Perry and Darlene Schmitt

Motivated...To Move You!

Todays Interest Rates 3/04/2020

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V O L A T I L I T Y.  That’s how it is spelled.  So the Fed chopped rates by .5% and the markets reacted wildly.  Mortgage bonds shot higher yesterday and lenders sat on their hands and did not issue price improvements as they should have.  Then bonds open flat to slightly higher and do we get to see a vastly improved rate sheet after yesterday’s bond market rally that saw the 10 year Treasury yield hit the lowest point in HISTORY!!!!!!!  Nope, pricing in mortgage land is not better.  Why is this?  Lenders can provide good rates and fatten margins by not improving pricing when pricing has in fact improved significantly.  This is what we are seeing as market indicators would say float because pricing has to be getting better, but that’s the issue, pricing was WAY better Monday morning than it is today.  When we are living in the land of the volatile, it is wise to lock what works and call it good because there are too many unseen factors at work.  ADP numbers were very solid for February but it will be interesting to watch economic numbers moving forward based on the corona virus hysteria.

Have a great day!

30 Year Fixed  3.375%

15 Year Fixed  3.250%

VA 30 Year Fixed 3.250%

**Rates are subject to change without notice based on market conditions. Rate/APR and terms may vary based on the creditworthiness of the individual.

Information obtained by “True North Mortgage” Jim Roberts and Dan Pareja

Phoenix Housing Market Update

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For Buyers:
It’s slim pickings for buyers in Greater Phoenix these days depending on your  budget.  Overall supply is 14% lower than last August while contracts in escrow are 15.5% higher!  There are a plethora of zip codes considered “frenzies”, where there are literally more properties under contract than there are active for sale; all of them with an average sale price below $400,000.  This is unusual for August, which is typically a much softer month. Buyers will have a slightly easier time in more expensive areas such as Central Phoenix, Ahwatukee, South Tempe and the Northeast Valley, but not much unless they’re willing to go further out or increase their budget.  Any projections of prices flattening out or coming down in Greater Phoenix this year have been obliterated.

For Sellers:
As supply plummets, fewer sellers are deciding to sell.  July was THE lowest month for brand new listings going all the way back to the year 2001.  That’s significant because the population today is 50% larger and the number of housing units is 63% higher than it was 18 years ago.  19% of all MLS sales and 26% of sales between $100K and $250K sold over asking price last July.  Coincidentally (or not), 32% of sales within that same price range still included some form of seller-paid closing cost assistance.  Despite the frenzy market, the annual appreciation rate for Greater Phoenix is just 6.4% and sales between $225K-$500K are clocking 3.5-4.0% on average.  This may seem surprising given the widening gap between supply and demand; but appraisers remain conservative in their valuations and with at least 80% of buyers needing a loan, they’re riding the brakes on runaway appreciation thus far.

STOP!
Be sure to call if you have any questions about this report or questions in general.

Would you like to know what is happening in your neighborhood?
Would you like to know the value of your home?
Do you need help deciding whether to sell or not or would you like to know if now is the right time to buy?

We would love to meet up or chat on the phone and discuss if the timing is right for you to make a move…call us anytime!

Perry Direct: 602-410-3322
Perry@PerryandDarlene.com
Darlene Direct: 602-770-4213
Darlene@PerryandDarlene.com

 

*****Commentary written by Tina Tamboer, Senior Housing Analyst with The Cromford Report ©2019 Cromford Associates LLC and Tamboer Consulting LLC

What is a Speakeasy?

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Chandler’s Basement Speakeasy-The Ostrich

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g31190-d8705262-Reviews-The_Ostrich-Chandler_Arizona.html

Located directly below Crust Chandler, the Ostrich is a neighborhood craft cocktail lounge inspired by the rich history dating back to the city’s founding days of 1912.  After nearly a year of renovations and excavations, the Ostrich is ready to enjoy!

This space was once a watering hole for the nation’s traveling and sometimes nefarious elite and has been remodeled and rescued.  This re-imagined drinking destination is housed in the forgotten basement tunnels running to the Crowne Plaza San Marcos golf course clubhouse and the old railroad station.  This same basement was also an ostrich feather storage facility after World War I.  Dr. AJ Chandler had high hoping that the ostrich feather would take off as a fashion accessory, primarily in the flapper dress industry.  Sadly, those hopes fell short.

Classic drinks, historical furniture and timeless service aim to establish the east valley as a craft cocktail destination.  Handcrafted ice, cocktails, food and hospitality is the name of the game at the Ostrich.  Meant to inspire our guests to understand and appreciate the past and apply its wisdom to everyday situations while paying homage to Dr. AJ Chandler, we decided to name our basement lounge, the Ostrich.  Without Dr. Chandler’s crazy idea to build a resort, let alone a basement in Arizona, we wouldn’t be able to offer delicious cocktails in this historic setting.

Cocktails are serious business, so the Ostrich is home to a star studded staff, led by 2017 Bar Brawls Champion William Ludington.

The Ostrich is open Monday through Sunday at 6 p.m. (Friday at 5 PM for Happy Hour) at 10 N San Marcos Place, Chandler, AZ 85225. http://crustrestaurants.com/ostrich/

***Chandlers Basement Speak Easy article from the book “Phoenix, a guide to the wonderful, and obscure by Christine K Bailey. Other information included by “Trip Advisor”,

Who is buried under the white pyramid?

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Who is buried under the white pyramid at Papago Park? Arizona’s first Governor, George W.P. Hunt .

It takes a politician with cojones to bury his wife and himself on an open hilltop, in a pyramid, in the most populous city in his state. Arizona Governor George W.P. Hunt was that kind of guy.

Dubbed “King George VII,” he was a friend of the common man and a foe (sometimes) of the railroad and mining trusts, which he called “coyotes” and “skunks.” Plaques on his pyramid declare that he was a descendant of an unnamed “Revolutionary War patriot,” that he allowed women to vote in his state eight years before the rest of the country, and that he was elected governor seven times, which “set a national record.”

When Hunt’s wife died in 1931 he had her buried here, in a 20-foot-tall pyramid faced with white bathroom tile. When he died three years later he joined her, and was later joined in turn by his in-laws, his wife’s sister, and his daughter. The hilltop later became part of Papago Park and the open-air pyramid was enclosed within a tall, ugly iron fence. It is supposedly to keep the people away, which is something that populist Governor Hunt would most likely not like.

Governor Hunt’s Pyramid Tomb

Papago Park

Address:
625 N Galvin Pkwy, Phoenix, AZ
Directions:
Papago Park. East edge of the city, between Tempe and Scottsdale. I-10 exit 153. North on Hwy 143/Hohokam Expy for two miles, then take exit 4 onto Washington St. East one mile, turn left onto 56th St., turn right onto Van Buren St., turn left onto Galvin Pkwy. the entrance to Papago Park will be on your right.
Hours:
Daily, sunrise to sunset. (Call to verify)
Phone:
602-261-8318
Admission:
Free.
**A Freemasons Headstone article from the book “Phoenix, a guide to the wonderful, and obscure by Christine K Bailey. Other information included by “Roadside America”

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