Flagstaff Blog - Real Estate and All Things Flagstaff: June 2007

Fire Outbreaks Remind Flagstaff - ‘Tis the Season

This week, I was asked, how do I know it's summer in Flagstaff? My off-the-cuff answer was: because I wake up in the morning and see an elk drinking from our bird-feeder. On further reflection, the primary reason that I know its summer is because it is fire season. Both, of course, relate to the early summer lack of moisture that precedes the rains we look forward to in later summer.  

Last weekend, it was the Manning Fire. Eighteen acres of charred ruins now spread from Townsend Winona Road to the edge of a home where the fire fighters successfully held back the flames at the end of Manning Road. The Rio Rancho subdivision was set for evacuation with homeowners borrowing backhoes to dig trenches before they left and horses were moved out in advance of the formal evacuation. This weekend in Doney Park, a smaller fire was contained to 1.5 acres at Landfill Road.

Friday, I was driving up San Francisco Street in downtown Flagstaff and saw a slurry tanker plane. At first, I thought it was a plane off course and about to crash. No, it was one of the heroic fire-fighting pilots, risking his life flying close to the ground and close to Mt. Elden to drop slurry on a carelessly caused fire on the east side of McMillen Mesa. The Isabel fire, it was called, and it was held to five acres. The Arizona Daily Sun has published some incredible photos of the plane's work: Izabel Fire 1 and Izabel Fire 2.

At the same time Friday, smoke could be seen to the north west of town as a wildfire about 8 miles north worried residents of the Wing Mountain and Baderville neighborhoods. This was the Wing Fire, which had burned 25 acres by late Friday.

This is a good time to remind Flagstaffonians to prepare their homes for wildfire. I blogged on this topic in April, with tips on how to prepare your home for wildfire season.  Last weekend, our friends came over for dinner to review our fire evacuation plans - including relocating our horses to their place, or vice versa. We hope everyone in town has an evacuation plan. And we hope more fervently that none of us need it!

Now it's time to ask our summer visitors to be careful with their campfires, cigarettes, and patriotic fire tools. Campfires are now banned in the Coconino National Forest until further notice. Fire restrictions are in place at Grand Canyon National Park. The Manning fire was caused by a cigarette tossed from a car along the road and the Izabel fire by 4^th of July sparklers. Remember that sparks from backyard barbeques can also endanger a neighborhood.

Enjoy the summer in Flagstaff and Be Safe!

Things to Do in Flagstaff

 For Flagstaff real estate

Beautiful and Incredibly Functional Westside Flagstaff Home - Minutes from Historic Downtown

This unique and wonderful home sits on over five acres and is less than five minutes from historic downtown Flagstaff. A gracious automatic gate opens to an impressive tree-lined drive to the five-bedroom home. Grand entrance to the main part of the home is in the front, yet there is a ramp for easier access from the rear. Lower level can be a completely separate guest apartment, or a recreational retreat. The deck wraps fully around the home and will surprise you with its ingenious design for extreme low-maintenance. This picture is of the rear of the home, including the pond:

Property Highlights

•  5.15 acres within the City limits of Flagstaff - Westridge subdivision
•  Heavily treed, but thinned so that the sunlight dapples the ground
• Deer and Elk roam freely and no need to travel for bird-watching
• Privacy - never see into your neighbors' windows - even from your own fence line
•  Fenced completely around the perimeter, with wrought-iron on the street side and attractive brick gateposts
•  Automatic gate with several settings available and southwest metal sculpture on the gate itself
•  A variety of deciduous trees in addition to the natural lodge pole pines
•  Pond with brick walkway from the home and sitting area
• 2500 square foot main living area with over 1000 sq. ft. guest quarters or recreation center downstairs - a total of 3524 square feet of livable space
• Attached garage downstairs from main home and 2000 sq. ft. detached garage/workshop
• Brick cistern house with two sand filters for use of water collected on site as well as hauled water
• Standard septic
• Garden beds
• Deck - both covered and uncovered, which surrounds the home on all sides. This unique feature will never require staining since it is covered with tennis court material!
• Handicap accessible (details below)
• Wine cave large enough for eight of your favorite cases of wine
• Property will come with detailed owner's manual that will make living here a breeze

Living Room/Foyer

• Can you say "huge?" - The foyer can hold a piano!
• Built-in entertainment center - 42 inch plasma television monitor, DVD, VHS, STV Satellite, and four surround-sound speakers in foldaway location
• Brick, wood-burning fireplace
• Excellent windows bring the beautiful outdoors in
• Railed platform landing perfect for giving your retirement speech
• New, neutral carpet
• Vaulted ceiling
• Living room flows to perfect sunroom

Sunroom

• Sunroom rests adjacent to the living and dining room on the south side of the home. An inviting, warm, relaxing place 
• TV can be swiveled to be seen from living room or sunroom
• Fully insulated floor makes this a true indoor space, even though the view is as though you were outside

Formal Dining Room

• Windows bring the outside in from two sides
• Wood floors
• Adjacent to sunroom and living room as well as kitchen

Kitchen

• So many cabinets, and two pantry closets
• Island
• Triple sink
• View of backyard pond
• Sliding doors to covered patio dining area as well as the full deck

Bedroom Wing

• Gallery-style hallway
• Master suite:
• Large master bedroom looks toward the pond in the rear of the property
• Vaulted ceiling in master bedroom
• HUGE master closet with great built-in storage
• Jacuzzi tub with view and chandelier
• Large shower
• Private commode
• Hall bath with new Kohler shower doors
• Two additional bedrooms (the corner room is set up as an office)
• Laundry

Downstairs

• Wine cellar
• Pump station
• Two indoor parking spaces
• Exercise room
• Storage area
• Chair-lift between upper and lower levels (this plus rear ramp to home makes main level fully handicap accessible)
• Separate livable area - see next section!

Guest Apartment - or Your Own Recreational Retreat

• Remodeled in 2002 as in-law quarters - fully handicapped accessible
• Or, imagine the space as your recreational retreat, with media room, billiard table and whatever other indoor toys you love
• 1085 square feet - now furnished as luxury apartment
• Living room with cozy fireplace
• Nifty kitchen with breakfast bar pass-through to living area
• Two bedrooms
• Great bathroom with roll-in shower
• Entrance from downstairs of main home or from front patio area

Exterior Features

• Stairs, railings, and accessibility ramp in rear of home are low maintenance, sturdy metal material
• Decking is durable outdoor tennis court material
• Brick construction
• Asphalt shingle roof
• Under deck storage for gardening equipment
• Garden beds
• Brick pathway to pond and contemplative sitting area
• Attractive brick water storage and sand-filter building
• Four-bay workshop/garage with wood-burning heater and rest room - two of the four bays are large enough for large boat or RV storage (12 foot doors) and two have 8 foot doors
• Gravel and cinder drive
• Full metal ramp for wheel-chair access to main level of home from exterior
• Deck wraps around all sides of the home - including covered deck areas in front and back (as well as open deck on all sides of the home)

This home was originally built in 1986. A variety of functional and decorative updates have occurred over the years. The downstairs suite was added in 2002.

Virtual Tour

Visit our Team website to learn all about Flagstaff real estate

Another fun weekend in Flagstaff - Coming Up:

Friday, June 22  Movies on the Square, Downtown at Heritage Square, entertainment at 6:00 p.m., movie at dusk, free. Bring blankets and chairs for an evening of family fun under the stars. Happy Feet

June 23-24 Annual Flagstaff Music Festival  at Heritage Square, 2:00-10:00 p.m., free,.  Features local talents the Foot Solejahs, Sir Harrison and the Blues Kings, The Buzzard Brothers, Ray Rossi Band, Backroads and others. A benefit for the Mary Crawley Memorial Student Aide Scholarship Fund.

Sunday, June 24 Old Caves Pueblo Hike from Silver Saddle Road. Start at the Silver Saddle trailhead, 8:00-10:30 a.m., free. More info 928-526-1157 ext. 273,   .  A moderately difficult hike to explore the last Sinagua settlement. Bring hiking shoes and water. Sponsored by the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service Interpretive Partnership Program.

Sunday, June 24 Flagstaff Historic Walking Tour, starts at the Flagstaff Visitor Center, 1 E Route 66, 10:00 a.m., donations appreciated. Local historians and authors Richard and Sherry Mangum, in period costume, will lead a 90-minute tour back into the colorful early days of Flagstaff. Limited to 60 people; reserve your spot by calling: 928-774-8800

Sunday, June 24 Elden Pueblo Public Day, Elden Pueblo Ruins, 1 mi. north of Flagstaff Mall on Hwy. 89 at Townsend-Winona Rd., 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., tours at 10:00 a.m., noon and 2:00 p.m., free, 928-527-3475. Learn about archaeology in Flagstaff with a site tour, actual excavation, artifact analysis, atlatl and rabbit stick throw!

Sunday, June 24 Hot Tuna Acoustic, at The Orpheum Theater, 15 W. Aspen Ave., 8:00 p.m., $22/25/30/33, 928-556-1580. The Acoustic blues by this Jefferson Airplane spin-off are some of the best. (21+ unless with parent.)

For more information about Flagstaff, Flagstaff Information and Links

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Contact Team Heitland for Flagstaff real estate information

Two Important Community Forums in Flagstaff This Week:

Forum on Growth, Wednesday night at the Federated Church (Aspen and Sitgreves). 7-9 p.m. This is the second forum on growth issues and is sponsored by the American Association of Univerisity Women and the League of Women Voters. A panel of community leaders will answer questions from the audience about development and growth issues in Flagstaff.

Community Forum to Get to Know the Final Candidates for Flagstaff City Manager, Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel. Hear from the two finalists and ask them questions.

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More Flagstaff Community Information

I've been taken to task for writing "political" opinions on this blog before, but to me everything comes back to real estate. On this issue, I've been mulling a lot lately. I think that we all should get behind the Kennedy/Bush immigration bill.  Sure I don't like everything about it. But, darn it, that's what "compromise" is all about. This issue has been plaguing the country for over three decades. We are at and beyond the crisis point. Doing nothing because we can't agree on everything is not a solution.

Let's not just think in terms of legalities and the moral rightness of who gets to be here and who doesn't. And let's not just think about businesses whose employment practices aren't up to snuff or the wage earners whose jobs supposedly are taken away by immigrants. (I haven't really seen any of these, but here I am getting away from the compromise part.)

Instead, let's think demographics - something we as Realtors® should always keep an eye on. Dowell Myers, a demographer at the University of Southern California, has a book called "Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America." The Wall Street Journal quotes Dr. Myers as saying: "Immigrants and baby boomers are two groups whose destinies are converging in the next 20 years," says Dowell Myers, a demographer at the University of Southern California. "Baby boomers will surrender their economic role to this generation of immigrants and their children," who will evolve into a critical pool of laborers and taxpayers, he says. This is not new. Where would this country be if the wave of European immigrants had not settled the Midwest in early and mid-19^th Century? Where would we be without the wave of Asian immigrants that flooded the west coast in the late-19^th Century?

As a baby-boomer, I have a large interest in getting people to start paying social security taxes on all the wages that are earned in this country. As a Realtor® I have an interest in having people who are earning wages here thinking of investing those wages in housing in this country. On NPR this week, I heard coverage of the existence of eerie ghost towns in Mexico with brand new wonderful homes that have been built with funds sent back by people working in the U.S., but not able to occupy the homes because they continue to work in the U.S. Wouldn't it be better for all of us if they were buying homes here, paying taxes here, and, yes, "earning their way to citizenship" so we can separate real workers from drug-smugglers and terrorists?

This may be the first time since January 2001, but I'm saying I agree with the President (and, of course, Senator Ted Kennedy). Let's stop talking about how tall and how wide the wall has to be built and reach a compromise.

I did my quadrennial ethics class this week. The scenarios were good. The instructor was enthusiastic.  But the material out of the National Association of Realtors®  needs help. They do the same class every four years - why not have a 1,2,3 with some advanced material for people who have taken it before? Furthermore, the party line that the Code of Ethics is "black and white" is nuts. If it were black and white, there would not be so many standards of practice and annual revisions, nor a need to do scenarios and have discussion. The Articles of the Code interact with each other - we can't just pick one and say it's the only one that applies to the scenario.  Get with it NAR!

The Code, whose first version was adopted by NAR in 1913 -- long before there were any government licensing requirements, is a great concept and a useful learning tool and guide for practicing agents. There should be more public education about it as well as Realtor® education.

Ann Heitland, working in Flagstaff real estate

Two great events in Flagstaff this weekend (plus lots of other fun). Here are the two "green" picks:

The Flagstaff Sustainable Living Fair will be a grassroots event focused on community education and fun, an outreach to people of all ages. Renewable energy and sustainability developments are really important for mankind's future and they need to be kept visible. Where the science of global warming is becoming pretty well accepted, reasonable people can still disagree about when or whether energy and resource scarcity will become a problem for mankind. Teaching and demonstrating ways to reduce our demand for power and global resources can help reduce the potential for this problem, and will always be one of the most constructive things we can do for ourselves and for our descendants. There is a charge for parking at the Coconino County fairground, but they are running buses from other locations. Check out the website for specific information.

Arboretum's 22nd Annual Plant Sale and Garden Fair -- Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In addition to the plant sale, enjoy a selection of Arboretum-themed merchandise and gardening books.

 Have fun!

Ann Heitland, Flagstaff real estate

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             Here is the Flagstaff market report as included in ou client newsletter, mailed earlier this month:

            The number of homes listed for sale in the Flagstaff area continued to rise during the month of May, according to statistics of the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors^® Multiple-Listing Service. Nine hundred forty-seven homes were listed on MLS as of June 3, 2007. This is an increase from 739 on April 3 and 892 on May 3. The number of homes sold did not increase proportionately, thus raising the number of months a home can be expected to take to sell.  The expected length of time to sell in the overall market is substantially higher than last year (4.59 months last year compared to 9.47 months now). As I have said in past reports, the average and median prices are impossible to compare to last year because of the flood of condos now on the market from apartment conversions. This is an entirely new product to the Flagstaff market that has reduced the prices overall. These condos are selling at a brisk rate, especially the units named "The Villages at University Heights," which are represented by agents of RE/MAX Peak Properties, our firm. Call us if you are interested in one.

Because of the difficulty of comparing this year's market to last on an overall basis, I am presenting statistics in two separate tables. Statistics for the overall market are in the first table and separately, in the second table, for single family, free-standing, residences. These numbers represent any units with Flagstaff mailing addresses, whether inside the city limits or not:

MLS data for single family, townhomes, condos and manufactured homes with Flagstaff mailing addresses. See note.

MLS data for single family residences with Flagstaff mailing addresses. See note. *Exact figures unavailable.

Note that the median price of single family homes on a year-to-year comparison shows a small price increase. Homes are still selling and prices have not dropped.  There is a larger supply of homes for sale than we have had in recent years, but we're still under 1000 units. In July 2002, there were over 1400 units for sale in a slower economy and a much lower population. We do not have the incredible price increases of 2004 and 2005, but equity is holding steady for homeowners. That is much better than owners in other parts of the country can say. My expectation is that this is the way the market will be until at least this time next year when we might begin to see faster sales and rising prices again. But, perhaps not. I don't have a crystal ball that goes that far in advance!

The number of days on the market prior to closing is noteworthy. Homes that are selling are selling in the same number of days as it took to sell a home last year. The lesson here is that to get sold in this market, a home needs to be well prepared for sale - prepared in appearance and prepared with careful analysis of price and the competition. For a number of our listings, we have partnered successfully with Mountain Home Staging. We have listed homes and held them off the market for over a month in order to allow time to do work to make the home look its best in the critical first two weeks of marketing. In this market, it's not how fast the sign goes up that counts, it's how well the marketing strategy is planned before the sign goes up. This is because while there are buyers ready to buy, they will move on to the next house if yours does not appeal in the same way.

Note: "MLS" data is based upon information from the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors® and is deemed reliable for sales reported to the association, but is not guaranteed and does not include all sales in the market area.

Ann Heitland, Flagstaff Real Estate 

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Interstate 17 - Proposed Alternate Routes to Flagstaff 

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is conducting preliminary studies to determine how to handle traffic on I-17 between Flagstaff and the Phoenix area. The study attempts to look decades into the future and is seeking answers to these questions:

1. Do current and forecast conditions suggest the need for alternates
   to I-17?
2. Are there feasible alternates to I-17 that can address the needs
   associated with current and forecast conditions?
3. What additional planning studies, if any, should be done?

Of interest to me is that the "I-17 Alternatives" prepared by ADOT for the study shows only maps of proposed new highways. Why not a railroad up the existing I-17 corridor? Is it because the Arizona Department of Transportation is really only the Arizona Highway Department? Let's think outside the box!

The railroad (light rail?) could have special cars for bikes, or even for horses.

To make your comments to ADOT, fill out this form.

Ann Heitland, on issues affecting the value of Flagstaff real estate

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Another great Flagstaff summer tradition begins this weekend. 

The 7th season of the Flagstaff Community Market, our local farmers' market, begins this Sunday, June 10 and runs each Sunday until October 7. The hours are 8:00 am to noon. The market is located downtown, south of the tracks on Phoenix Avenue, just west of Beaver Street in the large open lot.

As always, the market will feature a wide range of products from local growers and producers including vegetables, fruits, herbs, eggs, cheese, baked goods, jams, salsas, fresh flowers, plants, soap, yarn and more.

Special Guest: This Sunday, June 10, the market will be visited by the Moishe Mobile, a veggie-oil/solar powered short bus packed with eight young activists (all alumni of UC Santa Barbara) on its way to the Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival in Tennessee. You can check-out how they are outfitted to use only vegetable oil and the sun to power their trip. (Fabulous, huh?) They will also have presentations, an art project or two and music for all to enjoy. The Moishe Mobile is asking for vegetable oil donations (for fuel, of course). Bring your left over bottles of unused oil from your kitchen and be part of their eco-adventure! http://activerain.com/action/blogs_admin/www.MoisheMobile.org

 And to make a full weekend of celebrating local growing, don't miss today's Mountain Meadow Farm tour! See yesterday's post.

For more information on the market check-out the website at http://www.flagstaffmarket.org or contact Ann (not this Ann) at ann@flagstaffmarket.org or 928-380-6825.

Ann Heitland on a community event because our community is what makes our Flagstaff real estate valuable!

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