RAID kills more that insects?" Raid would not have to kill more than insects if man's integrity could be sized according to his value. I could rapidly stop infection from developers and "no gooders" with a can. Plaudits for Laura Cox for her courage in standing firm on solid beliefs, as she stood alone amongst the "growth surge" loonies.

Bill Bronn

Kingman

Shocking that in the end it came down to name-calling.

I've seen other writings at times from this author. Good stuff for sure... if you like paranoia and conspiracy writing. You'll find that in his writings that Kingman is just about out of water these days, that CEO's are very bad people, and that growth is really bad.

I was at a City Council meeting some time ago and I learned one other thing from Mr. Bronn's writing... he can't drive at night. You see he wrote the Council some letter about the plight of our water shortage and regretted that he couldn't come down to the city complex to speak in front of the Council because he can't drive a vehicle at night. I'm paraphrasing there but basically that is what the correspondance included... that and there will be no more water some day (even though the planet is 3/4 covered in that 'wacky' molecule). I suppose that Mr. Bronn will be proven right about the water some day... of course the star at the center of our solar system will someday go 'loonie', expand and generate enough heat to evaporate that particular molecule out to the far reaches of space (I watch the History Channel you know). However, I don't think Mr. Bronn or that even I or the young staff writer at the Miner will be able to witness the event as it is not slated to take place for another billion or so years.

I wait eagerly for the next letter from Mr. Bronn... I'm expecting no less than a command performance. I just hope I'm not any turnip trucks when it appears.

** A MOCO RE News Alert **

MOCO RE News is reporting that conditions outside in the Kingman area are currently sunny and fairly breezy. It is being reported that conditions such as these are alarmingly typical nearly 300 days out of the year.

Experts indicate that weather conditions such as these are ideal for generating solar and wind power for electricity needs in homes and other enclosed buildings.

Simple word searches, including the words: windmill, tower, wind, were used to try and locate zoning ordinances and restrictions from this document linked here. MOCO RE News could not determine if personal use energy producing windmills are allowed on residential private property, but understands that there is a $1,000 application fee paid to the City of Kingman by the applicant if a private property owner requests a variance to install such a device on the property.

According to at least one citizen, city leaders have said that wind generators are a 'blight' to neighborhoods.

On a related note, MOCO RE News is reporting that the one known power generating personal use windmill located near the intersection of Riata Valley and Western within the current city limits is not a 'blight' to the neighborhood and the tower the wind turbine rests on is still in tact.

Once again repeating our top story... weather conditions in the greater Kingman are considered sunny and fairly breezy.

This has been a MOCO RE News alert. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming.

Why some local markets are still okay...

Here is a little article from MarketWatch on housing markets that haven't been as affected by the slowing economy as our local area seems to have been. I'm going to copy some bits of the article below, but read the whole thing right here.

Challenging real estate markets can be found across the U.S. as home prices decline, sales fall and foreclosures rise. But in some places the biggest challenge has been convincing would-be buyers and sellers that local conditions don't resemble the national trends.

It's a challenge that Randy Jeffers, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, faces all the time.

While the number of sales has fallen somewhat, he still regards his market of Amarillo, Texas, as a seller's market right now. The median price of an existing single-family home in Amarillo was up an annualized 11% in the fourth quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"Often they're surprised about what is going on locally or statewide," he said of his clients. As the country's collective housing ills land bold headlines, locals incorrectly extrapolate the information to their own markets, Jeffers added.

Just a couple of comparisons of Kingman to Amarillo for a second. First the median age is over six years younger in Amarillo. The median household income is actually higher in Kingman by a few thousand dollars. Lastly, the biggie, the median house/condo value in Amarillo is $91,600 while the figure for Kingman is $144,600. All of this data comes from city-data.com and you are free to double check.

I know there are higher property taxes in Texas, much higher in fact, and that leads to property values holding lower and usually more stable as compared to what we see in Arizona. But otherwise, it is entirely possible that right now people are moving to Amarillo because of favorable situations.

The housing problems largely aren't national but regional in nature, said Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

"The interesting thing is that there are parts of the country where housing prices are doing fine, thank you," she said. In fact, only five states are in what she would consider a housing recession: California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Michigan.

Not good.

Utah -- where home prices rose 9.27% in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared with the fourth quarter of 2006 -- was the state with the highest appreciation rate, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. Utah was followed by Wyoming, where prices rose 8.27% over the year, North Dakota, where prices rose 7.87%, and Montana, where prices rose 6.90%.

Still, in Billings, Mont., buyers often say they're waiting for prices to come down, said Dan Wagner, president of the Montana State Association of Realtors. But because they never soared during the boom years, prices likely aren't in need of a correction, he said.

I bet those buyers in Montana will change their tune once interest rates begin to climb.

And now... jobs...

The strong employment picture in Seattle caused home prices there to rise after other major cities reached their peaks. Appreciation there in the fourth quarter was just over 1%, according to NAR, but it is believed that the city's employment landscape is keeping Seattle housing from losing value.

No doubt that fuel prices will further pinch us locally from perhaps some newer opportunities for job growth, but even in the face of those higher prices we must do what we can to attract jobs to the area or else ALL property owners are going to suffer.

More on jobs...

Home-prices in major cities fell 10.7% in January compared with January 2007, according to the Case-Shiller home price index. The index tracks 20 cities, and 19 of them saw year-over-year declines. But one market experienced modest home-price gains over the year: Charlotte, N.C., another market that never saw a huge run-up in prices during the boom.

An influx of banking and research jobs in the Carolinas -- especially in Charlotte and the Research Triangle -- has been important to its stability, said Marty Frame, general manager of Cyberhomes.com. About 15,000 jobs were created in the Charlotte area last year, said Dot Munson, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. Large employers in the area include US Airways, Bank of America and Wachovia.

I'm not including the above because I weirdly think that Kingman is the next Charlotte or anything, but I've been reading about that market for a couple of years now. The availability of jobs is what is attracting people to the area. We have some opportunities here in Kingman for industrial as well as commercial jobs. Our community should focus on the things that will help bring the opportunities to our area.

The last point of the article is the coming trend of moving closer to town. I'm pretty sure they mean the big cities like LA, SF, NY, CHI, and many others. It is time for all of us to think of more creative ways to bring growth and opportunity to the area. We simply can't take things like the bypass bridge for granted. We have to give people a reason to come here... the nice weather we enjoy simply won't be enough.

Still Talking 'Target'

The article that appeared in the Miner last week is still causing some bits of conversation.

There seems to be two camps in the conversation. Those in Kingman that desire to shop at a fine retail store like Target... and those that are using the article to end the discussion because Target chose a different location than in Kingman.

I'm not going to get all that 'linky' in this post. The readers that are most interested in the discussions know where to look to find the various takes (hint, letters to the editor that appear in the Miner and the posts below). I even see a MOCO commenter got in the act and offered a letter in the Miner... even responded to a responder of his letter (how's your trip going Al??).

Speaking of Al (Koffman), he informed us here at MOCO that there was an article that spoke about the effort that was made to bring Target to the Bullhead City area. Now, while I haven't found the article as of yet, I don't think Al pulled what he said out of thin air. Apparently a group approached Target and told them that even though Bullhead City didn't have the needed 100,000 in population, Bullhead City was THE place to open up for business in Mohave County.

Al responded to a post by informing the others that the group used the populations of Needles (California), Laughlin (Nevada), and Arizona municipalities including Mohave Valley and Bullhead City in swaying Target to come to Mohave County.

So that got me thinking... just what is the estimated population of all of those communities??

I used city-data.com figures and here is what I came up with.

I started in Bullhead City. Notice the estimated population numbers for 2006... the number is 19.1% higher in population than the more official numbers taken from the year 2000. City-data.com did not give these estimated figures for ALL of the other communities such as Mohave Valley or Laughlin. So I've decided to add 20% to those figures in the rundown below.

Bullhead City, Arizona = 40,225
Mohave Valley, Arizona = 16,433*
Laughlin, Nevada = 8,491*
Needles, California = 5,330

Total estimated population count = 70,479

*denotes a figure derived by adding 20% to the reported population figure from 2000 according to city-data.com

Again, these numbers are estimated and I'm only using the resources from city-data.com to arrive at the figures above.

Now, let us look at the Kingman area that includes Kingman, New Kingman (Butler), and Golden Valley using the same resource and percentage increases as seen in the Bullhead City numbers. I'm going to use a 20% increase even though city-data.com shows that the population in Kingman increased at a rate of just under 40% from the year 2000 to 2006. I realize this isn't the most scientific way to do this but I'm trying to give Kingman every disadvantage that I can... with one exception.

I was looking for traffic counts on Interstate 40 and came across an ADOT website (Arizona Department of Transportation) and found a reported number of 22,000 vehicles a day traveled through Kingman along this major Interstate... in 1998. Yet an estimated 40% of those vehicles were 18 wheeler's, truck drivers, and the like. So I removed the amount reported for truck traffic. Keep in mind that this is daily traffic.

Taken from ADOT's website...

In 1998, Interstate 40 east of Kingman carried an average daily volume of 22,000 vehicles per day, of which 40% is truck traffic.

Let us just look at the numbers, later you will be free to call 'bullshit' if you must.

Kingman = 27,271
New Kingman/Butler = 17,772*
Golden Valley = 5,418*

Total estimated population count = 50,461

Interstate 40 Traffic = 13,200**

*denotes a figure derived by adding 20% to the reported population figure from 2000 according to city-data.com

**denotes a figure derived by subtracting 40% from ADOT's daily traffic estimation of truck traffic

So there are the numbers. I added the traffic count simply because it is more than possible that most of the traffic on Interstate 40 is NOT local traffic, certainly much less of a percentage than the traffic counts that pass by the property where Target is located in Bullhead City. In a given year according to ADOT's 1998 figures, more than 4.8 million vehicles that aren't tractor-trailers pass through Kingman using the Interstate.

The population counts between the Bullhead City area and the Kingman area are different by about 20,000. Not really all that much, but certainly Bullhead City has the population advantage.

To make up the population difference, Target or other retailers (or other forms of commerce) would only have to attract 0.416% of the traffic that runs through Kingman along I40 a year.

Now I'm under no impression that even a slight minority of drivers using the Interstate will simply be drawn to a place like Target just because it is in Kingman with freeway frontage... but there is a ton of potential with an asset like I40. It is a huge advantage over our neighboring communities in Mohave County. Given the right access, it is more than possible that Interstate traffic can be courted for shopping, eating, entertainment, and even fuel sales in greater numbers than what Kingman is experiencing today at this moment.

Another benefit for the locals would be that this traffic wouldn't have to necessarily utilize overcrowded streets such as Stockton Hill either. Imagine a commercial center with easy access on and off the Interstate a mere stones-throw away... local traffic would hardly be impacted... and it actually could be improved in some places.

Now, if you are a local Kingman resident, raise your hand if you've shopped at the new Target in Bullhead City. Oh I see many hands. Raise your hand if you shop at other places such as the outlet mall in Laughlin, or catch a movie, or even enjoy a nice meal. Wow, many hands are still up, in fact others have raised their hands to join. Now... how many head out to other destinations and find themselves shopping for goods they don't have a choice for in Kingman?? I'm seeing plenty of raised hands still. These raised hands represent lost dollars in terms of sales tax revenues. These hands also represent lost revenue to local business, and I'm talking 'ma and pa' types of shops as well as other locally owned franchise opportunities.

Just a couple of weekends ago, while visiting my sister's family in Las Vegas and watching my nephew play a little league game, I ventured off to Target and spent a little over $30 bucks on some items I cannot get in Kingman (I've looked). After that adventure it was off to catch a bite at one of my favorite sandwich shops known as Capriotti's (I ordered the Bobbie and it was better than good, it is a great sandwich). I only mention this because Capriotti's is a franchise and one of the franchise owners sponsored my nephew's little league team. He told me that the company is looking to add another 500 locations throughout the west. How much does anyone want to bet that I see a Cap's in Bullhead before we see one in Kingman?? This might just be one more reason to spend money in another town, unfortunately.

I love local food joints and always will. The Kingman Deli makes a great lunch and now that Senor Taco is open again I'm finding that my exercise regimen needs to be taken up a notch or two (as I have no more notches left on my belt). Local places like this will only see more business opportunity as the area grows on the back of a growing economy. They will welcome competition because they will have to continue to produce a good product and the exceptional service. As of right now, I doubt either location is noticeably benefiting directly from the traffic that passes through Kingman on the Interstate as neither is located right off the highway. Both examples will attract the local business opportunity and more business will come when there are more locals living in Kingman.

All in all, this isn't only about Target. Yeah, Target has some products in stock that I prefer over Wal-Mart and K-Mart... but I'm not living in misery because Target was courted by a group of people to open up shop in Bullhead City. Target probably made the best decision to locate in Bullhead at this time for themselves. Bullhead is doing just fine with the decision, I thought that I read that the city is expected to receive nearly $840,000 in sales tax revenues in the first year of Target's operation (with the other new retail venues in that commercial center it won't be tough to believe that BHC will benefit over $1 million dollars a year, funds that will hopefully be used to better services in that community).

Once again, the city made a horrible decision in 2005 when Target was actually very interested in locating in Kingman (for whatever reason that may have been). There was a development plan in place with letters of intent signed to develop property along the Interstate... I say again... along the Interstate. A development agreement that would have put a large sum of money into the city treasury, a public infrastructure improvement, and the means to millions of dollars of sales tax revenue.

This horrendous mistake was followed by vocal locals opposing a lesser proposed development agreement to do similar improvements. The window that was wide open to real opportunity only three years ago is getting slammed shut by other factors that aren't controlled by local issues. The national economy is now lagging, we have the credit crunch, high fuel prices, and higher prices on staple goods we all rely on. No fault of the vocal locals on this, but it has to be clear that better opportunities for Kingman are in the rear view mirror. Alarmingly similar as the rear view image as 0.416% of vehicles that pass through Kingman see every day on their way to spend money somewhere else.

Homework assignment for the new City Council

There has to be at least one issue out there that could possibly bring this community together, as fractured as it seems to be at times. It has been my plan to speak to the city in regards to issues surrounding renewable sources of energy... mainly solar and wind powered sources.

I mean... if you are in Kingman right now... look outside and notice the sunshine and the very breezy conditions. I've lived here for a number of years now and I find the current view very typical.

Honestly, I'm tired of the tree hugging zealots probably as much as the next person. The Al Gore's of the world are idiots and more importantly... hypocrites. I'm not sure I buy the notion that somehow this planet that has been around for 4.5 billion years (give or take a few million years) is suddenly threatened by our mere human existence because we drive some cars around. Sure, I've just oversimplified a tad, but as a South Park Conservative I get very cynical when it comes to media driven panics and manias about things. It is difficult to escape the onslaught... I even see articles about the so called effects of so called Global Warming on TV stations dedicated to sports... just give me highlights and box scores of the game dammit!!

However, even with this poor attitude of mine... some things simply make sense. It has been proven that electricity can be produced by sunshine and wind... and golly Martha... it sure is sunny and windy here in these here parts.

This also means that it gets fairly HOT in months like May, June, July, August, and September. Sure it can also be hot in other months as well... but in the months I listed, I often find myself turning on the air conditioner that was included in the purchase of my home. I hear that AC's are a burden on the power supply in the summer months and, honestly, that makes sense. That unit runs at all times of the day... well at least the moments I am in the home.

In my world... the only thing that suffers is my checkbook when I have to write larger amounts on the checks to the utility company in these often hot summer months. I'd rather write the smaller amounts I typically do in the more cooler months.

I suppose that I could just install one of these new personal use wind power generators in my yard... uhh... actually I can't in Kingman. You see, I have a decent sized lot upon which my home sits. Plenty enough room for me and my wife... however not large enough to allow me to utilize the one thing Kingman has plenty of... wind... to help with my electricity needs.

So this would be homework assignment number one for the new council elected to look out for the 'regular' folks here in these parts. Please look into the zoning restrictions and ordinances to prohibit a regular bloke like me to install one of these wind powered units on our property if we so choose to. While I have a lot nearly 8800 square feet in size... I'd be please if there was an allowance for half an acre minimum at first if this is too scary of a change, but only if there was some sort of promise to include smaller lot sizes as 30' to 40' foot windmills proved to be reasonably safe for surrounding neighbors and property.

That takes of the windy side of things.

I'm under the impression that there isn't anything stopping me from putting up some solar panels on my rooftop, in terms of city ordinances at least. I hope I'm right on this one, but I haven't checked. However there is one thing that is stopping me from doing so at this time... the expense... the up front expense (if you haven't noticed the real estate biz has been a touch slow for the last couple of years so I'm kinda broke when it comes to taking on large expenses at the moment). Solar panels worth a darn seem to cost in the $10,000 to $20,000 range (I read such things on this here Internet anyway).

Kinda pricey. While I wouldn't ask anyone to purchase such a system for my home -- especially the government, I have been made aware of a program that has been approved in Berkeley California (of all tree hugging places).

I'm not going to go into too much depth on what the folks up there are doing... instead I'm going to link four items below for you to read and react to. From what I have read it seems that the program that received authorization from the Berkeley City Council is about to begin. It may be a model that can be copied, or improved upon, or tweaked in some other fashion that could benefit the residents of Kingman. Heck... it could even lead to a revenue source for the city.

Here are the links...

Berkeley Offers Residents Unique Financing Option for Solar Power

Berkeley To Finance Solar Installations

City Council Unanimously Approves Solar Financing District

Berkeley Breakthrough on Financing Solar Energy

In the above reading material, I tried to be fair and included some of the criticisms that this plan is/was faced with... but the information above is a good start.

Anyway, it is the new Council's homework assignment.

If the readers here happen to favor 'green' energy a bit and see the favorable implications moving towards this kind of energy would have... please drop an email to the new Council letting them know... or better yet -- let them know how you feel at an upcoming Council meeting in person during the call to the public.

There will be a presentation made tonight in front of the city Planning and Zoning Commission on parts of this subject matter, FYI.

New RE blog in Mohave County...

For certain... we are not alone.

While there may be other real estate blogs in existence, uncharted by me at this time, in Mohave County... someone that I have come to respect over the years has started a blog in Bullhead City (our neighbor to the west WITH a Target store).

Visit the blog at this link.

I put the blog over on the sidebar blogroll last week but I wanted to bring attention to the site with this post. I find the blog very well written with plenty of solid information. The author may have a few differing views at times, but this is expected... let me explain.

The host of Bullhead City Blog is Evan Fuchs. Evan was the first president of the new(er) regional MLS that was put together over the last few years. That meant that we were both involved in organizing WARDEX right from the beginning. Along with the many others that were as involved, Evan did a great job for the new(er) organization and his dedication to the effort was inspiring.

With that said, on occasion Evan and myself were at odds with each other at times on issues relating to the new(er) organization. We both held our convictions close and on a few occasions had to raise our voices... but at the end of each meeting or conversation I felt a mutual respect between the both of us. It is acceptable to disagree, makes for a good Board of Directors meeting for certain.

Evan is the broker of Bullhead-Laughlin Realty. While I know other Realtors from his community, if or when I have clients that can be better served by someone from Bullhead... I would refer the client to his office. I just know the clients would be well served.

I've come to find out that Evan is actually a few years younger than me... not a bad thing in the least... but more impressive is the time he has already given to represent other Realtors throughout the state of Arizona by serving as local Association president (at least once), serving as the WARDEX president (as mentioned earlier), served as Region 1 Vice President of the Arizona Association of Realtors (a position that I hold currently... but not doing as fine a job that Evan did not doubt), and serving in other capacities on state level committees.

As a Realtor that is serving in similar capacities there is no question that Evan has earned the respect that I give him... which is why this post is longer than I first intended.

So please check out what Evan has to say from time to time. Leave some comments as well, he'd enjoy the discussion.

Evan... to you I say happy blogging!!

Kingman missed the 'Target' (again)

If you missed the Sunday paper yesterday, you missed an article about Kingman missing out on a new retail store named Target. Actually missing the target on Target this time was in response to a rumor that had been making the rounds the last few months.

Here is the link to the article.

Lets take a peak at some parts of the article and add a few comments...

Anna Goeppinger is the Target spokesperson who confirmed the news. She said when looking to open new locations, Target searches for communities of 100,000 people or more.

There you have it folks... the RAIDers were right I guess.

But why did Bullhead City get a Target??

Though she was unable to confirm why Bullhead City had been selected as a Target location, Goeppinger noted population isn't the only thing the company considers.

"Another thing we look into is transportation - how accessible is this location to both guests and distributors?" Goeppinger said.

In other words, Bullhead City's placement between Lake Havasu and Kingman, as well its adjacent position to Laughlin may also have had played a part in its selection.

Interesting.

The Bullhead City location for Target is right on their long and winding Hwy. 95 that runs from the very north part of Bullhead City towards the very south parts of Mohave Valley. Also the Bullhead Parkway basically feeds right into the location. For Bullhead City and the immediate area this is probably the best location there is.

For us wanna-be Target shoppers in Kingman a better location would have been around the airport area and the business park in that area, and for the Lake Havasu Target shopper... they'd probably would have liked the location better on the south side of Mohave Valley. My guess is that Target didn't open up business with the other Mohave County communities first in mind though.

Go back to the year 2005 for a minute. A group of developers had approached the city of Kingman to inquire on the resident owned 168 parcel located in the vicinity of what is known as today as Kingman Crossing. The developers were in negotiations with the private land owners on the north side of Interstate 40 for about 110 acres... but wanted to also purchase land on the south side to the tune of another 110 acres. If successful... the developers looked to build an interchange for Interstate access bringing the potential for high amounts of traffic from all directions.

I'm sure you know the rest of the story as to how much money was going to be sought from tax payers in Kingman to pay for the construction of said interchange (if you need a reminder... the answer was zero dollars).

The developers knew, back then, the advantages of Interstate frontage and the value it would have for the project. Retail giants like Target were interested in opening up right here in merry old Kingman... as long as they could have access to the Interstate.

Before any new local readers get ready to blast the local community group that is currently protecting us all from runaway tattoo parlors and rogue slaughterhouses for the demise of this project back in 2005, relax... it wasn't them that put a halt to the proposed project. No, we can thank a former city manager more than anyone else on that matter.

That is right, the city turned down market price for some land that is not being used (to the tune of some millions of dollars) AND turned down a 'free' public infrastructure project.

Now this is just a guess... but an offer like that will come around again sometime in... probably never. Even though there is still a proposal out there for an interchange at the Kingman Crossing vicinity... the now land owners and developers (a different group than the ones that made the proposal in 2005) aren't willing to build a true connecting interchange for free AND the other proposed interchange to the east of Kingman Crossing will rely 100% on tax payer funds if it is to ever be built (yeah 70% of those funds for phase 1 would come from the state highway department ADOT... but those funds still come from tax payers like you and me).

I didn't start this post to lament about the past... even though I just did lament about the past.

Mostly it was about why Target may have settled on Bullhead City. The location is as good as it gets for that community and was likely the reason they went forward even though there isn't the 100,000 people in the community. But I wonder if the location in Bullhead is as accessible as a location along a major Interstate?? The Target spokesperson above implied that access was a big deal, big enough anyway to look past the population count of the community.

I suppose that the only way this question is answered is when there is some land in Kingman that comes with Interstate access. I'm sure Target has no plans to locate in Kingman, but it sure would be interesting to see what reaction (if any) from major retailers would be if it were ever announced that a deal has been struck to improve public infrastructure along the Interstate.

Meanwhile shopping and entertainment choices will likely be limited in Kingman until either some Interstate frontage is developed or... until 70,000 more people move within the city limits.

Now that the 'new' Target rumor has been officially debunked... maybe the editor at the Miner can get someone out on all those rumors about the out of control tattoo parlors and slaughterhouses set to invade our fragile village.

If you click on the article link... be sure to read the comments that have been posted so far. Good stuff.

May Sales Report (2008)

Yep, Yep... the market still favors the buyers by quite a margin. While we are busy looking for positive signs that the local market is coming back to a state of normalcy again, time keeps on ticking... and we keep on searching.

Before we move on to the funky charts try to keep one thing in mind. It is more difficult today to qualify and obtain a loan for a home purchase than it was in 2005. I use 2005 because that was the top of the market in terms of total units sold. So even if there were as many buyers on the market today as there were in 2005, many of the would be buyers would not qualify for a home loan to purchase a home. Yes, sellers... even the buyers are feeling some pain these days... you are not alone.

Also... back in 2005, there weren't nearly as many sellers with property for sale on the market as there is right now. There also wasn't nearly as many 'foreclosure' homes competing with the other more traditional sellers impacting the situation.

Lastly... back in 2005, many people thought that Kingman and the surrounding areas were considered a 'safe' place to invest in because of the growth potential. At some point it became apparent that Kingman was NOT all that it was supposedly cracked up to be... large employers shifted away from the area, projects to enhance growth opportunities were nixed by the city, and some in the media screeched with glee and supported a movement to 'slam the brakes' on continued development.

All of the above has helped play a hand in the following charts that you are about to see... after the disclaimer of course...

Disclaimer... all data compiled for this report comes from the WARDEX Data Exchange and does not include any sales activity from outside that resource. All research is done only on single family homes and there is no inclusion of modular homes, commercial properties, or vacant land. The geographical area researched includes; all areas within the boundaries of the city of Kingman, north Kingman, the Hualapai Mountain area, and the Valle Vista subdivisions. Click here to see maps of the included area's.

Listings and sales in units chart:

The gap between new listings and actual sales is still too wide on a month to month basis even though new listings are trending lower over the last year. It is difficult to see, but SALES are actually trending lower over the last year as well. Have I mentioned before that our market has an inventory problem??

Average listings and sales averages chart:

New listing average prices have been courting the buyers by reducing the initial asking price year over year by just under 17% less this year than in May of 2007. However, successful sellers sold for 20% less than the previous year. Both trend lines are heading in the same direction, aggressive sellers will do well as compared to seller that are just feeling out the market.

The foreclosure activity that I wrote about last week should be considered in the class of aggressive sellers. For as long as this market continues, the more a seller can think aggressively the better the sellers chances are at attracting a buyer (or hopefully two or more) in short order.

2005 through 2008 unit sales chart:

For the third month in a row... sellers have outpaced the previous years mark. Before we break out he 'bubbly' on this, keep in mind that we are beating 2007's numbers. And if we really want to compare the pace so far in 2008 to the worst complete year by my data gathering (2007), since the beginning of the year... 2008 has not performed as well for the first 5 months of the year and is 25 units sold behind in comparison.

2005 through 2008 average price chart:


The yo-yo effect might play on your senses a bit, but the trend line so far this year for average sales prices continues to head down. The trend lines for 2006 and 2007 were basically flat by comparison. There is no confusing which way average prices are going this year... just like there was no confusing which way the trend line was pointing in 2005.

The average sales price for May of 08 was down 20.4% as compared to the May of 07.

2005 through 2008 median price chart:

The median price for May 2008 was off 24% as compared to the May 2007 figure.

The price range of units sold for May was between $44,000 through $560,000.

Average SFR statistics:

The average home sold in May had 3.08 bedrooms, 2.08 bathrooms, a 1.93 car garage, included 1,543 square feet of living space, and was built in 1995. The average hold sold for an average of $110 per square foot of living space.

It took an average of 152 days of marketing to attract a buyer to come to an agreement and a total of 192 days from the first day of marketing to the close of escrow.

Sellers reduced price $15,379 to attract a buyer on average from the first day of marketing, and conceded another $9,328 to the buyer in the transaction. The total average price concession for the homes sold in May was $24,708 (12.67% total reduction).

Bonus Charts:



The average price per square foot fell 12.7% as compared to the year before.

This chart is clearly telling all of us (including the real estate professionals that are representing the sellers) that we are still too slow in adapting to the buyers and/or still being too stubborn given the state of the local economy.

If you are thinking of selling a home in today's market you do have a couple of choices. First you have to ask yourself if you are really trying to sell AND can afford to sell your property without having to cough up a pile of money at the closing table. If the answer is yes, then your choice is to put the property on the market at a very competitive and aggressive price that coincides with actual sales data and price levels. Simply put, it is easy to beat the competition right now. The other choice is to join the hundreds of offerings on the current market, reduce the price every 60 days or so, and still let the buyer beat you up and concede your proceeds further.

If you are paying a monthly mortgage, you will likely save thousands of dollars by entering the market with an aggressive price. Sometimes this is a consideration that sellers overlook when putting their property on the market. With fewer buyers out there in the market today... you don't want to attract one buyer... you want to attract at least two. When the buyers are finished bidding against each other, you might be pleasantly surprised to find that your property didn't suffer price reductions OR price concessions when all is said and done.

Happy hunting!!

The local foreclosure market...

It is no secret that there are many foreclosure (or bank owned, or lender owned, or REO -- it is all the same) properties on the local real estate market. And yes... these properties are having an impact on the local market. I've been tracking listings in the MLS that are listed with the foreclosure tag since the beginning of the year with the idea that once I had a decent set of data I would share my findings with the readers here at MOCO.

Before I get to the boring stats and figures I wanted to share parts of a recent blog post from Bloodhound Blog, written by Greg Swann. Click on that link and read the whole thing it is quite good. It is a different perspective than what you might normally see and I'm going to copy a few bits right here to add to the discussion...

If you’re looking for the bottom of the real estate market in Phoenix, chances are it’s right up the block. It’s that house with the jungle of overgrown weeds in front.

It used to be for sale. Then it was a short sale. By now it’s lender-owned. A year ago it might have been listed for $250,000. Now the price has been slashed to $120,000 — maybe less.

While Mr. Swan is writing about Phoenix, I'm sure many here in Kingman have noticed similar instances in our neighborhoods as well.

What is your home really worth right now? It’s worth as much as the lowest-price lender-owned comparable plus the cost of returning that home to turn-key condition plus a small convenience premium. In other words, if the lender-owned house sells for $120,000, and if it will take $10,000 to make it as nice as your home, then your home is worth $135,000 — $140,000 at most.

The reason I'm copying that passage is because it would take me about 10 paragraphs to state the same thing that Greg did in two sentences. I'm saving both me and you time and effort.

And finally...

And if you’re not willing to sell you home for that price? Get it off the market right now. It will not sell for more, but the surplus of over-priced inventory is a false signal to buyers that the market has not found its bottom.

If you must sell into this market, you’ll sell at the market price. If you can afford to wait, you will almost certainly do better after the market has turned.

If you are currently trying to sell your property on the market right now, I ask that you read the above to yourself a few times and let it sink in. Go ahead... I'll wait.

Okay?? Good, we'll proceed.

I'm about to share some facts from the research that I have done using the MLS... this means... of course... the disclaimer...

Disclaimer... all data compiled for this report comes from the WARDEX Data Exchange and does not include any sales activity from outside that resource. All research is done only on single family homes and there is no inclusion of modular homes, commercial properties, or vacant land. The geographical area researched includes; all areas within the boundaries of the city of Kingman, north Kingman, the Hualapai Mountain area, and the Valle Vista subdivisions. Click here to see maps of the included area's.

Now that's out of the way. I'm going to compare single family homes listed as 'foreclosed' against the regular data that I share in my listing and sales reports.

On June 1 of this year I posted that there were 596 SFR's listed for sale in the current market. Of those, 56 are listed as 'foreclosed' (or about 9.4% of the active listings). So practically one home in ten on the market is a bank owned property. I've never tracked this kind of data before so I have no historical data to compare this against. I can't say for certain if 10% of listings is more or less than 'normal'. It does, however, seem like a high ratio to me.

Now since January 1 of 2008, my geographical research area has shown me 195 total sales through the end of May (not an official number since I haven't finished the final May sales report as of yet). Of these 195 unit sales... 59 of them were tagged as 'foreclosed' (or about 30% of the units sold so far in 2008).

Banks... are NOT human. Banks and lending institutions that have had a borrower default on them become the owner of record of a property. Banks won't live in those properties, all banks want to do is get the non-performing asset (liability) off the books. Banks are WILLING to take losses, drastic losses in some cases, because there are just so many non performing properties.

Banks do not read this blog so they really can't revel in the fact that they are mopping the floor against humans in the race to sell property in the current market. Banks are an easy mark for the right buyer... and the banks simply do not take it personally. Bank owned properties are easier to sell (at the moment), easier to negotiate against for an even better 'deal', and are practically impossible to compete against. The numbers simply do not lie.

More comparisons...

Lets take a look at what I posted about the new listings in May...

The average newly listed home in May has 2.99 bedrooms, 2.04 baths, a 1.99 car garage, with 1,641 square feet of living space and was built in 1979. The average asking price per square foot of living space is $130.

Now let's compare that with the active 'foreclosed' listings on the market...

The average 'foreclosed' listing on the current market has 3.14 bedrooms, 2.07 baths, a 1.77 car garage, with 1622 square feet of living space and was built in 1994. The average asking price per square foot of living space is $96.

Non-humans are asking an average of $155,422 dollars to part with the property.

Humans are asking an average of $213,108 to part with their property.

For all things considered... the properties are comparable... the asking prices?? Not so much.

Humans are asking 27% more dollars than non-humans for a similar home. Fellow humans... I thought we were supposed to be smarter than non-humans, more creative, or at least more responsive. Apparently, we did not get the memo.

Now let's look at actual sales figures and I will use the sold data from Jan 1 through the end of April (since my May report is not done yet).

The average home sold from Jan. 2008 though the end of April 2008 had 3.1 bedrooms, 2.0 baths, a 2.0 car garage, with 1599 square feet of living space, and was built in 1994. The average price per square foot of living space was $112.

The average price for each unit sold was $180,110.

Keep in mind that the above figures INCLUDE the sold listings that were tagged as 'foreclosed'. The figures below are only sold listings tagged as 'foreclosed'.

The average home tagged as 'foreclosed' sold from Jan 1 2008 though the end of May of 2008 had 3.27 bedrooms, 2.19 baths, a 1.83 car garage, 1604 square feet of living space, and was built in 1991. The average price paid per square foot of living space was $93.

The average price for each unit sold was $149,401.

Again, we are not seeing that big of a difference between the actual homes that non-humans and humans sold since the first of the year. Yet... hooray for humans here because they are getting 17% MORE dollars for their property than non-humans.

Let's keep one thing in mind about non-human owned property. It typically is in a state to some degree of disrepair, or in other words these properties are not usually in peak marketing condition. Often these bank owned properties need a bit more than just 'a little TLC' as often stated in advertising. I used to market property for Homesteps (part of the FreddieMac deal) and the homes I listed always needed some work (and the bill for repairs sometimes reached into the thousands of dollars).

However, that was a different market and non-human banks were actually trying to get very top dollar in a market that was increasing in value by the minute (it seemed). Banks were willing to invest $3,000 to $5,000 in a property to bring up the listing to a better standard for marketing because they'd probably get double that amount in return once the property sold. While I do not list bank-owned property at this time, I'm willing to bet that very little is being done to 'improve' the property. In many cases a buyer is buying a home 'as is', and I fear what 'as is' looks like in this market.

One last set of comparison numbers to gander at.

Price reductions and total concessions... yes... this market favors the buyers so much that even non-human banks have been pinched in negotiations. Bank owned properties that sold in 2008 conceded an average of $26,627 dollars. Human owned properties had to reach just a little deeper to the tune of $27,355 dollars so in essence ALL sellers are together in the beat down they are getting at the hands of the buyers. The difference is though... the banks can always concede more without feeling the pain the humans sellers will. Losses to banks are merely 'written off' (sucks for bank CEO's and other levels of management I'm sure... but alas... CEO's are human and feel pain).

Yet here we are human sellers... fiercely competing against each other (9 out of 10 listings are human owned) while the non-human banks are capturing 3 out of 10 sales. By my estimations (and they are approximate at best), there is 11 months worth of human owned homes on the market right now in the Kingman area... while only about 5 months worth of non-human bank owned listings.

The question most asked of me over the last year or so has been "so when will the prices bottom out??" and I can't say that I've actually ever had a good answer. I'll give it a shot this time though... I say prices bottom out once non-human banks begin the process of competing with human sellers for MORE dollars than what they are willing to take today.

For now though, the non-humans have some advantages working in their favor (as evidenced by the rate of sales compared to the human sellers). When the banks begin competing for more dollars is not a guess I'm willing to make. Banks are listing basically the same home a human seller is for 27% less dollars, banks have less competition at the current market levels (based on price), and banks can reduce price further if need be to get the liability off the books.

So where are we?? If you are a seller... or thinking about selling in today's market... I ask that you read Mr. Swann's article again. I've offered up plenty of facts and figures about our own local market here today. Apply these facts and figures to the formula Greg spoke about in his post. See where that puts your property. Can you afford to sell at that price?? If the answer is NO, then you may want to rethink your decision to sell... for now at least.

If you liked this data on 'foreclosed' property, I'll probably run a recurring report in addition to sales and listings reports. Probably on a quarterly basis, especially since I don't have a ton of historical data saved up. In the meantime, if you want a report sooner than that email me a request and I'll get one out to you (time permitting) with the data I do have.

Oh noes!! RAID writes a letter...

Looking at the calendar and I realize that it has been some time since I last had to offer something up on my favorite community group known as RAID. There's been some back and forth discussion at the KDMiner's web-site on the subject of... "who died and made RAID King of Kingman". Even one of the reporters for said publication wrote a column (and a blog post) defending RAID's good name.

Well a newly released letter to editor appeared a couple of days ago... and I found it worth retorting to... just for old times sake. The letter to the editor was authored by former city council candidate Harley Pettit. In keeping with my own self imposed rules... the following retort is not a personal attack in any way shape or form. It is merely a disagreement... and couple that with my sense of sarcasm... I can see how others may infer that I am picking on a RAID member in a personal way, but I tell you now that the following is NOT personal... it is just business. (Besides, the times I spent with Mr. Pettit on the campaign trail I came to respect the person known as Harley Pettit... yet I just found myself in disagreement at times)

Here goes...

Letter: Get your facts straight on RAID

Sunday, June 01, 2008

You just don't seem to get it, do you? RAID has nothing to do with detouring development. RAID deals with zoning issues; what fits, what doesn't.

Actually I do think I get it and have got it all along... I just can't seem to remember who or what gave RAID the authority to decide what fits and what doesn't. I won't speak for the rest of the community, but RAID's anti-tattoo parlor stance is well understood. In fact, it is comical at this point.

In the case of Short/Bowers Investments, their request doesn't fit. Even though the General Plan designates the area as industrial, the fact is that the Airway Avenue underpass was not in place when the plan was voted on.

I think it was Johnny Cochrane that first used the 'it doesn't fit' routine and no doubt that it worked out well for his client... but who are you kidding here??

My question is what does a newer underpass (built after the initial city General Plan was voted on) have to do with the General Plan?? I wonder if this RAID member thinks that perhaps the General Plan needs to be changed?? If so... wouldn't that be grand irony given the fact that RAID used the "people voted on the General Plan" as a reason to defeat a different land use designation on community owned property.

My... how those goalposts move around.

Now there is more access and several housing developments in that area. It simply doesn't fit to change the existing zoning from residential to anything else.

So let it be written... so let it be done. RAID hath spoken.

Also, remember that there is two miles of commercial frontage on Bank Street about a mile away. As far as industrial needs, the airport is the industrial corridor. Who wants a truck repair shop in their neighborhood? There are also inherent dangers with industries such as hazardous spills, fires with toxic smoke, etc.

Wow, Mr. Pettit... you are right. What were we thinking when we passed the General Plan?? Put the hazardous spilling industries on Bank Street. There are no homes around there or anything.

As far as shopping centers, RAID has never spoke against them. The fact is these companies look at demographics such as population and income, for example, and Kingman just comes up short. The city is constantly seeking companies to do business here, but it's hard to ask them to invest millions for returns in the thousands.

Again, another funny. Mr. Pettit spoke out against more shopping centers a little over a year ago. He said that Kingman did not need 75 more Wal-Marts or something like that. He also stated that retail giants like Target wouldn't be coming to places like Mohave County.

Anyway, Mr. Kielsmeier, you may need RAID's help when someone wants to put a slaughterhouse in your neighborhood next door to your house.

I'd be the last to argue with a recent column by a reporter at the Miner, but if I could ask him one question it might be if the above is not-not a scare tactic (or something along those lines).

I bet Mr. Kielsmeier will have no problem asking for RAID's help... only after he kisses the ring first of course... if someone wants to put in a slaughterhouse right in the neighborhood. Wake us up when that happens. I mean come on... we've seen how great RAID has been in thwarting all the many hundreds (if not thousands) of tattoo parlors that were scheduled to pop up all around Kingman, no doubt that RAID can be useful when 'slaughterhouses attack' this great community.

At the May 5 City Council meeting, it was Tom Spear who challenged Ordinance No. 1615 for a restaurant on Bank Street.

Now who's holding up development?

Harley Pettit

That is funny (again). Once upon a time, former councilman Tom Spear voted to change the land use designation on the General Plan. A move that could have helped led to a sale of Kingman resident owned property (and an influx of capital to the city treasury), which would have no doubt led to development, and then to a very real possibility of a new area for commerce to take place (somewhere else than Stockton Hill Road for instance).

RAID challenged councilman Spear's (and the majority of the rest of the council's) decision via referendum. RAID used propaganda such as using the resident owned property for a drainage ditch, to use the property as Kingman's version of Central Park, and needed senior citizen centers. All of course is baloney and forgotten now.

Now Mr. Spear's challenge to the property owner on Bank Street was likely politically motivated (although I can't say for certain). I'm only guessing, but with less than one month to go in his term of service to Kingman, Mr. Spear gummed up the works against a property owner that called Mr. Spear and the rest of the council a bunch of monkey's (among other disagreements over the past few years).

Last night, the newly elected council voted to approve the zoning change request... just one month after Mr. Spear challenged the zoning request. Wow... one month... for one restaurant. Meanwhile... thanks in part to RAID... the community waits for a solution to Stockton Hill traffic, the creation of commercial property fronting the Interstate, alternative access routes through the city (via the underutilized Interstate that splits this city), and a woeful economy.

But we will all rest easy tonight because we all know that RAID is protecting us from tattoo parlors and slaughterhouses. Carry on I say, carry on!!

Pravada Approved at Mohave County

The master planned development known as 'Pravada' has just received approvals for a Minor Amendment to the Mohave County General Plan, a Minor Amendment to the Golden Valley South Area Plan, and for a Specific Zoning Plan that includes a Development Agreement, Development Standards and Land Division Regulations, and a Rezone... the approvals were made today by the Mohave County Supervisors.

What does that all mean?? Well, it does appear that Mohave County has blessed the new proposed master planned community. I don't know for sure, but there are some other hoops still waiting to be jumped through at the Arizona Corporation Commission before just everything is peachy... but from what I hear... it all looks very promising.

This project has been in the works now for over three years just to get to this point. The developer had to endure very public attacks along the way, but finally there appears to be a very large investment coming in our communities direction.

Today's news is good news... but I still have my fingers crossed and they will likely stay that way until I see some physical activity out at the property known as Pravada.

May Listings Report (2008)

Okay... June 1 falls on a Sunday this month. That means I'm up early to on a normal day off, a morning that I would be making my Italian red sauce (marinara... only better). But I know that many readers want the sales and listing report information so here I am reporting numbers, later I'll make the sauce.

Before any of that happens... the disclaimer...

Disclaimer... all data compiled for this report comes from the WARDEX Data Exchange and does not include any sales activity from outside that resource. All research is done only on single family homes and there is no inclusion of modular homes, commercial properties, or vacant land. The geographical area researched includes; all areas within the boundaries of the city of Kingman, north Kingman, the Hualapai Mountain area, and the Valle Vista subdivisions. Click here to see maps of the included area's.

Listings:

Today total listings available for single family residence equals 596 (downward path from 633 on May 1). The rate of new listings taken per day in May was 3.8. Compared to last years total listings available on the market are down 20.6%.

There were 118 new listings taken in May (pretty much the same as compared to 125 in April). The average asking price for the new listings is $213,108 (up from last months $199,847). The median asking price is $189,000 (sharply up from $164,250 previously). Newly listed units are down 22.4% from last year and the average initial offering price dropped 16.9% as compared to May of 2007.

The average newly listed home in May has 2.99 bedrooms, 2.04 baths, a 1.99 car garage, with 1,641 square feet of living space and was built in 1979. The average asking price per square foot of living space is $130. Lastly, 24 of the new listings were actually re-listed either by the same or different broker. 7 units listed last month are already under contract and 3 already closed.

The original price of new listings last month was from $75,000 through $599,900.

Units under contract:

As of today there are 87 total units under contract (down a good amount compared to the number of 117 last month).

53 units entered into contracts in the month of May (about the same as the 56 the previous month). The average asking price for homes that received contracts was $176,582 (down from $188,689 last month) and the median asking price for May was $149,900 (down from the previous months $169,900 figure). Units entering contract are down from May of 2007 by 8.6% and the average marketing price is down 19%.

The average home that went under contract in May has 3.08 bedrooms, 2.1 baths, a 1.98 car garage, with 1,626 square feet of living space, and was built in 1995. The average asking price per square foot of living space for listings that entered contract this month is $108. It was also priced $15,496 higher when it first was listed as compared to its current asking price (the average price reduction was $15,439 last month). The average marketing time to reach a contract was 175 days (from 235 last month).

The advertised price of units that entered contract was from $69,900 through $429,900.

Conclusions:

Well, some numbers are good... total listings on the market has come down from the peak of 758 back in October of last year, the market is down under 600 for the first time since I began to track this figure (June of 06). So inventory is down and that is good... but...

Sellers are still listing homes for far too much as compared to the the successful part of the market. That number is bad no matter how you cut it. All anyone has to do is compare the listing prices to the eventual sales prices to see the void. There are buyers out there and they are waiting for PRICE to appeal to them. Sellers are constantly conceding price just to get a contract, and conceding even more to close the sale.

Time to make some red sauce and meatballs so I'll see you next time.

Housing solutions??

I found a 'funny to me' article about a homeless woman in Japan that apparently 'moved' into a man's closet undetected for about a year.

See the article here.

Best line...

She had moved a mattress into the small closet space and even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman "neat and clean."

Hat-tip to the mighty Instapundit, where I found the article.

Congrats to my 'Coach of the Year' sister...

Another post off topic, but important to me nonetheless.

I have a younger sister that excelled in most things she put her mind to. This last year my sister Teri, and her family, moved from Hawaii to Las Vegas. Teri is a teacher at Cheyenne High School and also the school's varsity softball coach. This was her first year running an athletic program and of course that would mean more 'excellence' produced by her.

She helped lead her new team to greater heights than they've achieved in recent years and she was recognized for her efforts. Here is a link to the article... she gets mention in one line... so I'll post it following.

Cheyenne's Teri Hernandez was named the league's Coach of the Year.

So congrats Teri... nice job. You certainly did not learn how to 'excel' at coaching from me, yet I'm not shocked that you would do a great job.

Funny and talented

One of my very favorite comedy actors has passed away, by now I'm sure you know.

Just loved this guy, especially in Mel Brooks classics like Blazing Saddles... but I've been watching comic bits from the Carol Burnett show on YouTube since I first heard the news and my side hurts from the laughter.

Always seemed to be funny to all walks of life and all age groups.

Is it the burrito that saves Kingman??

"What's he talking about now Martha??"

This afternoon I decided to have lunch. While this may not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things (and it really isn't), I ventured out for something new... yet familiar.

You see, back in May of 2006 the local Dairy Queen stopped preparing and selling such menu items as all meat green burritos, taco's, tostadas, cheese crisps, and on and on. You might be thinking to yourself now that you don't know of ANY DQ that serves that kind of food, and you might be right.

However, in Kingman, our DQ used to have owners that also once owned a eatery called Senor Taco. Way, way back in the day my wife used to work there (when she was in her school years to give you some perspective). When the owners opened up the DQ they merged the Senor Taco menu to the DQ menu. Lunch at DQ was a normal part of life for Gail as the years went by (ice cream cones and freezes as well). I quickly adapted to this lifestyle as well once I moved here.

Gail and I used to catch lunch a bit early (to avoid the lunch hour rush) at least a few times a week. It was conveniently located near both of our work locations, we loved the food, but most of all loved the owners of DQ. But sometime in 2006, the DQ corporate types demanded that this particular DQ cease serving burritos and tacos and the like. And not long after that did the owners decide to sell their DQ franchise.

Since Gail spends much of her time in Minnesota, and I spend much of my time in Arizona... lunch without her is just not the same... lunch without all meat green burritos -- same deal. So lunch has not been a priority in my daily routine for awhile now (and that is okay as long as I remember to eat a little something for breakfast).

But there is good news to report. Senor Taco is BACK IN KINGMAN AGAIN!!


That is right, and today... I had lunch... and it was great.

Ahhh... the precious.

To bring this back to real estate for a moment. May of 2006 was clearly about the time the real estate market started to tank here in Kingman, it was also when the Kingman community could no longer enjoy the mighty morsels pictured above. Coincidence?? Well I'd hate to put too much pressure on my favorite burrito... so I won't.

To put this in a local political perspective... about the time these burritos were no longer available was about the time the city sales tax receipts started to wane. Coincidence?? Here I think not. (of course I'm kidding).


Let me suggest an all meat read WITH tomatoes.

Or an all meat green burrito. (I had to have one of each... for old times sake)

Senor Taco is located on Hualapai Mountain road in a new plaza across from the radio station. Sorry I don't have the exact address for you. Check it out sometime soon (the city needs sales tax revenue).

So nice to have these folks back, I wish them good luck on their new venture. The place was mobbed today but I was there during the lunch rush (which was typical way back when anyway).

Now that's what I call good eats!!

Foreclosures affecting rental tenants...

Sometimes I post information about the rental market since I have the best source of information on the subject in the office directly next to mine.

Linked here, you'll find an article that speaks to what is happening locally with some investment property/rentals and the tenants that are living in those homes. I said some, not all. In fact I doubt anyone is sure how deep the problem may be or may end up being.

Also notice that the lovely, gracious, and uber talented Helena (property management extraordinaire) is featured in the local article. (She also happens to be that best source of information about the rental market in Kingman... in my opinion).

From the article...

Helena Baughman is a property manager and Realtor with RE/MAX Preferred Professionals in Kingman.

She said that while it's not a common occurrence for renters to be evicted because their landlords can't pay the bills, it has been happening here, as well as across the nation.

"It is rare, but it only has to happen once or twice for it to be just overwhelming," Baughman said. "Unfortunate as it is, we do have investors, the majority of them out of state. Most own more than one property, and so it's a ripple-down effect."

Baughman said that while a number of factors contribute to landlord foreclosures, the primary culprits are the adjustable-rate mortgages many took out on their investment properties when they initially bought them.

"The big factor was, with a lot of these loans, they were reset," she said. "In essence, the landlord if you will, their payment may have gone from $800 a month to $1300 a month. Rents came down, owners' payments came up - some of them were exorbitant."

Be sure to read the whole article.

It just doesn't matter...

There is big news in the real estate industry making the rounds today in the media. Does it affect folks outside of the biz?? You know I'm not sure. The better question might be... does it affect those of us IN the biz?? And again, I'm not sure.

Here's a few links about the news...

From Real Central VA

From Network World

Oh... there are many... many more thoughts and articles out there that you can peruse if you must.

The gist that I keep seeing is that because of this settlement... fees and other related costs to consumers for representation in real estate transactions is going to come down. That new business models will have a chance to prosper. Is this true?? Heck if I know.

What I do know is that I've been offering creative programs for real estate representation for the last year or so and finally have some interest from consumers for those services and 'new model' fees. I mostly market on the Internet anyway and I've never felt that I couldn't offer my listings on the MLS or was ever 'hamstrung' with the way I do business.

As a Realtor though... I know that the DOJ vs. the NAR deal has been going on for quite some time (a few years at least). High powered attorney's were no doubt used in this process and surely they came with a huge price tag. So as a member of NAR myself AND a taxpayer... I contributed to this 'hub-bub' on both sides. Nice.

National RE market (bad) news for sellers...

The Case Shiller index came out with the March numbers. There is a link within that article that can take you to a site that explains the Case Shiller index so you know how they come up with their figures.

But honestly... March wasn't good for prices here locally either.

Just had a great weekend...

Memorial Day weekends are usually great with the extra day added in as a holiday. Often times I'll head out for a fishing trip or partake in a BBQ event somewhere. Well I did manage to stop in on a friends BBQ on Sunday (and as usual, the food and company were great), but I spent most of the weekend with clients on a quest to purchase a home... and I wouldn't have traded the weekend for anything else... and not just because I need the business either (but yes I do need more business and it was part of the consideration).

While I won't divulge too much information about my clients or the the possible purchase they may be involved in... I do want to pass along a few observations.

First off, the weather. I think typically we in Arizona are looking at near 100 degree temps this time of year and the mercury never got anywhere near there. Sure it rained most of the day on Saturday, but the temps were very pleasant.

The temp was nice because my buying clients were very well researched on the market and found quite a few homes that they thought could possibly fit their criteria. Darn near 20 homes. Getting in and out of an air conditioned vehicle and air conditioned home in between normally hot weather conditions is not much fun normally.

For the market my clients (yes they signed a buyer-broker agreement so I can call them my clients) were interested in, I have to say we saw some really nice for sale properties. For the most part the homes were in good showing condition... a few sellers are in the midst of moving out... some other listings were already vacant. Sellers are making good efforts to show their property in peak condition.

Choices, choices... so many homes for sale right now. My client brought a digital camera, asked each owner occupied seller for permission to take photos, to help with their notes on what they liked or didn't like about the listings they saw. At one listing we all headed straight for the backyard to snap some photos of the pool area. This is a great idea if you are home shopping right now, the digital camera thingy. If you don't have such a camera, ask your representative if you can use their's if you are on a similar home hunt.

It is often typical of a buyer to have an idea of the home they are most going to like out of a list of homes to view before I take them out on showings. This weekend was no different. Yet even though my clients have decided to enter negotiations on this home they thought they'd most like, it was still worthwhile to view as many homes that could have fit their criteria.

However, if you are a seller or thinking of selling it should be important to note that in this case, the photos of the listing that they thought they'd most like and the property description obviously helped to get my clients excited about this particular listing even before they actually saw it. We did not view that home first either... but I could tell that there was some comparisons taking place with the listings we had seen before we ended up at the listing they most wanted to see. Good quality photos and descriptions were vital in this case. The listing agent did a very nice job I must say.

My clients saw the listing on the WARDEX public search site that is linked over on the sidebar of this blog. While there is a limited amount of information on the public search site, all it took was an email to me with a list of MLS numbers that I gathered and sent back more detailed information such as location, year built, days on market, etc.

A few of the listings that were initially sent to me had received a contract or were taken off the market for some other reason, which pared down the list by a few. With the list of MLS numbers that were sent, I was able to find additional listings that could have met the client's needs. All in all, it was very easy to communicate back and forth leading up to the time we all headed out for a couple of days home hunting.

I'm also quite happy to report that the client is a reader of MOCO Real and has been for quite some time. I was told that the market updates were very informative and helpful, and the political stuff was at the very least amusing. But the key factor for the phone call the client made to me was the buyers flat fee that I offer.

Now ever since I started blogging here I have received several contacts... and of those contacts I do believe that some of those folks will end up offering me a chance to represent their real estate needs. But in this case... I do believe that this particular client is my first client that is a client because of MOCO Real. Trust me, it is soooo worth it to have worked over a holiday weekend because of this news alone.

Last observation over the weekend... my clients viewed a couple of brand new construction homes that were left open for an open house and each time we viewed a home like that... there was another party looking at the home (in each case unrepresented or at least unaccompanied by a representative). That tells me that folks out there are looking and perhaps activity continues to pick up. Some good news perhaps for the market.

Lastly, trivial matter over the weekend... the Pittsburgh Penguins lost both games in the Stanley Cup final over the weekend in a bad way to the Detroit Red Wings. Awesome!! The supposed 'new' face of the NHL is a crying and whining little twerp who has no business being the 'new' face of the league or let alone captain of his team. He may be a talented hockey player... but he is an embarrassment to all hockey players, professional or otherwise. Just had to throw that in at the end of a long post. Carry on.

Thinking about real estate investing??

If you are, you may be like me and wonder where to get some advice. There are always many sources or 'investment guru' types willing to charge you some hard earned to hear what they have to say.

I ran across this link recently and thought it'd be good for anyone who is thinking of relying on a 'guru' of their own. The list is very long and has praise and criticism for the players out there that you may or may not have heard about. Even Donald Trump is critiqued.

Quite a read.

Memorial Day...

Today we remember those that gave everything in every way possible for our freedom and liberty. Today is perhaps the most important American holiday on the calendar. I just wanted to offer my many thanks to those that served the ultimate service for our great country.

I'm honored to be lucky enough to live under the flag of freedom that those who we remember helped ensure for all generations.

Here's to the winners!!

The election results are posted at the Mohave County site linked here.

Rounding out the new city council is Carole Young and Keith Walker. Congratulations to the both of you and I know the both of you can be the leaders this community is going to need over the next few years.

Great campaigns!!

It was great to have even been a part of this process because no matter what, heading into today... Kingman was going to get leaders that really believed they were going to do what was best for the community first... no matter who won these seats.