

A moment of remembrance on Memorial Day
I always wanted to be a Marine, but it wasn't until the first day of rugby practice at the Naval Academy my sophomore year that I knew I was going to be a Marine. One of my coaches—an active duty larger-than-life Marine officer—took one look at me and declared, "Yep, you're going to be a Marine." That was Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Shea, who was killed the following year in combat near Fallujah, Iraq. He was the first person I knew to be killed in action and the first person I


AZ Housing Market Summary for the Beginning of May
Starting with the basic ARMLS numbers for May 1, 2019 and comparing them with May 1, 2018 for all areas & types: Active Listings (excluding UCB): 17,513 versus 16,329 last year - up 7.3% - but down 6.1% from 18,650 last month Active Listings (including UCB): 23,650 versus 21,440 last year - up 5.6% - but down 3.2% compared with 23,399 last month Pending Listings: 7,326 versus 7,393 last year - down 0.9% - but up 5.3% from 6,958 last month Under Contract Listings (including Pe


Median Sales Price up 5.9% to $270,000 in Greater Phoenix: Sales Rebound, Up 3.7% Over Last Year
For Buyers:
The median rent paid on single family rentals through the Arizona Regional MLS is currently $1,625 per month, which is comparable to what the mortgage payment would be on a median-priced $270,000 home with 4% down at today’s interest rate (including approximate taxes, homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance). If a buyer were to purchase that home today, within 5 years they would have nearly $35,000 in equity just from making their mortgage payment, not inclu