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

This is a great opportunity for the home buyer. Everyone loves a tax break and you do not have to be a first time home buyer to qualify. I have listed some key points to help understand the tax credit.

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence. It also authorized a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified repeat home buyers.

• tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for first-time home buyers purchasing on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. In cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
• A tax credit of up to $6,500 is available for repeat home buyers who have owned a home for five consecutive years out of the prior eight years. The repeat home buyer tax credit applies to houses sold after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. In cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
• Income limits of $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples filing jointly apply to all sales occurring after Nov. 6, 2009.
• The income limits for sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009 are $75,000 for individual taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
• Homes priced above $800,000 are not eligible for either the first-time home buyer tax credit or the repeat home buyer tax credit.
• Expanded tax credit benefits apply to members of the military, the foreign service and the intelligence community.
• Home purchases in 2010 may be claimed on an amended 2009 income tax return.
• Persons who are claimed as dependents by a taxpayer or who are under age 18 do not qualify for a tax credit.
• Home purchases from relatives of the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse do not qualify for the tax credit. The IRS defines relatives as ancestors (parent, grandparent, etc.), lineal descendants (child, grandchildren, etc.) and spouses.
• Married couples are not eligible to claim the first-time home buyer tax credit if either spouse has previously owned a home. They may, however, qualify for the repeat home buyer tax credit.
• Neither the first-time home buyer tax credit nor the repeat home buyer tax credit have to be repaid unless the home is sold or ceases to be used as the buyer’s principal residence within three years after the initial purchase.
• Taxpayers must submit a copy of the HUD-1 settlement statement and IRS Form 5405 to claim either the first-time home buyer tax credit or the repeat home buyer tax credit. 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