Phoenix Coyotes - A Team on the Rise

You may not even be aware that Phoenix has its own NHL team - the Coyotes. This past season the team posted its worst record in the last ten years, going 31-46-5. There is much to be hopeful about however. The team has a new General Manager, Don Maloney, who promises to turn the team into a winner.

Maloney is the former GM for the New York Islanders and assistant GM of the New York Rangers, so he brings many years of quality hockey management experience to the table. Only hours after being introduced to the media as the new GM, he joined Coyotes scouts at the NHL combines.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who is the team's coach and managing partner, is excited about working with Maloney to rebuild the team into a contender. The team has a lot of salary cap room and hopes to use Maloney's tallents to maximize its salary spend in the coming seasons to build a team from the group up, without overpaying.

So...if you're into hockey and want to be witness a rising young team, coached by possibly the greatest hockey player of all time...you need to come to Phoenix! And we're here to help you find your perfect home. Just give us a call!

The Mayo Clinic: One More Big Reason to Move to Scottsdale

The Mayo Clinic is consistently ranked as one of the top hospitals in the country. Its' very name is synonymous with top notch medical care. And it's another BIG reason to consider making Scottsdale, Arizona your home. There are only three states that have a Mayo Clinic location - and one of those states is Arizona.

The Arizona Mayo Clinic is located on a 284 acre plot of the Sonoran Desert in Scottsdale, right at the foot of the McDowell Mountains. It is a wonderful place to renew your health, away from everyday stress.

Mayo Clinic describes itself as "a not-for-profit medical practice dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of virtually every type of complex illness." It is the world's largest integrated, not-for-profit medical group, with over 2,500 doctors.

It's no secret that if you have a serious illness, there is nowhere you could go for better care than Mayo. We who live in Scottsdale or Phoenix are lucky enough to have this world class facility right in our own back yard.

If you have a serious medical condition and could benefit from living near Mayo, please contact Choice Group Realty today. A better life awaits you!

Phoenix-Area Real Estate - the Value of Staging

An interesting trend in the home market began developing as the real estate market slumped in Central Arizona: staged home decor.

The fact is that your existing home decor may not be appealing to potential purchasers of your home. And most people lack sufficient imagination to envision what your home might look like with a different decor. This lack of imagination could cost you a sale.

So don't make people use their imagination! Decorate your home with some new furnishings, artwork, rugs, or various wall decor. Relative to what you might earn by getting the full sales price for your home, it will be a bargain. The practice is called "staging". Staging typically costs from $500 - $1,500 to modest size homes - a lot less than it would probably cost you if you had to lower the price of your home!

When staging your home, don't go overboard. Stick with neutral colors and items that are the correct size for your home. All you're trying to do is show buyers the potential in your home.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, there are lots of people who are now in the business of staging homes for sellers. It might be a very good investment to hire one of these people to come in and stage your home. Your bottom line with thank you.

If you need help buying or selling a home in the Arizona/Scottsdale areas of Phoenix, call Choice Group Realty today!

Phoenix and Scottsdale's Mid-Century Gems

There is a movement in many Phoenix and Scottsdale neighborhoods to restore buildings built in the mid-twentieth century. Many of the buildings feature very distinctive architecture quite different from modern designs. The movement is especially strong in relation to homes from the period. There is even a web site devoted to the appreciation and restoration of mid-century commercial buildings and homes, www.modernphoenix.net.

With regard to homes from the era, it has resulted in very high demand, limited supply, and above average sale prices. There are just more people who want these homes than there are homes on the market. Little marketing has to be done and they often sell for 20% more than comparable homes.

Probably the most desirable of the mid-century homes are ones designed by or somehow associated with a few particular architects. The most notable of these includes Ralph Haver and Al Beadle, both of whom were local to Phoenix, as well as California architect Joseph Eichler. The homes are typically characterized by wide bands of windows, carports, and open floors.

Just a few neighborhoods identified as featuring these mid-century homes are Village Grove in Scottsdale, Paradise Gardens, and the Bon Vie condos in Central Scottsdale. There is a much more complete list at http://www.modernphoenix.net/neighborhoods.htm.

If you want to live in one of these mid-century gems...well, we can't guarantee it. But if you tell us what you are looking for, we will do our best to find it. We have hundreds of homes to show you, so the chances are excellent we have a home to show you that will be your dream home.

Places for Nature Lovers to Check Out Around Phoenix

Here are a few places you should check out around Phoenix, regardless if you live here or are just visiting:

Desert Botanical Garden
Located in Papago Park, the Desert Botanical Garden is about 50 acres of both native plant life as well as many rare and endangered plant species from around the world. There are five trails that can be followed through the garden: the Desert Discovery Trail, Sonoran Desert Nature Trail, Plants & People of the Sonoran Desert Trail, Harriet K. Maxwell Desert Wildflower Trail, and Center for Desert Living Trail. If you are into discovering and learning about beautiful plant life, you have got to check out the Desert Botanical Garden.
Visit http://www.dbg.org/ to learn more.

Phoenix Zoo
One of the younger zoos in the country, the Phoenix Zoo is completely non-profit and is funded by donors. It has also been voted one of the top five zoos in the nation for kids. The zoo is open year-round and is active in various wildlife conservation programs. The zoo has over 1,200 animals on 125 acres for your viewing. In addition to animal viewing, you can pedal boat on the zoo lake or ride the Safari Shuttle across the zoo. There are also concerts and various special events.
For more information, check out http://phoenixzoo.org

Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park
About 3,200 plants from all over the world's deserts can be seen in the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, which is Arizona's largest and oldest botanical garden. The arboretum has a 1.5 mile trail where most of the plants can be viewed. Over 250 species of birds have also been recorded at the arboretum.
For more information, check out http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu/

We've just begun to scratch the surface of the many, many places around Phoenix, Arizona created for nature lovers. And remember, if you would like to make this wonderful part of the country your home, contact Choice Group Realty today. We'll help you find your perfect home!

Dealing with the Arizona Heat

It gets hot here in Arizona - both in the desert and in the cities like Phoenix and Scottsdale. If you are moving here from a cooler location, there are some things you need to keep in mind for your own health and the health of others. Follow these rules and you will beat the heat:

If you are working or playing outside on a hot day, keep water nearby. And it is best not to be by yourself.

Do not go to sleep outside exposed to the sun.

NEVER leave children or pets in a car on a hot day. The temperature in the car will only be magnified, and it can be extremely dangerous.

It might be best to leave your air conditioning running to maintain a constant temperature in your home.

Do not walk barefoot outside on a hot day.

Do not touch metal objects that have been sitting in the sun.

Now, this advice can be applied to just about anywhere in the U.S. in the summertime - but Arizona is one of the hottest states, so these tips are even more critical here. We love the sun out here, but if you're not respectful of its power, you can really get burned...literally!

Arizona LEARNS - Researching Arizona Schools For Your Children

In 2002, Arizona governor Jane Dee Hull signed House Bill 2658, also known as "Arizona LEARNS." Arizona LEARNS is a rating system for Arizona schools that assigns one of four categories to schools:

Underperforming - does not yet meet state performance and progress goals.

Maintaining Performance - meets state performance goals; needs improvement to meet progress goals.

Improving - Exceeds state performance and progress goals.

Excelling - for grades K - 8, 90% of pupils passed all subject areas of the AIMS test and achieved one year of academic progress in all subject areas of the Arizona measure of academic progress; for grades 9 - 12, 90% of pupils passed all subject areas of the AIMS test, the dropout rate is 6% or less, and the school's graduation rate is 90% or better.

The current ratings are based on three years of performance. Arizona has received federal grant money that is to be used to improve underperforming schools.

If you would like to check on the scores of schools in an area where you are considering relocating, you can access this information at the following web site:

http://www.ade.az.gov/srcs/main.asp

The site has search functionality that lets you search for particular schools by school name, district, or zip code. You can also learn much more about Arizona's public schools here.

If you would like help locating the perfect home to go along with the perfect school for your children, contact Choice Group Realty. We're here to help!

Earth Friendly Building Materials in Arizona Homes

In continuing with the theme of our last blog post, we thought we would highlight a couple of options being used by Arizona builders for the construction of environmentally friendly homes.

One building material being used in some homes is a new kind of block made from a material called autoclaved aerated concrete ("AAC"). AAC is a precast, manufactured building block made from all-natural raw materials that is highly adaptable to different architectural needs. Although it has been used in Europe for many years, it is just now gaining traction in America. The blocks will not decompose and emit no harmful gases if burned. They also make a home nearly soundproof.

One Phoenix builder, Edwards Design Group, has opened its own AAC masonry group and uses the material in many homes they build.

To learn more about AAC, read this excellent article from pathnet.org.

Some builders are also building homes with lower energy costs by slightly reducing the size of the windows or placing a light tent on the windows. A talented builder will know how to seamlessly incorporate the windows into a home so they don't look unusual. An architect in Phoenix recently built the ultimate environmentally friendly home, using every state-of-the art technique available, including these types of windows. You can read more about it here.

To take a tour of "green" homes in and around the Phoenix area, call us today!

Scottsdale, Arizona: the Green City

In 2005, Scottsdale, Arizona became the first city in the U.S. to adopt a Gold policy from the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based national standards program for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings that is sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Scottsdale resolution which adopted the LEED Gold program requires that any new occupied city buildings be designed to achieve certification. Also, future building renovations and new non-occupied buildings should include as many LEED principles as possible.

Prior to the passing of the Gold policy resolution, way back in 1998, Scottsdale established the first Green Building Program in Arizona, which was a residential building program designed to encourage environmentally friendly building.

Last week, the Granite Reef Senior Center in Scottsdale became the city's first new building to be awarded LEED Gold certification. Also, last year, more than a third of all new single family building permits were for "green" homes.

So why should any of this matter to you? We just wanted to point out the environmentally aware culture of Scottsdale. This is a town that is on the cutting edge in terms of proscribing building measures that will insure the least negative impact to our environment and that reduce energy consumption. If you are an environment/energy-conscious person, there is no other city in the United States with more positive, "greener" residences that Scottsdale.

Choice Group Realty can help you find your perfect "green" home. Call us today!

Phoenix, Arizona: Let's Go River Rafting!

Today we thought we would talk a little about one of the greatest activities you can do while in the Phoenix, Arizona area: river rafting. Rafting is the act of utilizing a raft to navigate a river or other body of water. It is usually done on what is called "whitewater," which is water that has a bubbly, frothy appearance because of the rapid and unstable current. Whitewater rafting is an incredibly exhilarating experience, and central Arizona has some of the finest rafting in all the world. Following are a few companies you can contact to arrange a river rafting trip here:

Mild to Wild Rafting - www.mild2wildrafting.com - rafting tours on the Salt and Verde Rivers in lengths ranging from an afternoon to multi-day.

Desert Voyagers Guided Rafting Tour - www.desertvoyagers.com - specializing in trips that combine a desert jeep tour with river rafting.

Salt River Tubing & Recreation - www.saltrivertubing.com - spend the day or afternoon tubing the Lower Salt River rapids near Mesa, Arizona.

There are more rafting companies to choose from. We just wanted to get you started. If you do venture out into the river, remember to wear your life vest, wear shoes (to protect your feet from the rocky river bottom), stay sober, use sun block, and drink lots of water. Now get out there and experience some real river rafting, like only Arizona offers!

Cinco de Mayo, Cyclo de Mayo and More Good Times in Scottsdale

Here in this part of the country, we have a special fondness for Cinco de Mayo. Scottsdale will host this year's Cinco de Mayo festival at the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall on Friday, May 4th. The festival will include a performance by the Scottsdale International Club dancers, as well as music from other performers and arts & crafts, dancing, and lots more for the whole family.

Scottsdale is also hosting an event called Cyclo de Mayo, which is a series of 1o bicycle races held in the 5th Avenue area on Sunday, May 6th. The races take place on a half-mile, grand prix style course. There will be live bands and a kid zone. For more information, visit www.proconcyclingaz.com.

If bicycling isn't your thing, how about some frisbee? The Ultimate Frisbee Association is holding a tournament at CAP Basin Sports Complex. Ultimate frisbee is a sport similar to football, except the players pass a frisbee instead of a ball. You have to see it to believe it.

These are only a few of the activities going on this weekend around the city of Scottsdale, Arizona. This high energy city is always providing its citizens with plenty to do.

If you would like to learn how to make Scottsdale YOUR home, just give us a call!

The Apache Trail...Superstition Mountains...the Mystery of Apache Trail, Arizona

Apache Junction is a small town in our areas of coverage, and one of the more unique ones. The town of approximately 32 thousand is located on the border of Pinal and Maricopa County. It takes its name from its proximity to the junction of the Apache Trail and Highway 60. Apache Junction (which the locals often call "AJ") is a popular retirement destination. It lacks the glamour of some of its neighboring towns but retains more of that Old West spirit.

Much of the popular film Raising Arizona was filmed there, which is appropriate given the curious nature of the town. For instance, the town is situated at the start of the Apache Trail, which was a stagecoach trail through the Superstition Mountains. The Superstition Mountains, often referred to as "the Superstitions", are a beautiful range of dessert mountains that now anchor the federally-designated Superstition Mountain Wilderness Area.

Apache Junction is also said to be in the general area of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, a legendary gold mine that, according to its tale, is cursed or protected by spirit guardians. The area is now a designated wilderness area and mining is not allowed.

To say there is a lot of history and legend associated with the land that is now Apache Junction would be an understatement.

If you'd like to give Apache Junction a try, call us today. We can show your properties there, as well as Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, and many more towns and neighborhoods. We're here to help you find your perfect home.