Flagstaff Top Producers Real Estate Update: May 2010

Home values in Arizona dropped more in the last year than any other state. New figures Tuesday from the Federal Housing Finance Agency show the price for an average Arizona home in the first quarter of this year is .13 percent less than the same time a year age.

What that means is that home values, on average, are now more than 20 percent below where they were at this time in 2005, while prices were going up but before the housing bubble burst.

And there is no real sign that the slide in values is slowing: The index dropped by 3.4 percent just between the last quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of this year.

In Flagstaff, the change in the last quarter was -3.48%, and the difference between the 1st quarter of 2009 and the 1st quarter of 2010 is -13.26%.

But those who have been hanging onto their houses longer term still have something to be happy about: The report shows that, even with the precipitous drop in prices, the average Arizona home is now worth almost double what it was at the beginning of 1991.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency figures are significant because the agency computes its index based on figures from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which have the larges database of conventional mortgages going back 34 years.

That allows the agency to track prices on the same home being sold and resold. By contrast, some other indexes are based solely on whatever happens to be sold during that period.

What these figures represent is that it is a great time to buy a home in Flagstaff! Mortgage rates are at a new low, and there is a diverse selection of homes to choose from.

Let the professionals at Flagstaff Top Producers Real Estate assist you in buying or selling your home, and our knowledgable agents can help you maximize your homes' equity potential.

Thank you for the privilege!


by Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services.

Living More Sustainably

1. Focus On Being Healthy

Getting and staying fit will save you money, increase your happiness, and give you additional energy to take on more resolutions.

--Make your own meals. Despite low-sodium and low-fat labels on processed foods, nothing beats homemade food when it comes to nutrition and value. Be sure these meals include some fruits and vegetables (from local sources when possible).

-- Walk or bike to where you need to go. Flagstaff is very walker and biker friendly, with sidewalks, bike lanes and the urban trail system linking up nearly the entire city.

2. Help Build Your Community

It can be hard to feel a sense of community in today's fast-paced world, but there are simple things you can do to help build your community.

--Participate, as a member or volunteer, in local organizations and events. You'll meet your neighbors and help to improve the community.

--Invest in local businesses. Shopping at local businesses helps to create and sustain jobs, preserves the unique community character, and increases funding for city services.

3. Reduce Your Waste

The average American generates 56 tons of garbage per year and Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottle every hour.

--Always try to reduce what you consume. When buying an item, look for good quality construction and minimal packaging.

--Reuse the three B's: bags (for grocery and retail stores), beverage containers (mugs and water bottles), and batteries.

--Recycle all plastic, metal, paper/cardboard, and glass. Plastic film, including shopping bags and packaging, is recyclable at major Flagstaff grocery stores.

4. Conserve Water

Water is one of Flagstaff's most precious resources. On an annualized basis, Flagstaff citizens use about 116 gallons of water per person per day.

--Install a modern, low-flow shower head. Look for models with a flow rate less that 2.5 gallons per minute and/or with a shut-off valve to use while you're lathering up.

--Install faucet aerators at kitchen and bathroom sinks. Aerators are inexpensive and simply screw onto your existing faucets to limit water flow to 2.2 gallons per minute or less.

5. Save Energy & Fuel

--As perhaps the most obvious resolution to be more sustainable, hopefully you are already taking steps to reduce your energy and fuel consumption. Here are a few pointers to help you save even more energy, and money!

--Eliminate energy phantoms. Most entertainment and office equipment uses energy even when it isn't turned on. Plug electronics into power strips and turn the strips off when the equipment isn't in use.

--Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 F. For each 10 F reduction in water temperature, you can save between 3 percent to 5 percent in energy costs.

--Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving can reduce your fuel economy by 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent around town, and is also dangerous.

Source -- Nicole A. Woodman, city of Flagstaff Sustainability Manager.

Susan Lamb - local writer and naturalist - posted this in Home and Garden in the Arizona Daily Sun on 4/17/2010 --

Despite late-lingering snowbanks and being batted about by spring winds like birdies on a badminton court, Flagstaff gardeners are suddenly out in force.

Eternal optimists, they are already swarming local nurseries wearing sunhats and ferrying pots of native perennials, vegetable starts and new gardening gloves to the registers. Rakes have been fetched from garages, along with pruning shears and trowels.

Whether you are among these early enthusiasts -- or you need to wait a few weeks because of you particular location -- the Arizona Native Plant Society (ASNPS) invites you to enter its annual Flagstaff Garden Competition. The deadline for entering the contest is Aug. 4.

Judges will schedule a one-hour visit to each garden during the weekend of August 14 and 15. There will be an awards "Extravaganza" on August 25 and a public tour of all the gardens on Sunday, August 29.

Simply entering the Flagstaff Garden Competition can liberate the imagination and fire up a lot of energy. Then the reality of showing your garden to strangers sinks in, determination surfaces and creativity flows.

Long-neglected "issues" such as a pile of old plastic pots or the overdue need to prune a dogwood are suddenly resolved. What at first seems like a lark undertaken because a neighbor says you really should becomes a closer observation of the weather, a more attentive nurturing of plants and a greater clarity about what you know and don't yet know. If you remain unconvinced about entering, Dorothy Lamm's lovely exhibit on the Garden Competition -- on display at the main Flagstaff Public Library through April -- may convince you to take an active part in this delightful annual event.

This year, the Flagstaff Garden Competition's two categories are Native Plant Gardens and Edible Landscapes (vegetables, herbs and other edibles). Of course, the former should have a good majority of plants native to Northern Arizona. Native plant gardens should also be pollinator friendly, with lots of flowers appropriately placed in sun and shade and absolutely no use of pesticides.

Judges will also consider color and form, hardscaping and paths, and special features such as ponds and sculptures. Edible landscapes should produce food for many weeks and employ water conservation strategies such as runoff catchments and mulch. In fact, judges will look for water-wise techniques in all gardens as well as designs that are appropriate to their sites' exposure to sun, shade and wind.

The Flagstaff Garden Awards Extravaganza will take place in Rees Hall at the Federated Church on Wednesday, August 25. After a potluck and a slide show of all the gardens, winners will receive gift certificates from local nurseries, and there will be a raffle of one of the latest books on native plants as well as memberships in plant-related organizations.

The grand finale is a tour of all the gardens on August 29. Donations for the tour will be gratefully accepted. The tour is a feast for the eye but also the heart. Gardeners can see how others succeed in circumstances similar to their own, from the banana belt below Mount Elden to the frost-prone fields of Baderville. With such a variety of mini-climates in Flagstaff and its environs, we often get the best ideas about successful gardening from those who've succeeded in locations similar to our own.

But that Sunday is also a day of stories -- of a helpful neighbor, of a source of cuttings or flagstone, of chronic frost or a sudden onslaught of grasshoppers and the inspired strategies to cope with them. Some gardeners also speak joyfully of the healing and happiness they have found in their gardens.

This year, the Flagstaff garden competition is sponsored by the Arboretum at Flagstaff, the Arizona Native Plant Society,the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff Native Plant and Seed, and Warner's Nursery.

Again, the deadline for entries is Wednesday, August 4. To enter, e-mail Jessa Fisher at nightbloomingcactus@yahoo.com (preferred) or give her a call at (928) 814-2644.

The knowledgeable agents at Flagstaff Top Producers Real Estate are available to assist you in all your real estate needs. If you are thinking about buying or selling, the professionals at Flagstaff Top Producers Real Estate welcome your call.