If you follow my blog, you might know by now that I love historic homes. Perhaps it has something to with the fact that I grew up in Europe and once lived in a timbered house in Southern Germany (here is a picture on flickr of the Street where I grew up) that dated back to the 14th Century.

February is Willo Historic Home Tour Month, and I have previously written about the Willo Historic Homes Tour. No, Historic Willo does not date back to the 14th Century; however, it is the largest historic district in Phoenix, Arizona and presents itself as a great area to live for people who don’t dig stuccoed Tuscan Style 2×6 Construction behind block walls or “Fauxdobi” (as I call fake adobe homes).

The Willo Neighborhood dates back to the 1920’s and 1930’s, and is where architectural styles like Tudor Revival, Greek Revival, Spanish Colonial and Pueblo Revival appeared decades ago and now may be an ideal hunting ground for “Historic Home Hunters”. So, if you have been pondering about possibly moving to a historic neighborhood then the Historic Willo Home Tour and Street Fair is a great way to get get your feet wet.

This year people can even purchase tickets at a discounted price if they buy their tickets online (that is if purchased prior to Saturday, February 7th 2008 at 1:00 PM) and then are able to pick them up conveniently at 3rd Avenue and Holly; just don’t forget to print your receipt and bring it with you.

Lately I have been taking my photography hobby a little bit more seriously and found myself motivated to learn more about professional lighting.

One of the best way to learn something is by actually doing it, at least that method works best for me and last Sunday I had the opportunity to gain more knowledge by assisting my friend John at a photo shoot at the Stray Cat Theatre in Tempe.

Of course knowledge has its price and I promptly was delegated to schlep the gear, work as the “human remote control” and operate the light meter, but overall that was a fair trade for the opportunity to gain the experience of a real life photo assignment to photograph the children’s cast of “A Very Merry Unauthorized Scientology Pageant”.

Yes, photographer’s assistants have to pay their dues, but this time there was an additional perk: I got to see the show before the photo shoot.

I am usually not the kind of guy who says “hey let’s go to the theatre”, but that may just have changed. After watching a show of the Stray Cat Theatre at the Center For Performing Arts (not to be confused with the Tempe Center for the Arts on Rio Salado near Tempe Town Lake.) which caused sore stomach muscles from laughing so hard to a really, really well performed satire.

Don’t take my word for it, just read the Stray Cat Theatre Reviews.

Ticket prices are really reasonable, especially on Sundays where it is only twelve bucks for everyone. And with the Phoenix Light Rail opening very soon you can even take the rail to get there, and it is only a short walk from the Light Rail Stop at East 5th Street and College to the corner of South Forest Avenue and East 6th Street.

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In the short existence of this blog I have written a couple of blog posts about Phoenix Historic Districts and this weekend we continue on the Journey through the Phoenix Historic Districts.

This weekend, the 24th Annual F.Q. Story Home Tour and Gift Sale will open on Lynwood Street. It will start Saturday, December 6th 2008 and will start at 6:00 PM and go until 9:00 PM. It opens again on Sunday and will go from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

It all began with Frances Quarles Story, a wool merchant who purchased the area (that is known today as the F.Q. Story Historic District) in the early 1900’s.

Back then, Phoenix was way smaller and had a population of only 29,000 and the F.Q. Story Development was touted as ”The Place, the Thing, and the Time you have been waiting for.”

Today, Phoenix has added a couple of zeros to its population count and what was once a suburb,  the F.Q Story Historic District is now in the heart of the city and features some of the most beautiful Historic Homes and architecture.

Between McDowell Rd. and Roosevelt St. and from Seventh Ave. west to Grand Ave you will find 602 homes in various architectural styles and probably not a single one is alike.

Walking through the neighborhood you will see great examples of Spanish Colonial Revivals, English Tudors, Craftsman Bungalows and Transitional Ranches, and that is completely free. If you like to explore the inside of the Homes on Tour then you will need to purchase a $15.00 Ticket at the booth at 9th Ave. and Lynwood St. But if you like to save a buck simply clean out your pantry and bring your non perishable food items.

For more info visit: http://fqstory.org/

Oh by the way if you are looking for a new home, but tile roofs and stucco-boxes is not quite what you have in mind, then there are some beautiful homes available for sale and for rent:

Christkindlmarkt coming to Mesa, Arizona:

The holidays are approaching fast and usually this is the time of year when I reflect on childhood memories of the holiday season. One of my favorite things was going to the Christkindlmarkt and I can’t tell you how much I miss the smell of roasting chestnuts and warming up with a cup of good, hot & strong Glühwein between my fingers.

After being in Arizona for over 10 years, I have become pretty thin-blooded and I am already starting to shiver when it is 65 degrees out, but every once in a while I miss the “Winter Wonder Land” and the holiday atmosphere from home.

photo credit: Rinaldo W

This December 6th I will be able to get a little “taste of  home” when the Arizona Center for Germanic Cultures is presenting its first annual Christkindlmarkt in downtown Mesa.

The Christkindlmarkt – a celebration held throughout Central Europe – will bring cherished German and European traditions to Mesa with holiday entertainment, German and Austrian cuisine, vendors and local artisans selling merchandise like children’s toys and Christmas ornaments, and much more for the whole family! Admission will be free.

Perhaps I’ll see you there!?

Where: Mesa on North Macdonald Street near Main Street

When: December 6th, 2008 - 12:00 Noon until 10:00 PM

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photo credit: kevindooley

Realty Studies associated with the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus reports that Greater Phoenix residential resale numbers show a huge decline in prices.

The decline in prices certainly does not come as a surprise as we painfully witnessed this negative trend over the last couple of months, however ASU’s Jay Butler’s findings may signal a glimpse of hope.

The October 2008 same-month sales volume of non-foreclosed resale homes increased by a whopping 58% compared to resales numbers reported in 2007. Median home prices in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area have come down by 30% compared to October of last year and sparked interest for potential investors and owner-occupants, especially in the lower income ranges.

Lower prices are certainly helpful to improve the absorption of the existing inventory but so far we are nowhere near to a recovery of the real estate market due to; eroding consumer confidence,  a weak economy, possible job losses and tighter mortgage underwriting guidelines.

Last June, after great due diligence I have implemented a map-based mls property search on the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area Real Estate Blog because it is simply one of the best.  Today, approximately 5 months after the initial release the map based MLS-search has gotten even better.

Here are some of the most significant improvements:

• The search panel has been completely overhauled. Now you are able to expand the search criteria boxes by the clicking on them with your mouse.
• The text boxes and sliders are no longer separate options. Instead, your can now use either option at your will and use either option at any time. No more switching back and forth, just simply choose your preferred method of input.
• The first search box (city / community / tract / neighborhood / zip input box) has been changed. Instead of using commas to separate the different areas, you will need to press “enter” when you’re finished typing or just click on the city in the drop down. Entering multiple areas is much easier now.
• Now you can search for pre-foreclosures (short sales, notice of default, etc) and foreclosed (bank owned) properties. Diverse Solutions developed a proprietary algorithm that analyzes each property’s description to determine whether or not a property is a pre-foreclosure or has been foreclosed upon. If you view the details of a property the search returned you will know wether the property is a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure.
• Looking for a home in a certain school district? Now you have the option to search for properties by typing in the name of the school and/or school district.  Once you entered the the first two letters a drop-down menu will appear with available schools and/or school districts to choose from.
• Bargain hunting? Now there is a feature to easily look for properties by price-drop-percentage over a period of days. Just select your parameters.
• Have you seen a lot of properties? Now you can take and save notes to make your pre-selection easier.

The guys and gals over at Diverse Solutions say that today is a really good day, and I totally agree!

Now what are you waiting for? Go explore the new features and start searching for properties on the Phoenix Home Search!

Well not exactly and if it just were that easy. Today is post-election day and finally it is sinking in: Barack Obama is President elect of the United States of America.  This campaign was tough, and it almost felt as if there was no end in sight but now this chapter of American history has come to an end and with that the unbelievably annoying robo-calls. Now the daily interruptions will revert back to the occasional carpet cleaning and credit card offerings.

Come January 20th of 2009, a new chapter of American History will begin and so far we only have the title and summary on the flap of this book; “Yes We Can”. It sure looks promising and could be a heck of a story, however the story of this book will be concluded in 4 years (and possibly 8). Jay Thompson, the Phoenix Real Estate Guy, gave us a little glimpse of the beginning of this book and there is a chapter called “Obama on Housing”; most certainly a chapter of importance for homeowners (present and to be) and the Real Estate and Mortgage Industry alike. One thing I know for sure is that  this book will have a lot of difficult chapters and sections, but we’ll have to wait and see how the saga continues and if there is a happy end.

Now, as this first day after an election comes to an end, it is starting to sink in… Barack Obama is President Elect. There is hope in living where a democratic process is valued and respected; and I saw it today at the pre-kindergarten my son goes to. Principles of choice and democracy are taught early - the substance of this Country.

This country has spoken loud and clear, and so has the 3-year-old group of my son’s pre-kindergarten. Time to change the flavor, if only it was really just that simple in politics.