One of the cool things about writing a blog for a long time is having things come full circle. I wrote Achieving Your Goals: what I have in common with Jerry Seinfeld almost 5 years ago, yet I’ve been using that concept successfully lately so I felt compelled to reference it last week on my health & time management blog, and to share it again here.

Don’t Break the Chain. If you’re working on a new goal, this is a great concept. Take a calendar and give yourself a big red X each day you successfully achieve what you had set out to do. After a few days you’ll see a chain of red Xs. Your job then becomes very simple: don’t break the chain.

Want more details and examples? Read here.

-Chris Butterworth

Working towards a goal: Don’t Break the Chain is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Goal Setting – Achievements vs Habits (re-visited)
2. Is there a benefit in working with the seller’s Realtor when you buy a home?

Wow – what a difference a year makes! I’ve been seeing people all over the web comment on inventory levels being down and prices being up, (and homes being hard to find if you’re a regular buyer) – but this is ridiculous!

The first chart below doesn’t do much for me, but look at charts 2 – 4..

• Average Sales Price is up 17%, from $181,000 to $213,000
• Average Price per Square Foot is up 18%, from $72 to $90
• Average Days on Market is down 21%, from 106 to 84.

Wowza.

Specific Zip Code reports are now available!  If you’d like to see how the sales activity in your zip code compares with the county as a whole, just click here to sign up, and you’ll receive your zip code report via email each month.

and now, on to the reports.  (click each chart to embiggen)

Number of Homes Sold by Month

.

Average Sold Price

.

Average Price per Square Foot

.

Average Number of Days on Market

.

** The data for all these charts represents Single Family Homes sold in Maricopa County via the MLS.  All data was pulled from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, and is thought to be accurate but is not guaranteed.  Please do not make any life-changing decisions based solely on the information contained herein.

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Please give me a call/email anytime – I’d love to hear from you!

- Chris Butterworth

Maricopa County Sales Charts – April 2012 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Maricopa County Sales Charts – March 2012
2. Maricopa County Sales Charts – January 2012
3. Maricopa County Sales Charts – February 2012

Not only are the trends continuing, but they’re gaining strength!  Prices are heading upwards, and Days on Market is heading down.  And while I’m still not ready to say it’s 2005 all over again, it certainly feels that way out there right now.  (and the charts back that up.)

Here’s a look at the recent trends county-wide.  I’m pulling a rolling 13-month history so we can see the last year’s trends plus a comparison of this month to the same month last year..

Specific Zip Code reports are now available!  If you’d like to see how the sales activity in your zip code compares with the county as a whole, just click here to sign up, and you’ll receive your zip code report via email each month.

and now, on to the charts.  (click each chart to embiggen)

Number of Homes Sold by Month

.

Average Sold Price

.

Average Price per Square Foot

.

Average Number of Days on Market

.

** The data for all these charts represents Single Family Homes sold in Maricopa County via the MLS.  All data was pulled from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, and is thought to be accurate but is not guaranteed.  Please do not make any life-changing decisions based solely on the information contained herein.

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Please give me a call/email anytime – I’d love to hear from you!

- Chris Butterworth

Maricopa County Sales Charts – March 2012 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Maricopa County Sales Charts – January 2012
2. Maricopa County Sales Charts – February 2012
3. Maricopa County Sales Charts – March 2011

I’m not sure this is an invaluable service quite yet, but I’m blown away by the technology behind it and the future possibilities.

link to youtube, just in case the video doesn’t embed properly..

Thanks to my friend Kelley for sharing, via the Robert Scoble feed.

-Chris Butterworth

new iPhone app lets you take a picture of a house and see its value is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Where was that Moving Stills picture taken?
2. Frank & Nick – student managers for Villanova Basketball
3. Downtown Phoenix – does a picture tell the whole story?

What a difference a year makes! Average Price per Sqft is up 9%, while Average Days on Market is down 21%. And in both cases it’s the result of a trend which started back in August – the same month the number of sales per month began to trend downward. Hmmmm.

Here’s a look at the recent trends county-wide.  I’m pulling a rolling 13-month history so we can see the last year’s trends plus a comparison of this month to the same month last year..

Specific Zip Code reports are now available!  If you’d like to see how the sales activity in your zip code compares with the county as a whole, just click here to sign up, and you’ll receive your zip code report via email each month.

and now, on to the reports.  (click each chart to embiggen)

Number of Homes Sold by Month

.

Average Sold Price

.

Average Price per Square Foot

.

Average Number of Days on Market

.

** The data for all these charts represents Single Family Homes sold in Maricopa County via the MLS.  All data was pulled from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, and is thought to be accurate but is not guaranteed.  Please do not make any life-changing decisions based solely on the information contained herein.

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Please give me a call/email anytime – I’d love to hear from you!

- Chris Butterworth

Maricopa County Sales Charts – February 2012 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Maricopa County Sales Charts – January 2012
2. Maricopa County Sales Charts – February 2011
3. Maricopa County Sales Charts – December 2011

I updated the zip code charts and sent out an email to subscribers earlier this week. Let me know if you need a link. For anyone who wants to see what’s going on in your neck of the woods, you can subscribe here.

-Chris Butterworth

Zip Code Charts for January 2012 now available is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Maricopa County Sales Charts – January 2012
2. Vacant Home Sales by Month – January 2012
3. Zip Code Charts are out for December 2011

These are articles I highlighted in my Viewpoint Newsletter last week, which went out to subscribers on Valentine’s Day.  I hope you find them as interesting as I did.

Want a date?  Buy a home.  From CNN.com, and because it’s Valentine’s Day. 

Banks Paying as Much as $35,000 Cash to Homeowners in Short Sales; Why and How Many?  from Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis.  I’ve been trying to understand it since 2007, and I’ve been unable to explain why, banks have preferred to go to foreclosure when there was a perfectly good short sale offer on the table.  It seemed like they actually *wanted* to take less money later than more money today – the exact opposite of what everyone in the world would consider a good idea.  Well, 5 years later, the banks are coming around.  Hooray (said dripping with sarcasm.)

Housing: The Two Bottoms, by Calculated Risk.  Showing most housing downturns have 2 bottoms – 1 for new housing starts, and the other for pricing.  Looks like we’re at, or very close to, the 2nd bottom.

More evidence on benefits of barefoot running, from Hunter-Gatherer.  I’m a HUGE believer in barefoot (& minimalist) running; I train exclusively in Vibram Five Fingers (see my photo below).  So when (yet another) study backs me up, I just have to share it with you.

Workspace of the Week: Inspiring cord management, by unclutterer.  Every desk has lots of cords – computer, monitor, speakers, lighting, external usb stuff, chargers, power strip, etc.  A picture is worth 1,000 words, and this picture is pretty smart!

That’s me last spring, during the bike-to-run transition at a triathlon at Lake Pleasant.  And yes, those are my trusty VFF KSOs!

Have a great week out there!

-Chris Butterworth

Interesting Articles 2-20-12 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Interesting Articles 2-7-12

Is buying cheaper than renting?

In order to compare buying to renting, I’ll need to pull similar data from the MLS.  I’ll also need to make some assumptions about the variables involved in a purchase transaction which will impact the monthly cost.  So, let’s start with my assumptions:

Since we’re comparing buying against renting, I’ll assume buyers are using an FHA loan with minimum down payments.

• FHA loan – 3.5% down payment
• FHA loan – 2.25% up front premium (rolled into loan)
• FHA loan – 0.55%/yr annual premium
• Homeowner’s Insurance – 0.35%/yr of cost to rebuild.  For this example, let’s assume the cost to rebuild is $100/sqft.
• Property Taxes – varies, let’s assume 0.7% of sales price for this exercise.
• Interest Rates – assume 4.5% (bankrate.com, with credit score from 680-699, shows 7 lenders with apr < 4.5%)
• ** my numbers should get us in the ballpark – close enough to make a valid comparison.  If anyone sees something grossly inaccurate, please let me know.

Next, I pulled data from the MLS based on the following:

• Single Family Detached Homes
• Sold / Rented in January, 2012
• Located in Zip Codes 85382 and 85383 (North Peoria)
• Print-outs of the data can be found here for rentals and here for purchases.

Finally, I took the purchase data & ran each home through the above FHA formulas to determine how much a buyer would spend per month & per year.  I also annualized the monthly rent rates so I could compare the annual costs of renting vs buying.

So, what were the results?  Take a look below:

Wow – that is significant!  Based on a decent-size sample of properties, in the 1,500 – 2,000 square foot range, it costs 36% more to rent than to buy in today’s market!!

-Chris Butterworth

Is buying cheaper than renting? is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Renting? Food for thought here.
2. Five criteria to consider when buying a home
3. Things to consider when buying a home

I normally post quite a few charts each month in an attempt to keep tabs on the level of distressed activity in the marketplace.  I look at new listings owned by the banks, short sale activity, percentages of sales by types of owner, etc. etc.  But for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to tone it down a bit – let’s take a look at just one measurement:  vacancies.

It doesn’t matter whether the homes are owned by banks, or they’re being sold short, or they’re owned by investors; fewer vacant homes and more occupied homes makes for a more ‘recovered’ market.

So, with that in mind, let’s see what’s going on.  Here’s a chart showing the number of homes sold each month, broken out by occupancy. (click to enlarge).

Forget all the talk about inventory shortages, rising prices, low interest rates, etc.  When those two lines converge & switch places, we’ll be on the road to recovery.  Let’s keep our eyes on them.

-Chris Butterworth

Vacant Home Sales by Month – January 2012 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Maricopa County Sales Charts – January 2012
2. Distressed Activity by Month – January 2011
3. New Distressed Listings by Month – January, 2010

Here’s a look at the recent trends county-wide.  I’m pulling a rolling 13-month history so we can see the last year’s trends plus a comparison of this month to the same month last year..

The number of sold homes looks to either be seasonally deflated or we’re facing a severe downward trend.  But the Avg Price per Sqft and the Days on Market charts are clearly showing the upward pressure I’ve been writing about..

Specific Zip Code reports are now available!  If you’d like to see how the sales activity in your zip code compares with the county as a whole, just click here to sign up, and you’ll receive your zip code report via email each month.

and now, on to the reports.  (click each chart to embiggen)

Number of Homes Sold by Month

.

Average Sold Price

.

Average Price per Square Foot

.

Average Number of Days on Market

.

** The data for all these charts represents Single Family Homes sold in Maricopa County via the MLS.  All data was pulled from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, and is thought to be accurate but is not guaranteed.  Please do not make any life-changing decisions based solely on the information contained herein.

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Please give me a call/email anytime – I’d love to hear from you!

- Chris Butterworth

Maricopa County Sales Charts – January 2012 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

Other posts you might like:

1. Maricopa County Sales Charts – January 2011
2. Maricopa County Sales Charts – December 2011
3. Maricopa County Sales Charts – August 2010

Here are a few recent articles I found interesting enough to share.  I hope you enjoy them.

Housing Policy Changes – a quick look at some of the changes coming in the next few months with regards to federal housing policy, specifically distressed housing.  by Calculated Risk.

**note – I offered the Fed a suggestion of renting out foreclosed properties 3 years ago.  just sayin’.

Cheaper to own a Phoenix home than to rent a Phoenix home – friend and Realtor John Wake found this article, showing what we knew to be true.. to be true. (according to the Wall Street Journal)  I will delve deeper into this topic for my next Viewpoint newsletter – which you can sign up for here.

The Clutterfat Challenge: Transform Your Living Space in a Month – an interesting challenge from Leo Babauta at Zen Habits, but a concept I really like.  I did not participate in this challenge specifically, but I have eliminated a lot of my own clutter over the last year, and I agree with the ‘simple is better’ philosophy (up to a certain point!)

How We Paid Cash for Our First Home – a post on the Get Rich Slowly blog.  On one hand, it shows how easy things can be when you have a big salary.  On the other hand, it shows the power of dedication and focus towards savings.

Death to Pennies – a 4:31 video making a great case for why the penny needs to be eliminated, produced by C.G.P. Grey.  If you like it, click around his site to sample his other videos.

App of the Week: Paper Camera – 40tech highlighted this app of the week.  I think it looks fun, and will most likely download it soon.

That’s all for now.

-Chris Butterworth

Interesting Articles 2-7-12 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

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