Russell Shaw has moved, and you will now find his blog posts at Agent Genius. 

Being a property manager in the Valley is no easy role.  Keeping the tenants and/or owners happy is only half of the battle.  Knowing what the rules and regulations are in each specific city you’re working in is the other.  It seems as soon as you get a handle on current laws, they change ‘em!  The cheat sheets our property management department uses are proof of this, constantly being updated.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with Joanna Slighter, the John Hall & Associates Trust Account Manager, and she showed me one of her cheat sheets with 29 different city names here in Phoenix all with different tax configurations, structures, and rates.  She also shared with me that Monday (5/5/08) happened to be a record breaking day for her department receiving over $350K in rents, taxes, deposits, etc.  Anyway, I made a copy of the city tax sheet so I could share them with you.

Rental tax rates as of 5/7/08: 

Anthem - No Tax
Apache Junction - 2.2%
Avondale - 2.5%
Buckeye - 2%
Carefree - 3%
Cave Creek - 2.5%
Casa Grande - 1.8%
Chandler - 1.5%
El Mirage - 3%
Fountain Hills - 1.6%
Gilbert - 1.5%
Glendale - 2.2%
Gold Canyon - No Tax
Goodyear - 2%
Laveen - No Tax
Litchfield Park - 2%
Maricopa - 2%
Mesa - 1.75%
Paradise Valley - 1.65%
Peoria  - 1.8%
Phoenix - 2%
   Commercial - 2.1%
Queen Creek - 2.25%
Scottsdale - 1.65%
Sun City - No Tax
Sun Lakes - No Tax
Surprise - 2.2%
Tempe - 1.8%
Tolleson - 2%
Youngtown - 2%

(Keep in mind that if your rental contracts are for less than 30 days many of these cities add an additional 3%, similar to a hotel/motel bed tax.)

These rates are deemed to be reliable at the time of this post. Be sure to check with the city tax collector for current numbers and exceptions to the rules.

Westgate Living is giving a tour of their new urban properties, The Majestic, TODAY from 6-8pm (sorry about the short notice). They will be providing food, drinks and entertainment.

This Glendale, AZ residential development has properties ranging from $400k to $2 million.  Whether you can make the tour tonight or not, if your area of expertise is the westside you should make it a point to check out this high-end development.  Their sales office is located at the Westgate City Center and is open daily.   

has opened the doors to it’s Phoenix, AZ sales office and is currently accepting reservations for Phase One.  Their office (SW corner of Deer Valley and 56th St) is also open daily, but they plan on giving REALTORS® a special tour Tuesday, May 13th at 10am. 

Not only will this tour provide information about their impressive project they also know what’s going on over at Kierland Commons, One Scottsdale, Paradise Ridge, Scottsdale Quarter, and the Mayo Hospital.  (Like did you know the Phoenix Mayo is planned to be bigger than the Rochester Mayo?!) 

If you specialize in the northeast valley, make it a point to be there on Tuesday.  I hear the tour should last about an hour.  (Be sure to check out the impressive scale model.)

5/8 UPDATE: If you plan on attending May 13th, please RSVP: Trudy Hammond (480) 355-0202

Bryan Jones (with the Talon Group) emails a list of the previous weeks’ expired and cancelled listings to his database to assist with their prospecting.  Last weeks’ list had 455 names and phone numbers!  

In today’s market there is no shortage of expired listings, but there is a real shortage of agents who know how to turn them into closed transactions.  Your listing has to win a beauty contest and then “The Price is Right”.  There are only three reasons that a house doesn’t sell: Price, condition and marketing.  (ProStart teaches agents how to deal with all three.) 

If you would like to be added to the list of agents that recieve the list, let Bryan know.

The Arizona Republic has the answer!  Did you see the ARMLS advertorials in the paper this weekend?

Saturday’s Business section had the first article with quotes from John Hall real estate agents; Abe Schwarz, Dru Bloomfield, and Russell Shaw.  Bob Bemis (CEO of ARMLS) was also quoted talking about the median and average price drops.  

The article on Sunday, with the same title, again had quotes from our own; Russell Shaw and Jim Sexton.  Bob Bemis was again quoted, but this time talking about the currently low interest rates.  Darrell Blomberg (Owner/Broker of AzTech Realty) and Gary Swallows (Designated Broker for Swallows & Associates Realty) were also quoted explaining why it might cost more if you wait to buy and how FHA loans are making a come back!  

Thanks to the Republic and ARMLS for the good press!

Register Now

Barbara Freestone
Arizona Association of REALTORS®
VP Professional Development
602-248-7787

Just a reminder concerning recent law changes and the impact on previously acceptable practices regarding commission rebates.  I was listening to one of the sessions from NAR (yes, still going strong after 5 months) and I liked the following advice concerning buyer concessions.  While in the past it was alright to pay the buyer a “rebate”/commission reduction after closing, with last year’s Mortgage Fraud legislation this practice is no longer acceptable. A rebate/commission reduction can still be done, but it must meet certain conditions.

The conditions are as easy as 1,2,3. They are:
1) It must be on the contract;
2) The lender must be aware of it; and
3) It must be on the HUD 1.

These conditions apply for any reductions that an agent might make.

According to Charlie Bross, President, RE Training Center, “The fact is, there is tremendous opportunity in every market, including today’s.  Sometimes you just have to change the way you think and work in order to see it…”   I’m sure you have all heard that agents are no longer order takers.  Agents are looking to acquire skills to build their business.  Does this describe you? 

According to a 2006 survey by NAR, 85% of all agents coming into the industry have no sales experience.   

Knowledge and skill are partners to success.  There are no shortcuts.  Today’s continuing education classes help increase your knowledge base, but, in my opinion,  today’s c/e classes lack skill training.  Most classes focus on delivering information, but are not delivered in such a way that creates relevance to your day to day practice.  To acquire skills education, I believe classes must be performance-based, incorporate simulated activities and/or provide some type of hands on experience in the forms of scenarios or other student based activities.  You must have an opportunity apply the knowledge, not just receive the knowledge.

The Swanepoel Trends Report 2008 report that a survey conducted with over 1000 real estate salespeople, the following skills were ranked as the most important for agent success:

• •Expanded knowledge of the changing market and expertise
• •A good listing presentation and CRM system
• •Stronger web-based computer skills including blogging, SEO and networks
• •Knowledge of financing, foreclosures, short sales and staging
• •Good time management
• •Enthusiasm and a continued positive attitude
• •Good negotiation skills

To reinforce my comments, how many of these topics are covered in ADRE license renewal categories?  None. This is why I believe there should be two components of real estate education:  c/e classes which are required to renew your real estate license AND career development classes which are needed to acquire knowledge and hone your skills leading to success in this business.  I recently read on Jennifer Cummings blog:   ”I absolutely believe that the distance between where you are now and where you want to be is simply 6 inches - the 6 inches between your ears!”  Fill those inches with as much career development education as you possibly can.

Most, if not all, of the above skill topics are covered in Arizona’s GRI (Graduate, REALTORS® Institute) program.  Look around your office and see how many of the top producing agents have earned the GRI or one of the other prestigious designations.  Think back to some of the transactions you have had with agents who hold a designation and agents who do not.  Did the transaction go more smoothly when working with an agent to not only has knowledge, but also has skills?

What are you waiting for?  Make the commitment this year to earn the GRI designation.  Classes are offered locally and in one and two day increments.  Visit our site and find out more about the GRI designation program, the classes, and the class schedule.

Two sighting of him in the Arizona Republic on Saturday.  The first one was planned, the second one not so much. 

He is often asked to write an article for the Republic’s “Broker Corner”.  He is given a date the article will appear and puts together a timely piece where he gets to spread the word of the current market.  This weekend his article, “Missed Opportunity” was featured in this weekly real estate feature.

Then an unplanned quote in an article by the Republic’s real estate reporter Catherine Reagor.  Mr. Sexton and Ms. Reagor spoke on the phone about a month ago and Jim was initially quoted in an article that soon followed.  Then Ms. Reagor unbeknownst to us stored some of Jim’s good stuff and surprised us with it this weekend.  (I can’t find the article online yet, but will update this post when it happens.)  Jim was quoted talking about the high amount of vacant or foreclosed properties that are selling.  Even though the conversation took place a month ago, the quote is still accurate today.

Thanks to the Republic for the support!

The ”First Quarter Market Overview Presentation” took place this morning (4/24).  RL Brown presented his coveted data with his partner Greg Burger.

Greg began by presenting some statistics for the “Metropolitan Phoenix Market Place”. There were a lot of figures presented in a half (here are the numbers) and half (buy our product so you can have this data at your fingertips) format. Some of my scribbles include…

• 1,890 new home closings in March (4,200 resales)

• Largest segments of new home sales - Mesa/Gilbert and the “southwest”

• 55% of 1st quarter new home sales were under $249,000

Then RL took over and started speaking more about the challenges, opportunities, and differences with the resale market vs. new home market. When it comes to the resale market, he does not feel we are at or near the bottom.  He made the statement that agents bane is going to switch from over-priced listings to REO properties and that the 50+ thousand listings in ARMLS is going to continue to drive prices down.  Once the median price drops another $20k then consumers are likely to come out and play, but their motives are going to be changed from preparing for retirement to improving their quality of life.

In his section about new homes, he stated, ”We are at the bottom of the new housing sector (pause) or darn close”.  His reasoning for this statement included the stability that both permits and closings have shown; permits leveled out about 6 months ago and closings have been steady for the last 3 months. He continued with the fact that in the last 4 months 60% of new home prices have stayed the same, 9% have gone up and only 30% decreased. 

In his conclusion he assumes that everyone knew the hang over was coming, but at least here in Phoenix we’ve already drank our tomato juice and popped our aspirin (hence the title quote).  He reminds all participants to treat each local market or neighborhood as its own market and to generalize on a national base has a lack of reality.

The Swanepoel Trends Report 2008 “Top 10 Real Estate Trends” is out now.  This is the real estate industry’s premier report on those keys factors currently shaping our business models.  Of particular interest are the last two chapters: Special Summary for The Agents and Special Summary for the Consumer. 

There is great information in this report especially when it comes to making sense of the current market and how to prepare for the future market.  Just looking at the summary for consumers, agents can get a clue about the types of business strategies they should be developing.  The report advises consumers to:

1.   Look for a knowledgeable and trusted real estate agent that works hard to keep themselves and the consumer informed.  (Advice to agent - newsletters and updates on a regular basis that address the knowledge that a consumer needs.)

2.   Ask the agent to explain to you their career development program.  (Advice to agent  -  have a business plan and mission statement.)

3.   Ask for names and contact information for clients the agent has worked with for the last six months.  (Advice to agent  -  build your client portfolio and offer recommendations up front.)

4.  Ask them about their real estate qualifications.  (Advice to agent  -  of course you are licensed - duh - what consumers want to know is what designations and certifications you have scored.  What training have you had and how it benefits the consumer?)

5.  Any real estate agent should be knowledgeable enough to explain their business model and what importance it has to a real estate transaction.  (Advice to agents  -  YOU need a “UVP” (Unique Value Proposition) so that the service you offer gains a value to the consumer.)

The report underscores what I’ve been saying all along, get those designations, develop a business plan and acquire the advanced skill necessary to meet the “new consumer’s” expectations.  While service is still the icing on the cake, the new words resonating with consumers are  -  Value and Skill.  How will you explain your value and introduce your skill?

Are you in real estate?  Can you be in Scottsdale on Friday?  If the answer is yes to both questions, you should plan on attending SAAR’s Technology Symposium.