July Festivals and Events in the Phoenix Area

The Phoenix area and its surrounding communities host lots of annual festival and special events.  Here are just a few, for a full list and detailed information, visit phoenix.about.com.

Latin Rhythms Festival
Live music, wine tasting, food sampling at Kokopelli Winery & Bistro. Downtown Chandler.  July 18 – 20

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park Free Concerts
July 6, 13 from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. in Scottsdale. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair and enjoy a variety of music. Train and carousel rides are available throughout all concerts for a small charge.

Monsoon Madness
July 12 in Queen Creek. Inflatable bounce-houses, water slides, dunk tank, the Queen Creek Mud Pit, and more. 

Starry Safari Friday Nights at the Phoenix Zoo
Select zoo trails will be open as will gift shop and snack bar. Animal encounters, water play activities, carousel rides and more. Bikes and boats available to rent.

Summer Concert
July 12, 19, 26 All concerts are free and start at 7 p.m. Held at Kierland Commons Plaza.

Summer Splash Festival
July 19 Family-friendly day of water-related activities, with water slides, dunk tanks and cyber maze water tag. Aqua-Tots will be on hand to give free tot swimming lessons. There will also be arcade games, food and entertainment. Free admission. Historic Downtown Chandler.

Win a Dream Home from Taylor Morrison

Enter to win your dream home at tmdreamhomegiveaway.com inspired by the recently unveiled Innovations Dream Home at Disneyland in Anaheim, the contest is sponsored by Taylor Morrison, a homebuilder with numerous communities in Arizona, Florida and throughout the Southwest.  The winner will choose a Taylor Morrison home in one of the builder’s communities and participate in the design and selection of high-tech amenities.  Registration in online through August 20.

Krispy Kreme is Back in Arizona!

After a long hiatus, Krisy Kreme reopened its store on Superstitions Springs Blvd. in Mesa.  Bring on those hot, glazed doughnuts!

H&M Is Coming to Arizona!

H&M will open its first Arizona store in spring 2009 at Scottsdale Quarter, an open-air shopping center going up across the street from Kierland Commons.

I love H&M and always make it a point to go shopping there when I’m in DC – I’m so glad they’ll be in AZ soon!

Model Perfect 2 Bed 2 Bath Townhouse $139,900

Spacious & bright 1-story home in peaceful secluded neighborhood. Only one common wall feels like a single family home! Vaulted ceilings and open floor plan – feels much larger than sqft. Bright kitchen with plenty of counter and cabinet space plus a breakfast bar. Large master bed and bath with mirrored closet and sliding doors to private patio. Second bed and bath just as spacious. Wood floors in great room, tile in kitchen and baths. Covered patio and yard ideal for pets big and small. Other extras: fireplace, built-in BBQ, washer/dryer, wood blinds and home warranty. Make sure you see the large community pool for those hot summer days!  Click here for more info and pictures!

Home Price Drop Accelerates

Home-price declines are accelerating nationwide, pushing a hoped-for turnaround in the housing market further down the road.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index that measures home prices in 20 major metro areas dropped 12.7% in February from a year earlier — the sharpest decline in the data’s two-decade history.

Areas of the country that saw the greatest run-ups in prices in the first half of the decade are now seeing some of the steepest declines. Home prices in the Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix markets fell in February by more than 20% from a year earlier.

 Even after sharp drops for more than a year, however, home prices in Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C., remain more than double their levels at the start of the decade.

Full Article

Source: Sudeep Reddy, The Wall Street Journal, 4-30-08

 

Total Listings vs. Total Sold Since 2002

 What an interesting graph! Total listings since 2002 have ranged from a low of under 10,000 to a high of 60,000.  On the other hand, Solds have remained more consistent, with a low of 2,000 to a high of 10,000 a month.  There is currently an 18 month inventory of properties in the Phoenix area.