If you are interested in keeping up with home sales and home listings, this is a great place to receive updated news.  Arizona is a wonderful place to live. We enjoy the warm weather 85%  of the time.  By the time the cool weather hits we are ready for it!! Here is alittle information about Arizona-

Arizona was the 48th and last of the contiguous states admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912.   Population numbers for the year 2006 indicate that Arizona was at that time the fastest growing state in the United States.    Arizona is one of the “Four Corners” states – it borders Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, California, and touches Colorado.      It has an international border with the states of Baja California and Sonora in Mexico.   The population of Arizona is around six and one half million people (6,500,180).

When you say living in Wickenburg is the ideal location, I mean this IS  the ideal location.  Wickenburg is located 40 miles NW of Phoenix. Where can you live that you can water ski and snow ski in the same day.  Where can you take off on your quad or jeep into the desert and ride for hours.  Where can you jump on your horse and see some of the most beautiful country you have ever seen.   Our small town is a great place for all ages.  We are looking forward to the cops who care events that help our families in need for Christmas.   June Antos

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE  Housing starts were UP 1.7% for July to a 546,000 annual pace, but this was below expectations and all the gain came from a big boost in multi-family starts. Single-family starts were off 4.2%, declining for the third straight month. Looking at the market further out, we saw new building permits down 3.1% for July to a 565,000 annual rate.

There is no denying that these reports reflect a softness in the home building market. But some experts see the data as part of a temporary housing market hangover following the expiration of the tax credits. You may remember how the government cash-for-clunkers program pushed a ton of auto sales into July and August last year. This resulted in a dip in sales immediately afterwards. But that was followed by a pretty nice recovery, with auto sales now up 20% from the first half of 2009. Stay tuned for housing.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey showed purchase loan applications down from the week before, but refinance applications soared, equaling their May 2009 level. Mortgage rates, of course, continue at historically low levels. 

>> Review of Last Week

NOT SO BAD… Really???!!! Listening to the pundits who were fixated on last week’s negative economic news, you might think things were awful. But as usual, the situation actually wasn’t so bad, with the markets closing Friday with mixed results. The Dow and the S&P 500 dropped for the week, but far less than the week before. And the third major index, the Nasdaq, was UP 0.3%, so there are plenty of investors not paying that much attention to fretful pundits.

Make no mistake, the week did have its disappointments. The housing starts and building permits covered above were not cheered on Wall Street. Then, initial weekly jobless claims came in at 500,000, a bit over estimates and higher than they’ve been for a while. On top of that, the Philadelphia Fed index of manufacturing was down for the month, instead of up as expected, indicating a souring of the outlook in that region.

But wait just a minute. Mortgage refinancings took off, helping consumers and lenders. The Empire State index showed manufacturing in the New York region UP to 7.1 in August from 5.1 in July and suggesting more rapid growth to come. July Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization moved up nicely. Corporations continued to deliver strong profits and we even had renewed M&A action, with Intel buying McAfee for a cool $7.7 billion in cash. None of these are bad economic signs. 

Yet for the week, the Dow ended down 0.9%, to 10213.62; the S&P 500 was down 0.7%, to 1071.69; but the Nasdaq was UP 0.3%, to 2179.76.

The bond market had a generally decent time of it, with the less encouraging economic data bringing in safe haven investors. Treasuries did well, while the FNMA 30-year 4.0% bond we watch ended down 13 basis points on Friday, closing at $102.15. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates showed national average rates at historically low levels for yet another week.     JUNE ANTOS, CENTURY 21 AZ WEST 928-231-1692