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I love our gardens. Love being a member, even if I don’t get there as often as I would like. Last year the Desert Botanical Gardens had the Dale Chihuly: Nature of Glass exhibition. Because of the exhibit, the gardens increased their revenue last year by 45%.

With so many of the museums, parks and other community facilities facing closure due to the economy and lack of funds, I am glad The Desert Botanical Gardens is doing so well.

Connect with them on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and Twitter

(the video is 1 min 45 sec… so give it a watch)

With temperatures rising, many of the visitors to our beautiful city have left, not to come back till cooler weather returns. So the resorts are offering great summer play packages.

• Millennium Resort has offers starting with $100 room, and get $100 in food and beverage, even pool side. For a bit more add in a golf package.
• Hyatt Regency Scottsdale is offering free meals, kids camp, and with their ‘water playground’ loads of fun for the family
• Stay at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort and spend the day at the spa or enjoy all of the services they offer.

Call the resort you’re interested in getting away to and find out what specials they are offering.

You don’t have to get out of town to have a vacation – summer fun is waiting in your own back yard.

I was surprised to find they have different roast, depending on the type of coffee drink you order.  The latte’s for example have a sweeter roast than the drip roast…

and Drip!  They are serious about drip coffee.  Each cup is individually made and taste - YUM, this is what coffee is supposed to taste like.  So be sure to drop in while visiting Scottsdale.  They are located on Thomas and 68th, just south of old town and the Valley Ho.

Also consider getting your ducts cleaned and checked. Cleaned for… well better air quality in your home, and checked for leaks that need repair. That can save more money. You may also qualify for a $250 rebate from APS for duct testing and repair.

The Arizona Republic today has an article about Signs of Life in the new construction home market.  Reading through the article the only real “news” is that the New Home Builders are buying up land again.  The article mentioned the amount of $90 million purchased recently.   This lets me know that the builders are seeing and expecting more home sales.

Hopefully they are correct, and the trend of confidence in the housing market continues.

Taking a broader look at a bit more data …

The Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service Home Sales Report for the county for the month of April (the most current data available as of today);

The data for single family home sales shows us that the largest number of home sales was in the 100,000 to 160,000 price range with 2,111 sales.  (total sales for single family homes in the month of April was 6,718)

There are strong sales numbers up to 400,000 with a jump in buyers at the 200-250,000 price as well.

Looking at the same data at the bottom of the page check out the  financing type.   Most buyers are either using FHA loan or cash to purchase.

Taking this into consideration, and what I  have been hearing from others in the filed.  We still have lots of investors buying up the inventory. We also have lots of primary home buyers as well.

The investors were expected to be the first to jump into the market.  They have been buying up inventory for quite a while now.   It is I believe the primary home buyers purchasing that is stabilizing our prices.

The insurance rule of thumb I have discovered is: if a crack is smaller than a dollar bill it can be repaired. If the crack is in line with the drivers view, the windshield gets replaced, as it is a safety hazard.

I recently had my windshield replaced. I started by calling my insurance company USAA and asked who in my area they would prefer I use. Their preferred vendor was Safelite Auto Glass. Later I called Safelite and set an appointment. (I could have done it direct thru my insurance company but a phone call interrupted and I had to call back) They took all my information and got my email so they could send the confirmation. Nothing out of the ordinary there…

Safelite Email

A bit later I received another email with the technician’s name and photo. I was super impressed, since they were replacing the windshield at my home, I now would know exactly who was expected at my door. He also called prior to arriving, letting me know a more precise time for his arrival.

It is an amazing way to inspire confidence and comfort with using their company.

As you can see from the Arizona Multiple Listing Service chart, the prices dipped as low as $159,000 and are seeming to hold steady.

This is a broad picture, looking at all of Maricopa County. Things may be different neighborhood to neighborhood and community to community. Depending on the number of foreclosures, short sales and total sales, the outlook can be different for the area you are considering purchasing a home.

To see this chart full sized, head over to the ARMLS Sold Chart