The Economist is at us again: in its survey of global house prices out at the weekend, it said that only four of the 20 markets surveyed had posted year-on-year price declines and only Ireland’s property catastrophe had worsened.

We came bottom of its league, with a 17 per cent fall in prices between the third quarters of 2009 and 2010.

In another global house price survey, this one from estate agency Knight Frank comparing the second quarters of both years, we only came second from the bottom – Estonia recorded price drops of 31.5 per cent, nearly double the fall here, again, given as 17 per cent.

Cold comfort, of course, when the story told by both surveys is that property markets across the world are getting back on their feet, with Asia’s price rises leading the way – and we’re not at the party.

If you’re emigrating to Australia and thinking of buying, read The Economist’s words of warning. Aussie house prices rose by 18.4 per cent in the period surveyed and The Economist calls it the most over-valued of all the markets it tracked, wondering why Australia’s central bank has opted not to increase its interest rates. It makes approving noises about China’s moves just over a week ago to raise rates to cool its overheating market.

Other countries with heated housing markets include South Africa and Canada. Yes, according to Knight Frank, there’s speculation that the most sober of countries is entering bubble territory.

However, the Canadian government is on the case, raising its base rate three times this year and reducing “the maximum allowable amortization period from 40 years down to 35”!

Those conducting the surveys urge caution over the good news that house prices are on the rise in most markets, as there are still dark forces out there that we in Ireland know all too well about – availability of funding, austerity measures and so on – that could put things into reverse.

Report – The Irish Times

Ireland Property – Daft Property – http://daftproperty.blogspot.com

We answer the question of where is Central Phoenix, what it means and what separates it from other areas.

Lots of places list Central Phoenix as a location or point of interest, but where is and what is Central Phoenix. There is no consensus: each person or business has their own idea of what it is and the city government has no say.

Central Phoenix is more of a regional designation encompassing certain neighborhoods, a certain grouping of areas which in them selves are collections of individual subdivisions. So Central Phoenix does not sit along neighborhoods like Arcadia or North Central Phoenix rather the latter areas are part of what Central Phoenix is: a regional designation.

It’s also a way of life, more urban, or as urban as it gets in Phoenix. It’s an area know for more local businesses. We were speaking with some Canadian friends who purchased a beautiful home in Palm Valley in the West Valley which is a wonderful area, but they mentioned the complete lack of restaurants besides chains and similarly for other businesses.

It’s about a central location, a more densely populated area where the whole life cycle takes place, from sleep to work to play. When you consider that you can take the light rail to work then jog up Murphy’s Bridle Path and hike up the mountains preserve, then have a coffee in something other then Starbucks like Lola Coffee or Lux, it puts that idea of urban and local more into perspective.

Central Phoenix is also about diversity, history, culture: organizations and clubs. It’s the plethora of mid-century modern homes, historic neighborhoods, new lofts, urban parks, pubic art and horse properties, light rail: a complete cultural symbiotic eco-system.

Where is Central Phoenix then?

In General Central Phoenix is a collection of the following areas and neighborhoods.

• Downtown Phoenix
• Midtown Phoenix
• North Central Phoenix which is often called Uptown Phoenix
• Biltmore Area
• Arcadia
• Sunnyslope
• Dreamy Draw
• Paradise Valley or those parts of Paradise Valley closest of the Phoenix Mountains toward the south side near Camelback Mountain.

So these zip codes would be included in whole or in part: 85003, 85004, 85006, 85007, 85008, 85009, 85012, 85013, 85014, 85015, 85016, and 85017, 85018, 85020, 85021 and parts of 85253.

What’s your idea of Central Phoenix?  That’s one of the issues Phoenix should consider resolving. Many other cities have specific neighborhood which are more clearly defined: Phoenix does not.

It would help Phoenix in many ways to finally put something together, but of course, I know this would in itself be a difficult task since each person has their own ideas of the borders and many will be unwilling to compromise, but at lease you know what Central Phoenix means when reading out articles at inPhoenix.com or PhoenixMarketTrends.com

See Also

• Phoenix Homes Search | MLS Properties For Sale | Greater Phoenix MLS Wizard
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• Central Phoenix Real Estate
  Central Phoenix focused real estate website

A magnificent Japanese Garden in Central Phoenix invites visitors to relax and soak in how good it really is in this time, in this place, in this space.

We haven’t been to too many Japanese gardens and especially none in Japan – but that is on the schedule – We have been to a Japanese Garden in The Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, The Japanese Garden in Wroclaw, Poland – the garden in Wroclaw was first created for the World Expo in 1913, later demolished the resurrected in the early 1990′s: another Japanese garden which we have been to is in Phoenix, AZ.

In each case due to the climate the flora varies but few things more peaceful and serene.

They share the three common characteristic of water, flora and stone and reduced scale, symbolism, and views: referring to the miniaturization of natures views of mountains and rivers so as to reunite them in a small area.

The Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix, Arizona

Many people are surprised to learn about this beautiful garden here in Phoenix and especially surrounded by the the urban city but even the other gardens we mentioned above are all located in the depths of large cities and that is part of their essence of bringing the grandeur of nature into the smaller confines of a city.

"The Japanese Friendship Garden – Ro Ho En is an authentic 3 1/2 acre Japanese Stroll Garden with tea garden and tea house. This tranquil and beautiful setting features more than 1,500 tons of hand picked rock, stone footbridges, lanterns and more than 50 varieties of plants.

Flowing streams, a 12-foot waterfall and a Koi pond with over 300 colorful Koi fish. The Garden is the product and shared cultural vision of the Sister Cities of Phoenix and Himeji, Japan. "

"Ro Ho En is a combination of three Japanese words. Ro means Heron, a bird symbol of Himeji City [ PMT note: Himeji is a sister city of Phoenix ]. Ho is the Japanese word for the Phoenix bird. En means garden. Ro Ho En, therefore, is a name symbolizing the friendship between the two cities represented in this garden." (JFG site)

The garden is best enjoyed when you ignore the past and future and simply focus on the now: then you can truly enjoy the various details, the beauty, order and tranquility, the sights and sounds all of which remind us of the endurance life provides.

Take you’re time: look at the details: let your eyes naturally flow over the garden lines from the mountains, valleys, cliffs, meadows and waters.

There are plenty of benches to sit on, some in the sun some in the shade or the small pergola by the tea house facing the house where one can take a moment to be alone. One can sit there for hours just looking at the intricate yet visually minimalist architecture of the tea house, the wonderful details utilizing bamboo.

The garden is surrounded by the dense urban downtown Phoenix: the centerpiece being the first historic neighborhood in Phoenix, Roosevelt Historic neighborhood and all the new vibrant exciting buildings like Portland Place Condos, then of course Roosevelt Row. It’s no wonder this area is so popular for living:  it’s exciting, diverse and interesting.

Where:

The Japanese Friendship Garden
1125 North 3rd Ave.
Phoenix, Arizona

See Also

• RO HO EN | Japanese Garden in Phoenix
  official website
• Urban Phoenix Parks
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S&P Case-Shiller Graph based on non-seasonally adjusted data.

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A POETICALLY-titled report, A Haunted Landscape: Housing and Ghost Estates in Post-Celtic Tiger Ireland , estimated last July that there were more than 620 such estates where over half of all the houses were either empty or unfinished – exceeding 300,000 units in all. Now we are being told by the Department of the Environment, following an on-the-ground survey of over 2,800 developments, that the phenomenon is not quite so widespread. Of the total of 180,000 houses or apartments involved, 77,000 were found to be occupied, 33,000 were completed and vacant, 10,000 were at varying stages of construction and the remaining 60,000 were not started at all; further building plans had obviously been abandoned as the property bubble burst.

The photograph in yesterday’s editions of two children playing on a “street” in Co Cork with everything unfinished around them shows that there are are real victims of this “legacy issue”. The degraded environment of such estates, with their unpaved footpaths and roads, piles of builders’ rubble and holes left unfilled, is not just aesthetically unpleasant, but also represents a real danger to children in particular. It is surely a major worry for parents, adding to the woe of having to make unsustainable mortgage repayments for homes that have tumbled in value.

According to the Department of the Environment, its survey “establishes a proper evidence basis for further action by Government and local authorities in relation to planning, housing, building control and other matters towards resolving the emergence of unfinished housing developments”. Indeed, Minister of State for Housing Michael Finneran said it was “already initiating an action plan” to address all of these issues.

Mr Finneran was quick to deny that Government tax incentives which inflated the property bubble so catastrophically had much to do with generating unfinished housing estates. Yet it is clear from research carried out by NUI Maynooth’s National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (Nirsa) for its Haunted Landscape report that there was a massive over-production of housing in Cavan, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo, and this was fuelled by the wholly misconceived Upper Shannon Rural Renewal Scheme introduced in 1998 by then minister for finance Charlie McCreevy and only wound down on a phased basis by his successor Brian Cowen. Both of them must accept their share of responsibility for the ghost estates in these five counties.

Nirsa called last July for an independent inquiry into all aspects of how the planning system operated, including charges of “localism, cronyism and clientilism”. Its call was echoed this week by housing association Respond!, which said the ghost estates phenomenon indicated a “complete failure” of the planning system: “Without doubt the banks were a key player, but there would not have been the same demand for credit to purchase land or property had zonings and planning permission not been so easily available”. Blame must be apportioned before we can move on.

Report – The Irish Times.

Ireland Property – Daft Property – http://daftproperty.blogspot.com

Ghost estate builders got €870m tax breaks…

But no cash to finish ‘eyesores’ as 33,000 houses stand empty:

DEVELOPERS got almost €870m in tax breaks to build thousands of houses that no one wants, the Irish Independent has learned.

And the Government yesterday admitted there was no money to finish off the 2,800 ghost estates in which 33,000 houses and apartments are lying idle.

Local communities will be stuck with these eyesores for years as bulldozing them has also been ruled out.

And planners will not face any sanction for their role in fuelling the property bubble.

The first official audit of the number of unsold and half-built houses and apartments in so-called ghost estates published by the Department of the Environment yesterday showed the full extent of the problem.

The report found:

* There are 2,846 ghost estates containing 33,225 empty units ready for sale.
* Cork has the most unsold homes, 3,427. Limerick City has the least, 119.
* Planning permission was granted for 180,000 units in the estates. Work began on 120,000.
* Of the total, 77,000 are occupied. But another 10,000 are far from finished. Sources said the bill to complete the work could reach €1bn.
* Builders are working on just one in six estates. Thousands of homes are not served by roads, footpaths or public lighting.

Homeowners paying mortgages on properties surrounded by building sites, open sewers and unbuilt roads and footpaths will have to wait until next year until a plan to tackle the problem is unveiled.

Taskforce

The Government is to set up a taskforce including NAMA, the local authorities, the Construction Industry Federation and Health and Safety Authority to see how estates can be completed and who will foot the bill. It will report back in January.

Planning Minister Ciaran Cuffe ruled out demolition, saying this decision would rest with the developers or banks.

“It’s not a matter for the department,” he said. “We want to see as many of these developments as possible finished out, and that will happen in a large number of cases.”

Figures obtained by the Irish Independent show how tax breaks fuelled the bubble that led to the problem.

Between 2004 and 2008, some €869.5m was claimed by developers who built housing in areas identified by the Government as being suitable for massive developments.

In 2008 alone, with the market in freefall, almost €150m was claimed under the urban, town, seaside and rural renewal schemes.

Some developers have been bailed out, as the Government has taken out long-term leases on 2,500 units for social housing purposes.

New laws allow local authorities to acquire unfinished estates, but most won’t have the money to complete them.

Housing Minister Michael Finneran admitted bonds and securities lodged by developers would not meet the bill.

Planning Minister Ciaran Cuffe said the Green Party was totally opposed to the blanket tax designations introduced by Fianna Fail.

He said it was “naive” to think tax designations of entire counties ”would raise all boats’.’

The Irish Council for Social Housing said it could take over some of the homes if “outstanding issues” were resolved.

The Labour Party claimed the problem was a legacy of a government that saw housing policy “as a means of delivering bounty to their pals in the construction and investment community” rather than providing homes for people.

Report by Paul Melia and Treacy Hogan – Irish Independent.

Ireland Property – Daft Property – http://daftproperty.blogspot.com

Extending the mid-century modern imaginative sensibility to the landscape.

Part of the draw of mid-century modern homes is not only the architecture and ones ability to be creative with it, but also how well it can meld in with the surrounding lot on which it sits; and, in fact it beckons one to merge the interior and exterior space together to extend the same care from the home to the landscaping.

A drive into famed modern neighborhoods which have gone through the renovation process like Marlen Grove or Windemere and Paradise Gardens reveals how well this can be done.  

If any human sized architecture can be eye candy then this is it.  The only thing that prevents one from staring and enjoying the yards more is a confused and maybe concerned look on the owners face about some people loitering in front of their home.

Landscapes come in all styles surrounding these homes: from the somewhat rustic yet symmetric to completely designed yards full of mixed materials, colors and flora.  

Often dramatic, but always inviting these yards are made for better living for enjoying the reason we live here: the beautiful desert and amazing weather – most of the year.

Modern architecture tends to have plenty of windows, often floor to ceiling and open floor-plans which further blurr the distinction of the two spaces.

What’s completely unusual is that it’s not only the back-yard that get this creative treatment: front yards are the stage for the owner’s ideas, and many of the owners tend to be designers, architects and admirers of good design and architecture so the font yards display all sorts of ideas and materials.  It’s private art for the public eye.

Desert plants, often geometric, do well with these design and materials. The cactus next to river rock or the ocotillo against colored steel panels or rectangular walking pavers infused into a green lawn, these all create a whimsical playground.

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Mansergh concedes that serious mistakes were made…

THE IRISH public is determined to remain in control of its own affairs despite the scale of the financial crisis, Minister of State Martin Mansergh told leading economists in London last night.

“There is a determination to try and maintain control as far as we can in our affairs, and to avoid – and to do whatever we have to do to avoid – outside dictation either on expenditure or taxation.”

Speaking to Politeia, an economic forum in London, Mr Mansergh readily conceded that serious mistakes had been made by governments over the last decades.

In the late 1990s, public spending controls were eased up, with the number of public employees rising by 50 per cent and the salaries for those in higher ranks by 80 to 100 per cent, sometimes even more.

“I think there is an argument for saying that Irish society, or certainly the upper echelons – whether involved in the public or private sector – did become somewhat greedy when the good times were growing.

“Pay in the middle to upper echelons of the public sector went up a lot more than was justifiable,” said Mr Mansergh.

Acknowledging the scale of public anger and fear in Ireland, Mr Mansergh said “national hubris [has been] replaced by a sentiment sometimes expressed as ‘call in the IMF’, or even hand the place back to Her Majesty or, worst of all, ‘put the celebrity economists in charge’.

“The effect of the crisis, where domestic and international factors compounded each other, came as a large shock to a country that was convinced not only that it was doing brilliantly, but that it had been operating well within the margins of safety.”

Many now claim to have foretold the crisis, he said, but the record does not bear them out. “I have to say that the property supplements of the media were among the biggest cheerleaders of the property boom.”

He rejected the premise of a question from economist Irwin Stelzer, who said some IMF research clearly showed that countries that rapidly cut public spending go into an economic spiral.

The IMF, he said, has changed “from what it was” under the leadership of Frenchman Dominique Strauss Kahn who, he noted, was a possible Socialist candidate for the French presidency.

Former finance minister Charlie McCreevy’s declaration that “when we have it, we spend it” would not win economic prizes, he said, “but very fortunately he did not entirely act on it” since he created the National Pension Reserve Fund.

Report by MARK HENNESSY – Irish Times.

Ireland Property – Daft Property – http://daftproperty.blogspot.com

Things to consider when changing an owner occupied Phoenix property into a rental home.

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20% of active properties are bank owned and 46% of sold properties are REO. Where does that leave short sales and normal sales?

The first graph shows Active properties for sale.  The rise in bank owned homes as a share of the market is quite clear.  We’ll see what type of effect the short moratorium had in a month or so.  At this point nearly 20% of the active homes are bank owned.  The next graphs will show which properties receive offers and which close.

Active Properties Above

Pending Properties Above

Nearly 45% of the properties that do receive offers are REO properties, and it seems that the increase in inventory has come at the expense of offers for short sale homes and normal sales.  Lenders and servicing companies are not making this easy: the many fraudelen actions they made are keeping the market in a tense situation and such feelings bring on uncertainlty about prices and the future.  None the less homes are selling rather well.

The last graph of Sold homes shows, again, a 46% of homes sold being bank owned.  What’s interesing is that short sales are dropping and normal sales are on the rise.  Short sales are moving, but lots of people are very frustrated with the process. 

The commentary from the most recent ARMLS Stat newsletter puts it together well.

"The recovery of the Valley real estate market appears stalled at least temporarily. Re- ports of sale declines, indicating that we are still bumping at the market’s bottom, naturally are not welcome news. However, the picture emerging out of the distressed sales and increases in the number of properties in AWC status may be harbingers of better things to come.

The flow of foreclosures into the market appears to be staunched, per- haps heralding future declining foreclosure numbers. The rise in consummated short sales, along with increases in listings in AWC status, are indications that lenders have recognized there is value in working through a short sale rather than accepting the higher losses associated with foreclosure.

Late news about foreclosure moratoriums while banks (and regulators) investigate irregularities in document preparation will affect the numbers next month, but how is anyone’s guess." (Quote: © 2010 ARMLS – STAT newsletter 10/14/10)

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