Nick Bastian's Blog

Interestingly enough, the Phoenix Convention Center is expected to be complete in December 2008. The last of the construction, the "North Building", will open to conventions in January 2009. It just so happens that our Light Rail system that will connect Phoenix to Tempe and Mesa is scheduled to begin carrying passengers in December of 2008. Sounds like some pretty good timing for both as they will surely compliment each other.
The following picture looks at the new Light Rail stop at Washington and 3rd St which is right next to the 2 new buildings called the West Building and the North Building. (There is also a "South" Building)

I took all of these pictures while I was down town last week as I thought the construction of this huge, $600 million expansion of the Convention Center was a very interesting project. The tie in between the Convention Center and Light Rail makes a lot of sense to me. I can see a huge benefit to convention goers and business travelers wanting an easy way to get around town to restaurants, shopping or to take in some sights at a near by museum, hit the Symphony etc. The first picture below is a West bldg entrance from 2nd street. This building has already been opened for business. The other pic is from 3rd Street and shows construction of the North Building. There will be a walk way over 3rd Street connecting the two buildings. The North building alone takes up a whole city block, has 635,000 square feet of event space and a 45,000-square-foot ballroom.

The construction in this area has been a massive undertaking for a very long time. Between the Convention Center and Light Rail, you can imagine how the near by business owners must feel. Of course, the benefits should be great once these two projects are complete. There are programs to help business owners but the reality is that these projects will probably not help out much until they begin getting people in the seats. The pic below shows a sign located at the S/E corner of Washington and 3rd which is next to the "South" building. It shows a sign for Kincaids notifying people that they are open during construction. Just so you know, Kincaids is a really good spot for lunch! :-)

In the past, we have mentioned some of Tempe's outdoor activities so I thought I'd share a little bit about the Arts scene as well.. Tempe. AZ has a really great Arts and Entertainment "vibe" that is supported by many different parts of our community. In fact, if you go to the City of Tempe site, you will find an "events calendar" for "Arts". There, you will also find information about the Tempe Historical Museum.

One of the many really fun events is the Tempe Festival of the Arts held on the "famous" Mill Avenue. While the Tempe Festival of the Arts primarily focuses on art and the artists that create it, there are also a wide variety of other activities for guests to enjoy. Live entertainment stages and performances by a number of well-known local musicians provide musical entertainment for festival-goers. The newest addition to the Tempe Festivals of the Arts is the ARIZONA WINE FESTIVAL. Arizona wine growers will be on hand for tastings at a nominal fee, and will be selling their fruits of the vine on-site! You have GOT to come check this out!

ASU's Gammage Theater is another great asset to our community. Frank Lloyd Wright's final design, Gammage is an amazing performing arts facility at Arizona State University. The 3,000-seat performance hall has been host to many national and international dance companies, Broadway plays as well as hundreds of well-known celebrities, politicians, musicians and performers. I recall watching the Phantom of the Opera there several years ago as it played to many sold out shows.

The recently opened Tempe Center for the Arts is truly an amazing place. The facility boasts of being a state-of-the-art, 600-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat studio theater and a 3,500 square-foot gallery. I have enjoyed the Lakesideviews overlookimg Tempe Town Lake, along with views of the Papago and Camelback mountains, The outdoor patios and restaurant/bar area can be a great place for a meeting.

Another Tempe venue is the Marquee Theatre. Located on the North side of Town Lake and near by one of our future light rail stops, this place has "played em' all." The Marquee is just north of Mill Avenue where you can find live music as well. Around here, it is easy to find some really great entertainment.

To Live, work and play, our great city is hard to beat! The Tempe Parks n Recreation Department has MANY opportunities for it's citizens to partake in all kinds of arts and hobby classes. There really can be something here for just about everyone! 

If you have any questions about the community of Tempe Arizona, please feel free to visit our web site at http://www.nickbastian.com/ or feel free to call us at 602-803-6425 or toll free at 1-888-343-6425.

I'm sure many people are aware that there are tons of loan programs and down payment assistance programs available to buyers. When a potential buyer has "decent" credit but "no" money, it often becomes a request for the seller to "contribute X% of the sales price towards buyers closing costs / pre-paids." Sometimes it is 6%, 3%, 2% or what ever amount you want to use but heres the deal.. Over the past few years, when the market was in over-drive, it was pretty easy to add the number to the sales price and have the buyer "finance" the costs. As we ALL know, underwriters are looking at values pretty closely these days and that scenario has changed quite a bit.

Now that FHA loans are coming back in a big way (at last in our market) I am seeing more AmeriDream type of loans. People that couldn't afford a home before are starting to look again and hopefully, that will be a good thing for the market. The problem can be when more assistance is "needed" vs. how much a seller is willing or able to contribute. With aggressive pricing being the key to getting offers, we sometimes find it to be more difficult to pay 6% in costs. So here is my problem...

Agents are asking me to raise the price in the MLS after they raise their offer to cover costs. This practice, to me, screams... Hey, come and take my real estate license! I have a feeling that, raising a price for the sole reason of trying to get a lender to hit a number is not something to be taken lightly.

When I have the discussion with my clients (mainly sellers), I have yet to have one disagree with me that one sale is not worth one "investigation." I do not try to call a buyer's agent fraudulent as most times they really don't think there is anything wrong with this practice and it can cause some interesting conversations. However, I prefer to address these things before they become a problem.

So, what do you think?? Is it ok to change the list price in the MLS AFTER a contract has been negotiated?

In December of 2008, Arizona will have a brand new Light Rail system running from Phoenix through Tempe and in to Mesa via a 20 mile "starter" line. Tempe is a centrally located city surrounded by freeways, minutes from Sky Harbor Airport and is conveniently located near jobs, and many different housing options.  Our community bus system is growing in popularity but the coming Light Rail line will have a huge impact for many ASU students and Tempe residents. As you can see from the map, Light Rail will run East/West along Apache turning North/West through the heart of ASU, past Sun Devil Stadium and through the Mill Avenue District until heading North over the Tempe Town Lake Bridge.

For sports fans, the rail line is going to be a true gem! There is a stop right outside of Sun Devil Stadium as well as stops near the Suns and Diamondbacks stadiums making it very convenient to get to and from the games!

Investment opportunities along the line in commercial, industrial and residential real estate have been the talk of many brokers, politicians and developers. The amount of development that has already occurred along the line is impressive but looks like it will continue to grow as the line becomes operational.

As our valley has spread out quite a bit over the years. Many people are re-thinking their desire to drive a million miles per year and are choosing to live closer in towards the Valley's core. For convenience, Tempe is about as good as it gets and with the new Light Rail System, it just keeps getting better!

Here is a short video taken during a recent test of the new light rail cars in Phoenix.

To Live, work and play, our great city is hard to beat! Tempe is very centrally located with easy access to our freeway systems and to the airport. Here, you will find some amazing housing opportunities, a great arts community, wonderful restaurants, great schools, lot's of different jobs, enthusiastic sports fans and a wonderful lifestyle in an amazingly convenient location that is close to many of the things our great state has to offer.

If you have any questions about the community of Tempe Arizona, please feel free to visit our web site at http://www.nickbastian.com/ or feel free to call us at 602-803-6425 or toll free at 1-888-343-6425.

With the rapid growth of Arizona's housing market, you find a lot of homes in neighborhoods that all look the same. Tile roof, stucco exterior, 2 car garage and a color scheme that makes it hard to determine which house is which in certain subdivisions. It is always interesting to me to see homes in different parts of the country and to see how we compare to other states. Some states, basements are common. Some areas, brick construction might be more popular than frame construction. Urban markets, rural markets, they all have interesting aspects. Heck, even the different heating and cooling systems vary from town to town. Where you are from, what is your favorite type of home?

The last week in a half has been nice to be able to represent a few listings that truly stand out from their neighbors. 

For instance: Very few homes in Sarival Gardens have a work shop like this home in Goodyear. For a hobbyist, car lover or owner of a lot of "toys," this place could be just like Heaven, on Earth. With approximately 1500 square feet, t is heated, cooled, has a shower, sink and everything a guy (or gal) could want for getting away and working in the garage! How cool is that!?!? Oh yeah, the main house is nearly 3000 square feet and this all is located on over an acre of land that is irrigated.

In Gold Canyon, the area is simply gorgeous and you can usually find a great home with some amazing mountain views. BUT, the combination of this back yard with these gorgeous views make this one really stand out! Imagine having your own swim up bar, your own water slideand a true resort style feeling right in your back yard! The house is to die for and the huge covered patio will not disappoint anyone that enjoys the out doors.

Dobson Ranch is a well established neighborhood, in a great location close to freeways etc.. However, like most of Arizona, basement homes are pretty rare. We are seeing some builders offer the option of adding a basement but.. Try to find a Dobson Ranch basement home for only $230,000! Here is your chance! Another cool bonus to this one is the proximity to the community center which is is just a few doors down at the end of the block!

These are a few example of some "non cookie cutter" homes in some great areas. Feel free to check out our properties page for more information about these homes or use our web site to search the Arizona mls for any other fun places to live.

Many people know that I truly love living and working in Tempe, AZ. While our great state has many quality communities and a diverse job base, I can think of no place I'd rather live.

By far, the largest employer in our City is Arizona State University employing over 10,500 people! ASU is a huge campus on approximately 700 acres with many fascinating and ever growing research and development sectors. While the list of Tempe's Top Employersis extensive, it would be hard to get the feeling for how nice the community is by reading the list. Many of the smaller, "mom and pop" shops tend to give us some great character. The bustling Mill Avenue District is becoming a very "cool" place for some small yet "hot" technology companies. Speaking of technology companies, Tempe is home to over 300 of them!

I have been fortunate to work with people from many of the large companies that have a presence in our city. Some of those companies include:

1. Honeywell - 2350+  employees

2. Freescale - 1500+   employees

3. US Airways - 2000+ employees

4. Motorola - 1490+  employees

5. Wells Fargo - 2300+  employees

6. Rockford Corp. 450  employee       

     (these are numbers provided by the City of Tempe)

Some of the other large employers that you might have heard of would be: Ikea, Wal-Mart, Marriot, Bank of America, State Farm and Chase Bank.

I can remember when Google opened their Tempe office, it made quite a buzz. The move made sense, partly because of their proximity to ASU and partly because of the presence of what has been called a talented labor pool.

Not all of the jobs revolve or reside right by campus. In fact, South Tempe has a lot of quality commercial space available and the fact that our city is basically surrounded by freeways, helps with shipping and distribution. Many of these companies also enjoy the proximity to the ASU Research Park located near the 101 freeway and Warner Road.

To Live, work and play, our great city is hard to beat! Tempe is very centrally located with easy access to our freeway systems and to the airport. Here, you will find some amazing housing opportunities, a great arts community, wonderful restaurants, great schools, lot's of different jobs, enthusiastic sports fans and a wonderful lifestyle in an amazingly convenient location that is close to many of the things our great state has to offer.

If you have any questions about the community of Tempe Arizona, please feel free to visit our web site at http://www.nickbastian.com/ or feel free to call us at 602-803-6425 or toll free at 1-888-343-6425.

I got a letter this past week from a local television station inviting me to a seminar concerning a new marketing campaign focusing on local real estate. Now, I'm not sure how "exclusive" this really is because they offered two different days to attend. The interesting part had to do with them telling me (us) of a new year long television and internet campaign "limited to participation by a select number of Arizona's finest real estate agents." How could I say no to that? :-) I'm pretty sure they are trying to sell a new product or generate more ad dollars for themselves but, what do you think? Worth the trip? Heck, if nothing else they will probably serve lunch, won't they? :-)

The promise of launching a "truly unique marketing campaign" sounds fun.. Maybe they are finally learning to blog? lol.. In another week and a half, I should know the scoop.. Who knows, maybe it will be fun! Maybe I can start getting 100,000 hits a day at NickBastian.com - Maybe it will be a waste of time? Maybe I'll have an even better year next year? If interested, I'll let ya know.

I was recently invited to preview the new AURA at Camelback project at their Phoenix sales center. ( Here is a newspaper article about Aura.) At the preview party, the developer ran some video renditions of the new development and had drawings/ plans etc. available for us to check out. It was one of those things where pretty people pass out fancy little finger foods and offer you wine so we will fall in love with the community.. Some one has to do it..

Aura calls itself "Sustainable Luxury Living."  The concept was very interesting and this upscale condo project that will be in the beautiful "Camelback Corridor," has a lot of features that will give it the "green effect" they want. According to their web site, " One exciting, environmentally conscious outcome of Aura at Camelback will be to leverage solar technology in ways that the Valley has never before experienced. Aura at Camelback is on track to be the benchmark and set the stage for solar residential power projects in Arizona. Aura at Camelback is so unique because every single home in the Community will have immense solar capacity, saving up to 75 percent on electricity costs. Residents will have all the power they need and it will be power from the sun." The solar aspect was interesting to me as I was able to meet and talk to people from Agenera. These are the guys that provide the Solar power for the units. They had a true passion for the project and brought along a "sample panel" that looks nothing like the old style panels from back in the 80's. Aura's brochure mentions "saving up to 75 percent on electricity costs." which would be a welcome change in Arizona during our hot summer months. Other features of the project were dual flush toilets, low-flow shower heads, loe-E windows, underground parking, private elevators and the use of a lot of "open space" within the community. Pave stones will be used around the exterior of the development instead of concrete or asphalt to keep from adding to the heat-island effect. These 36 townhouses should break ground soon with first occupants moving in around mid-2009. Current pricing was quoted in one brochure as being from the $800's to $1.2 million. The units range in size from 2469 - 3147 square feet. - wanna take a look? I have some brochures etc.. So, "Just Call Nick" and I'll give you some more of the scoop. :-)