“AAR asked market watchers in four regions (Maricopa County, White Mountain, Tucson Metro Area, Flagstaff) around the state to review recent housing data and provide forecasts for the year to come. Each region—and each neighborhood—is moving through the cycle of lower sales prices, higher inventory and distressed property supply at its own rate. But all are feeling the effects of the recession…”

Read the full article: http://www.aaronline.com/AZR/Dec/09Market2010.aspx

“Perhaps a client wants your help leasing a property while she rides out the market. Maybe you have a relationship with a builder who is sitting on unsold inventory. You might even be doing a favor for an out-of-town client by paying a bill or adding chemicals to the pool. Suddenly you’ve dipped your toe in the property management waters. Before you dive right in, there are some important factors you need to consider…”

Read the article: http://www.aaronline.com/documents/AZRPropMgmt.aspx

“The first question that must be answered is why would the owner of a primary residence wish to convert their property into a rental property? The short answer is that renting the property provides huge tax benefits and allows for flexibility in managing a real estate asset, particularly in a bad market…”

Read the article: http://www.aaronline.com/documents/RentalProperty.aspx

“On May 14, 2009, Judy Lowe was appointed Commissioner of the Arizona Department of Real Estate. AAR sat down with the new commissioner in late June 2009 to discuss her goals and get answers to questions submitted by AAR broker members.

RAISING PROFESSIONALISM
AAR: The most popular question that we received from the membership was how to elevate the level of professionalism in the industry. Do you have any plans to raise fees or require more hours to obtain a license, renew a license or become a broker?

Commissioner Lowe: The thing that we hear over and over and over again is: “Please, we’ve got to do something about this professionalism in the industry.” We need to increase the knowledge base of the licensee and the professionalism of the licensee. And whatever it takes to do that, we’re committed to doing that…”

Read the interview: http://www.aaronline.com/documents/JudyLoweAZR2009.aspx