Greg Swann's Arizona Republic real estate columns

• Net-borne buyers create new burdens for Phoenix real estate agents
• What can home sellers do differently to get their houses sold in the current Phoenix real estate market?
• The consumer is the loser with Arizona real estate licensing
• There is money to be made in Phoenix-area rental homes -- unless you lose it to a scam artist
• If you live where it snows and where rust is common, it might be time to think about moving to metropolitan Phoenix
• Even though much of the current real estate "news" is really just hype, there can still be good reasons for you to be in the market
• Learning to negotiate the buyer's agent's commission
• Workable real estate deals may require even more creativity
• How to make your Phoenix-area house sell slowly
• For real estate in Metropolitan Phoenix, the pain of currency inflation may be enduring
• Getting a handle on leverage in the mortgage lending process
• Are banks "warehousing" foreclosed homes in the Phoenix real estate market? If so, sooner or later something will have to give
• Prices for Phoenix-area real estate are very low, but are they low enough to justify a run on the market?
• How Phoenix real estate investors can make their rental homes more appealing to tenants
• In the Phoenix real estate market, home improvements don't necessarily mean a higher selling price
• A good Realtor may be the key to preserving your parents' legacy when they pass away
• A rental house in the Phoenix area can be a smart opportunity if it is set up as business
• Phoenix-area rentals can be a good investment if you can weather negative cash flow
• Are you looking for a flinty-eyed steward to protect the value of real estate? Whatever you do, don't turn to a banker!
• The perils of pre- and post-possession for home buyers and sellers
• You'll lose money if you buy a house? Which house?
• A custom weblog can be your home's 24-hour real estate salesperson on the world-wide web
• Arizona state rethinks crackdown on online home appraisals
• In the Metropolitan Phoenix real estate market, our long, slow slide in home prices is finally encountering demand
• Greater Phoenix home buyers: Protect yourself from agent bonus fees by builders
• Not all Phoenix area neighborhoods are feeling a downturn in real estate values
• Do you want to make sure your home will sell? Little things matter
• Fed trades a sharp pain followed by a quick recovery for an extended convalescence
• In a declining market, buying a short sale is too tall an order
• What's the obstacle to a paperless, iPhone-able real estate transaction? The sclerotic real estate industry itself
• How to prioritize your home-buying negotiation in the current Phoenix real estate market
• Your real estate improvement goals for 2008 will be more financial than physical
• The home buyer is always liable for the mortgage
• Web site builds a community of real estate consumers and vendors
• Divorcing couples need togetherness on sale the sale of their house
• Obama's housing rescue plan won't rescue housing, but it will delay the eventual recovery of the real estate market
• How the new president is going to prolong the housing bust
• Why should you enlist a buyer's agent to help you buy a home? Because you'll get a much better deal -- even if you pay full price
• If you've finally found your dream home in the Phoenix area -- don't dawdle
• Home buyers should negotiate compensation for their real estate agents
• Realty.bots will make home sellers happy
• Foreclosure homes are sold 'as-is' -- but most need only minor restoration to bring them back to fully-livable condition
• August was a great month for real estate sales, but when 40% of buyers are pushed off the playing field, home prices could plummet
• With MLS listings available everywhere on the internet, why do you need a buyer's agent?
• Today's Metropolitan Phoenix real estate market should dictate price of a home for sale
• Is there a housing boom going on in the Phoenix real estate market? Or is this really just a Fool's Gold Rush?
• How real estate transactions can fall apart -- and how Realtors work to keep the parties together
• Realtors keep the home-buying process free of personal issues
• Looking for a reason to buy real estate? How about free ice cream?
• Attention Arizona Board of Appraisal: An internet real estate valuation is not an appraisal
• The federal government's housing casino will never play fair as long as there are votes to be bought by cheating
• Finding the best real estate deal in the Phoenix real estate market is a matter of balancing trade-offs
• New weblog documents and supports the transition to new a MLS system for the Phoenix real estate market
• Passive marketing can swing the balance in your favor in the Phoenix real estate market
• Time of the signs: Let there be light -- for real estate signs, that is
• A by-owner home seller is no match for a skilled Phoenix Realtor
• In real estate transactions, dual agency benefits neither buyer nor seller
• Phoenix real estate conference teaches Realtors and lenders the brave new world of internet social media marketing
• Is this the right time to buy a house in Phoenix? It depends...
• The five bad habits of highly ineffective real estate investors
• The best time to list your home for sale: Friday mornings
• A workout loan can be a win-win solution to avoiding foreclosure
• Using the web to buy a home may not be the best idea
• Are you planning on making expensive changes to your home? Make sure they'll make sense to future buyers
• Home sellers, don't tell the buyer's agent your reason for selling
• If selling is not a viable option, you need to fall in love with your house all over again
• What do Canadian real estate investors know about the market in Phoenix that you don't know?
• The most important information in a real estate transaction comes with experience
• The homeowner who blocks his own sale
• When the weather finally breaks in Phoenix -- it breaks for ten solid months of pure paradise...
• The news media may insist that the real estate market has turned the corner, but my attitude toward work is simple: "Just say yes!"
• Phoenix home sellers: Are you ready for cherry-picking time?
• Big money can still be made in hot Phoenix home market
• Don't be chicken about the Phoenix area real estate market
• Don't learn all the wrong lessons about creative mortgages
• Creative negotiations could land you a home bargain in the Phoenix real estate market
• What makes a home sell in the curent Phoenix real estate climate? Marketing, preparation -- and especially price
• Getting outbid for houses? Relax. Available homes are not in short supply, so there is no reason to overpay
• Make your home's mushrooming value work for you with a Phoenix rental property
• Do you own a home in Metropolitan Phoenix? Trying to sell one? I feel your pain. But for investors and first-time home buyers, prices and interest rates are low and incentives abound.
• Phoenix has it's problems, but they're small compared to those in other cities
• New FlexMLS system is a bold stride into the twenty-first century for Phoenix-area Multiple Listings Service
• Zillow.com's Mortgage Marketplace brings anonymous apples-to-apples mortgage rate quotes to consumers, free consumer leads to lenders
• How do you get visitors to come to your home's custom weblog? Shoe leather works well. Search engines? Not so much...
• Your Metropolitan Phoenix house can't be sold if it can't be shown to buyers
• Secret of getting a great real estate deal: Be willing to walk away
• Make your first open house the only one
• In real estate, market value is the rule: You cannot sell a house for more than it's worth, and you cannot buy a house for less than it's worth
• The sky won't fall in the Phoenix real estate market, but you can expect change
• iPhone may herald a whole new way to shop for homes
• Many factors affect a home's value in the Phoenix real estate market
• Doing an appraisal and an inspection in advance could swing the balance toward home sellers in Phoenix
• Seller financing can give you an edge over your competition in the Phoenix real estate market
• A pocket history of production home-building in the Phoenix-area
• The psychology of pricing homes for a quicker sale in the Phoenix real estate market
• If you have cash or can qualify for a mortgage, this could be the ideal time to grab a bargain-priced home in the Phoenix area
• Strategy and timing are everything in making a purchase offer on your dream home
• Consumers to Realtors: 'Don't push me, I'll pull you instead -- and if you push too hard, I'll pull away'
• Phoenix-area home sellers who aren't motivated can create headaches
• Who pays when 'seller pays closing costs'? The buyer...
• Web site demonstrates how much work goes into staging a home for sale
• 'Cheap' Phoenix home may not be what it seems
• The goal of the BloodhoundBlog Unchained training conference is to push the bums out of the real estate business
• The Flip digital video camera makes illustrating real estate ideas fast, convenient and fun
• For-sale-by-owner home sellers can help move the real estate market into a new world for buyers
• An escape clause in real estate employment contracts would help everyone
• If you assume the worst, what can you do to get your Metro Phoenix home sold now?
• Let Realtor do his job and price your house for the Phoenix real estate marketplace
• A real estate sign of the times: Our first custom yard sign printed in both English and Spanish
• Selling your Phoenix-area home in a declining market? The race is to the swift
• Real estate web sites offer exciting options
• Are you an investor looking for a Phoenix-area rental home that will stay rented? Buy a home that's worth living in
• Here are some blogs that stay on top of the real estate market
• Dress up that custom weblog you've built to help sell your home
• Someday soon we may have to turn back the clock on home lending
• Doing the right kinds of repairs and remodeling to your home is the key to maintaining its resale value
• This just might be the optimal time to buy a home in Phoenix
• Price matters -- but so does everything else: When buyers come to see your home, they're looking for reasons to reject it, not to buy it
• The real estate market is still sizzling in Phoenix' West Valley
• Investors are coming back to the Phoenix rental home market -- and with the right business plan they'll make money
• How to take away buyers' objections to drawbacks in a home
• Cashing in on your $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit may take some effort in the current Phoenix real estate market
• Repeat after me: Mr. Realtor, what do you charge?
• This endless election season may give the real estate market time to self-correct before new legislation can make things worse
• Buy low? Sell high? You can't sell high for now, but prices are low enough that a buy-and-hold strategy could pay off handsomely
• Make your rooms make sense when selling your home
• The challenge for Realtors and lenders in the future: How do you sell to consumers who don't want to be sold?
• Celebrating the father of our freedoms: The freedom to own real estate
• Arizona real estate licensing fuels debate
• Communication is a good reason to use Realtor
• For some, the most financially-astute course of action may be to fake their way to foreclosure
• Musical chairs: You can buy a home on leased land for a bargain price, but you must be prepared to sell before the music stops
• A short list of questions serves to answer why Arizona's real estate license laws should be repealed
• Does your smart-phone hold within it the future of real estate marketing?
• Who pays whom for real estate? Follow the money...
• On-line real estate databases can fall short of buyers' and sellers' needs
• Be careful what you sign with your real estate broker
• How much should you put down as an earnest deposit on a home purchase?
• Arizona State vs. Zillow.com will be a lengthy bout
• The $8,000 first-time home-buyers tax credit gets even juicier
• Helping my clients make a great deal on a new home purchase in Phoenix even better
• A vacant residential property requires attention, espcially in the Phoenix area
• Real estate representation has never been about information brokerage
• A home seller who doesn't move out on time can create a legal tangle
• 'Homey' feel is a lure for attracting women home buyers
• Price your Phoenix-area home right and it will sell
• Phoenix home sellers should select a price to make their house stand out in the marketplace
• Cutting out the middle man in a real estate sale might cost you
• Despite the hype, the long-term trend of home prices in Phoenix is still steadily downward
• Do you want to save money in the Phoenix real estate market? Stop shopping for bargains and start shopping for value instead.
• Short-term interest hikes shouldn't discourage Phoenix-area home buyers
• You'll like the Phoenix real estate market better in April...
• Is Phoenix a buyer's market? You bet, but even more than that, it's a Realtor's market
• New Arizona real-estate licensing law fails consumers
• The price downturn in the Phoenix real estate market is less than scary
• The bottom of the Phoenix real estate market may be in sight -- but, alas, the end is not near
• The Greater Phoenix real estate market is slow, but it's not on life support
• How low can they go? Negotiating a real estate bargain in the Phoenix real estate market
• A skilled Realtor in the Phoenix real estate market is the bargain of lifetime
• Two out of three ain't bad when buying a home in Phoenix
• Video has a place in home sales, but use it wisely
• Picture this: Digital photos can sell your home in the Valley of the Sun
• Other types of credit may be feeling the crunch, but home mortgages are still readily available
• Mortgage meltdown? The end of the world has been delayed again
• Want to stop sprawl in Metropolitan Phoenix? Government needs to stay out of the real estate business
• You probably won't sell your home for an above-market price, but even if you do, the home still has to appraise for that price
• Fishing for the details takes the fun out of real estate fish stories
• Little white signs are tin-eared real estate marketing
• Online real estate search can be fun, but it offers too few details
• Government interference will prolong housing woes
• Choosing second-best could get you the best possible home
• Foreclosures are bringing unscrupulous practices back to the Phoenix real estate market
• Seriously, who's a better risk for a mortgage than someone who has already lost a home to foreclosure?
• Unleashing the power of internet technology on real estate transactions
• Win-win deals are best for home buyers
• If you don't have to sell into the current Phoenix real estate market -- don't. But what if you do have to sell...?
• Private ownership of the land is the source not just of our freedom but of our civility and of our humanity itself
• Remodeling your home -- if you do it right -- can add to your enjoyment now and to your resale value later
• Restoring a bargain-priced lender-owned home is easy -- if you have cash -- but a HUD 203k rehab loan makes it easy even if you don't
• The MLS 'ad' crackdown is a waste of time
• Has the Phoenix real estate market turned the corner? It's too early to tell, but May's results suggest we may be nearing the bottom
• Timid real estate investor lost chance for large Phoenix area rental home gain
• The buyer's agent is the unsung hero of the home-buying process
• Looking for the bottom? Real estate speculators are establishing the bottom-dollar price for lender-owned homes in Phoenix
• Blogs can help Realtors connect with communities
• Getting a home inspection is important, but don't let it scare you off
• Taking the pulse of the Phoenix real estate market: Boom? Bust? Both?
• Looking for a bargain-priced home in the Phoenix area? If you don't Flinch!, the seller will
• Seller's paying of closing costs could be a win-win situation for first-time home buyers
• What went wrong in the Phoenix real estate market? We told homeowners to treat their homes like securities investments – and they did...
• 'U.S adults' may not want foreclosed homes, but homebuyers sure do
• First-time home buyers' search provides good lessons for both buyers and sellers
• The best estimate of the value of a home comes from an appraiser
• Tips for Phoenix real estate investors on avoiding unexpected fees and penalties
• The Phoenix real estate market will turn around when our population rises to match our housing supply
• 'Fizzbos' fizzle because of three key marketing issues
• With its new iPhone application, Trulia.com is taking on-line real estate search to the streets
• Looking to make changes in an older production home? Within limits, you can do just about anything you want
• Looking for a bargain in Phoenix real estate? Add some elbow grease to your money and go for a bank-owned home
• Down Payment Assistance is another creative financing option you can deploy to make sure yours is the home that sells
• Why didn't your Phoenix-area house sell? Price, preparation, presentation -- and availability
• Homeowners associations (HOAs) don't deserve hate; they have a purpose
• Getting a $15,000 tax credit when you purchase your next home could be as easy as stealing candy from a baby...
• Will Realtors be disintermediated by on-line tools? Probably not, but tech-savvy Realtors will supplant those who do not adapt
• Despite condo trend, the single-family home is still king in the Greater Phoenix real estate market
• A recent refinancing can make selling a house costly in the Phoenix real estate market
• Your rental home in Phoenix will generate positive cash flow -- but will it appreciate significantly in the coming years?
• Fannie and Freddie fall to foreclosure, but, still, lenders lend
• There's more to the mortgage relief bill than just mortgage relief