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Sunday, July 05, 2009

AWOL Blogger Returns to BlogArizona - Happy 4th of July!

I know I haven't blogged forever and a day, so I guess it's time again!  How could I have stayed away so long with so much to blog about lately?  Honestly, I've been overwhelmed with work and life in general.  Since the end of last year, the real estate & home inspection business have kept me working 12+ hour days, 7 days a week.  Funny how the free markets actually work if the government stops interfering long enough to allow it.  When AZ real estate prices came down low enough (last year), the buyers started to come out and inventory has come down significantly now.  No, it wasn't the stimulus or the tax credit - it was lower prices (a function of supply and demand, not government intervention).

For those of you who have emailed and left comments telling me to update BlogArizona... thanks!  Even after months of not blogging, BlogArizona has still been visited by thousands of loyal readers and the search engines still seem to like us quite a bit.  In fact, I still rank high enough to command attention from the bubble bursting crowd (what an honor!).  After being quoted in this LA Times article by Nicholas Riccardi (which was also picked up by the Chicago Tribune, etc), I was recently bashed by Boom2Bust because I wasn't negative enough when discussing the Arizona real estate market.  Okay, in all fairness, Boom2Bust was actually criticizing the use of Arizona real estate professionals as sources for the article... an article which happened to be about the Arizona real estate market (need I say duh???).  Here's what Boom2Bust says about the Chicago Tribune article...

"Nicholas Riccardi wrote on June 7:

Phoenix’s housing bust has turned into a quasi-boom, a sign that its market might have hit bottom and a preview of what a housing recovery could look like.

More homes are selling than at any time since 2006. Prices are slowly stabilizing. Buyers again are in bidding wars — only this time over foreclosed houses selling at deep discounts rather than ranch homes listing for vast sums.

Riccardi’s sources? Individuals who could stand to gain from a rebound in the Phoenix housing market. From the piece:

“The free market is at work,” said Shannon Hubbard, a real estate agent and blogger. “Prices got driven down so much that people said, ‘I’m going to come out and play.’ “

Hubbard writes on BlogArizona.com:

I’m a Realtor-Investor, maintaining an active real estate license with Great American Realty, Inc. I’m also Co-owner of Homewerx Home Inspections, and Owner of BlogArizona.com."

There were a few other AZ real estate professionals quoted, and Boom2Bust concluded/implied that real estate agents just say good things about the real estate market so they can make money.  So who should Mr. Riccardi have called to interview for his article about the Arizona real estate market... some doctors in Nicaragua?  Everything stated in the article was true, and the sources for the information were fully and accurately disclosed - so what's the problem?  Boom2Bust goes on to give alternate sources of information about the Arizona housing market, to balance the opinions of us greedy real estate professionals who were quoted...

"So, is there another side to the Phoenix housing story? Well, consider the following from Bloomberg’s Kathleen Howley and Erik Schatzker today:

U.S. home prices may continue to tumble for years, according to economist and Yale University professor Robert J. Shiller.

“Our sense that housing is a wonderful investment is really damaged now,” Shiller said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today…

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller national index of home prices, named after the professor, has fallen 32 percent from a high in the second quarter of 2006."

Note that Boom2Bust uses only national statistics and sources to talk about the Arizona real estate market.  Should we tell Boom2Bust that real estate is local?  The national numbers mean nothing to us here in Arizona, even if those numbers come from Yale scholars (Yale isn't even in Arizona!).  So Boom2Bust would prefer generic, national sources rather than first hand information from people in the AZ trenches?  The Arizona real estate market was among the hardest hit and therefore the first to start the recovery (when prices got low enough).  Who do you think is more likely to know when that recovery has started... a Yale professor or an Arizona Realtor?

Okay... considering I haven't blogged in many months, I guess I should just feel loved since I'm still being contacted for interviews by major newspapers and bashed by bubble bloggers.  Never a dull moment.  But don't worry, I'll be back for more much sooner this time.  Hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend!

Written By: Shannon Hubbard Realtor®-Investor Great American Realty, Inc. Cell: (480) 695-6672 Email me

Posted by BlogArizona BlogMaster on July 5, 2009 | Permalink

Comments

Good to see you back Shannon. Hope all is well. Stay cool - its hot out there. Looking forward to some action on this blog!

Posted by: Shailesh Ghimire | Jul 23, 2009 4:07:22 PM

Welcome back, I look forward to reading your posts again.

Posted by: Alexandria Homes for Sale - Ellen Crawford | Jul 30, 2009 1:54:24 PM

You really do provide a lot of great information in your blog. One thing that I think would be great for your readers is how the economy affects real estate when compared to other industries in the state. For instance, how is tourism affected or what is the consequence of the economy on the school districts in the state.

Posted by: Carla | Aug 25, 2009 1:03:47 PM

I came to the blog when I was searching for "Housing Market blogs" and found this blog was really interesting. Continue writing such type of blogs.

Posted by: Robin Smith | Sep 16, 2009 5:42:51 AM

This is a great real estate Blog. Welcome back!

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