Cactus Corridor Lifestyle

Cactus Corridor January | February 2013

M

MONSON LUXURY GROUP

MONICA MONSON REALTOR®, CLHMS, EPRO

SPECIALIZING IN THE MARKETING AND SALES OF DISTINCTIVE LUXURY PROPERTIES One of the most creative luxury real estate marketing professionals in Arizona, Monica Monson’s talents are working with luxury homeowners in creating strategic, custom International marketing programs that reach affluent, qualified buyers. Her background in marketing and public relations has been the foundation for a true “out-of-the-box” approach that consistently gets homes sold. Contact her today to talk about the market, your property, and her innovative strategy for your success!

Real Estate Activity in

Cactus Corridor Luxury MONSON LUXURY GROUP’S FEATURED LISTINGS

SALE PENDING

MONICA MONSON

13445 N. 84th St. 6000 Sq. Ft. | 4+ Bed | 4.5 Bath $1,995,000

C: 480.250.0848

facebook.com/ scottsdalerealestateaz

@luxeagent

10120 E. Desert Cove 5621 Sq. Ft. | 5+ Bed | 6 Bath $1,395,000 SOLD

Ideas to Freshen Up Your Interior Design

monica.monson@russlyon.com

www.MonsonLuxuryGroup.com 12402 N. 102nd St. 4781 Sq. Ft. | 4+ Bed | 5.5 Bath $1,100,000

10541 E. Charter Oak Drive 4575 Sq. Ft. | 4+ Bed | 5.5 Bath $1,175,000

CACTUS CORRIDOR LUXURY REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY

Arizona’s Premier Boutique Lender Committed to Creating Customers for Life

Arizona Department of Financial Institutions AZ BK# 0902614. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend.

Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.

Active

Under Contract/Backups

Pending

Closed 2012 YTD*

# Listings

18

4

1

27

List/Sold Volume

$31,870,600

$4,645,000

$1,150,000

$29,044,000

List/Sold Price

Low $850,000 Avg $1,770,589 High $9,995,000

$825,000 $1,161,250 $1,395,000

$1,150,000 $1,150,000 $1,150,000

$810,000 $1,075,704 $2,622,500

Approx SF

Low Avg High

2,600 5,220 9,693

3,442 5,210 6,222

3,770 3,770 3,770

4,000 5,260 8,200

List/Sold Price Per Approx SF

Low Avg High

$171.28 $325.45 $1,153.85

$202.52 $224.83 $248.18

$305.04 $305.04 $305.04

$153.90 $201.87 $319.82

Days on Market

Low Avg High

5 101 381

47 182 296

214 214 214

4 106 630

Source: MLS. Information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. *YTD as of 12/22/12. Data reflects homes with a list price of $800,000+.

If your home is currently listed, this is not a solicitation for that listing.

Produced by Desert Lifestyle Publishing • 480.460.0996 • www.DesertLifestyle.net

Valley Real Estate

What Does 2013 Have in Store?

Signature Cuisine from a Venerable Valley Favorite

LON’s at The Hermosa’s Pork Tenderloin

Cactus Corridor

Real Estate Report

In Good Taste

Event Calendar

Featuring LON’s at The Hermosa 602.955.7878 | HermosaInn.com/lons

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2013 PF Chang’s Rock ‘n Roll Marathon Series Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, January 20th RunRockNRoll.com Celebrating its 10th year in the Valley, this marathon and 1/2 marathon event has a brand-new course for 2013 and a new twist for non-runners: a Bike Tour. Bicycle participants can ride the marathon course in a non-timed event. Kids can participate in the one-mile fun run and there are tons of volunteering and people-watching opportunities to make this event one for everyone!

Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Mash, Prickly Pear Braised Red Cabbage and Port Wine Sauce PORK 2 whole pork tenderloins, trimmed, reserve trimmings salt and black pepper Procedure Brown the pork tenderloin in a hot pan and place in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes.

Allow to rest outside the oven for five minutes before slicing.

SWEET POTATO MASH 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into small pieces 1 1/8 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 lb. butter pinch of salt Procedure Boil and mash potatoes. Mix in the cinnamon and butter.

BABY GREEN BEANS 1/4 lb. baby green beans, cleaned 1 Tbs. butter salt and black pepper Procedure In a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water, cook green beans until tender.

Strain and toss with butter, salt and pepper.

PRICKLY PEAR BRAISED RED CABBAGE 1/2 head chopped red cabbage 1/2 cup prickly pear puree 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped 1/4 lb. apple-smoked bacon, chopped small 2 Tbs. canola oil Procedure In a large pot with a cover, brown the bacon in the canola oil. Add onions and cook until translucent on low heat. Add cabbage, prickly pear puree and balsamic vinegar. Cover and cook on low heat until tender. This will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

PORT WINE SAUCE reserved pork scraps 4 Tbs. chopped shallots 2 sprigs thyme 1 cup ruby red port wine 2 cups veal stock Procedure In a small sauce pot, brown pork scraps on high heat.

Add the shallots and sauté until translucent. Add port and reduce it over medium heat by half. Add veal stock and heat to a simmer.

Reduce sauce until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.

To Plate On a large dinner plate spread sweet potato mash in a circle.

Next place cabbage right in the middle of the mash. Slice pork and place it around the cabbage. Add green beans right over the top. Sauce lightly and enjoy.

Serves: four

Making a home unique, special, and personally intuitive are challenges every

By Debra May Himes, ASID, LEED AP homeowner encounters whether the home is 1,500 square feet or 15,000 square feet.

Often, a home needs just a touch of glamour, or special visual interests, to take it from “nice” to “knock-out!”

No matter the size of the home or space, there will always be common issues to contend with. For example, how to bring interest to that space? What will make a home or space stand apart from another one? How should large spaces be fashioned to feel more intimate? How can smaller spaces feel larger?

Designing a home or space properly can also be quite an investment. If and when a homeowner decides to sell the property, the home should stand alone from the other choices on the market. Creating fascinating and compelling details is optimum, in that those remarkable elements and appealing design choices hopefully will remain in the memories of those who are viewing your home.

In many instances, a touch of drama is a great way to create interesting spaces. The trick though, is to understand exactly what that means and how to achieve it. For larger spaces, there is usually a bit of a stronger challenge, but properly designing the space will certainly include focusing on at least one area in the room to add that touch of drama.

Fireplaces, interesting art, important pieces of furniture, beautiful views and conversation areas will help determine those focal points.

The opposite will be true when designing smaller spaces. In this case the challenge is usually to make the space feel larger. The best way to achieve this may be to simplify.

For a smaller space, this may be achieved by determining a focal point in the room and addressing it with something that will demand attention when someone enters the space.

When incorporating some drama, you might take a cue from current design trends.

For color, the “new neutral” is definitely gray - not an icy gray, but more of a warm gray.

That gray is being paired with all sorts of other fashionable hues such as yellow, apple green, and purple.

As we look back upon 2012 and forward to 2013, we see that the Phoenix housing market is well underway with a healthy, managed recovery. In fact, Phoenix continues to lead the nation in its recovery and we expect 2013 to show an even brighter outlook than 2012.

We still have a long-term supply shortage for residential homes, although it has eased considerably at the bottom end of the market compared with the spring of last year.

Due to the usual dip in higher-end homes sales volumes, pricing tends to be a little weaker during the summer. This was still true in September when prices were only slightly higher than in August, July or June. However the comparison with the summer of 2011 is stark. Average price per sq. ft. was up over 23% since September 2011 and now that we are moving into the cooler months, prices are resuming their advance with greater speed.

Many cities have seen very large increases in average pricing over last year. This has encouraged more sellers to enter the market and we are seeing a significant increase in supply in most areas. Investor purchases are down from the peak in July and August and will probably decline further.

Investors (as opposed to speculators) tend to react to rising prices by reducing their appetite for additional homes.

Most homes below $250,000 that are priced realistically are still attracting a large number of offers within a short time, and offers will often exceed the asking price. It is still much quieter in the luxury market and active adult sector but prices are firming here as we enter the season when

Organic shapes versus geometric or linear lines are on-trend now and can be seen in furnishings, fabrics and even wall décor. Wall panels in all sorts of materials, shapes and patterns are a way to make a big impact. Check out InterlockingRock panels by ModularArts.com for inspiration.

A statement headboard in the Master Bedroom is another sure way to create drama.

These headboards can be upholstered in all sorts of gorgeous fabrics, crafted from wood or even made out of leather-upholstered large mosaic pieces.

Often, the use of interesting texture is all that’s necessary. A simple wall or other mundane architectural element can be absolutely transformed with the application of materials such as stone, metal, tiles, crystals...the options are as limitless as your imagination!

Now, get your imagination working on overdrive and plan to put a little panache in your home’s design as well!

Debra May Himes, Principal of Debra May Himes Interior Design & Associates, LLC can be reached at 480.497.2699 and DMHDesign.com.

snowbirds return to the Valley.

With the current stability in pricing, appraisals have had a chance to catch up, so recently appraisals have tended to come closer to current market value. With renewed price escalation, we expect low appraisal issues will reemerge during the first quarter.

The situation for the average home buyer remains fairly difficult despite extremely low interest rates and still-cheap prices by any historical standard. This is because the number of homes for sale is still well below normal and well-funded investors are still here in sufficient numbers to make very serious competition with multiple all-cash offers with few strings attached. Many ordinary buyers continue to come away empty handed after submitting 10 or more offers.

Investors are focused primarily on the lower price ranges, where the rental return on investment is highest. So prices have continued to move higher for homes below $250,000.

After moving backwards for a while in 2012, the upper-end of the market is starting to show renewed signs of life.

Now that cooler weather has returned we anticipate stronger pricing to be reported albeit on weaker sales volumes. In a normal market, rising prices tend to reduce demand and so inhibit sales volume. We saw the opposite behavior in 2004 and 2005 when strong price gains drew in an increased number of buyers in a frenzy of speculation.

Today’s market is relatively well-behaved. Investors are risking their own money rather than borrowed funds, so risk is being more carefully managed.

We believe that 2013 will continue to be a year in which home prices rise and demand remains strong.

Author and statistician Michael Orr is the Director of Real Estate Studies at ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business, and Principal of The Cromford Report.

Tosca Symphony Hall, January 25th – 27th 602.266.7464 | AZOpera.com Opulent sets evoke the palaces and cathedrals of 19th century Rome in this production of Puccini’s beloved opera, while soprano Jill Gardner lends her rich voice and insightful performance to the role of Tosca. Baritone Gordon Hawkins, a Valley resident renowned worldwide, provides powerhouse vocals as Scarpia. Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Waste Management Phoenix Open TPC Scottsdale, January 28th – February 3rd 602.870.0163 | WMPhoenixOpen.com Golf, spectators, corporate sponsorships, local celebrities, schmoozing, flirting, eating, drinking, sunshine, 16th hole, charity, Bird’s Nest…wait, we did mention golf, right? As you know, the PGA’s most popular spectator event once again graces the Valley. No matter if you’re truly a golf aficionado or simply like to be where the action is, the annual Phoenix Open is one great way to spend a week or a weekend.

War Horse Gammage, February 5th – 10th 480.965.3434 | ASUGammage.com You saw the Academy-Award nominated film, now see this beautiful tale of courage, loyalty and friendship live on stage. This powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London, New York and Toronto. At its heart are astonishing life-sized puppets that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride.

Corks & Cactus Desert Botanical Garden, February 23rd – 24th 480.481.8188 | DBG.org Who wouldn’t want to spend a gorgeous Arizona evening sipping libations in a tranquil, scenic setting? Corks & Cactus blends boutique wines, gourmet concessions and desert beauty into a delightful event. Enjoy sampling from 40 different wines each day, listening to live local entertainment and food items available for purchase from Fabulous Food Fine Catering and Events.

In Good Taste

Event Calendar

Featuring LON’s at The Hermosa 602.955.7878 | HermosaInn.com/lons

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2013 PF Chang’s Rock ‘n Roll Marathon Series Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, January 20th RunRockNRoll.com Celebrating its 10th year in the Valley, this marathon and 1/2 marathon event has a brand-new course for 2013 and a new twist for non-runners: a Bike Tour. Bicycle participants can ride the marathon course in a non-timed event. Kids can participate in the one-mile fun run and there are tons of volunteering and people-watching opportunities to make this event one for everyone!

Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Mash, Prickly Pear Braised Red Cabbage and Port Wine Sauce PORK 2 whole pork tenderloins, trimmed, reserve trimmings salt and black pepper Procedure Brown the pork tenderloin in a hot pan and place in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes.

Allow to rest outside the oven for five minutes before slicing.

SWEET POTATO MASH 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into small pieces 1 1/8 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 lb. butter pinch of salt Procedure Boil and mash potatoes. Mix in the cinnamon and butter.

BABY GREEN BEANS 1/4 lb. baby green beans, cleaned 1 Tbs. butter salt and black pepper Procedure In a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water, cook green beans until tender.

Strain and toss with butter, salt and pepper.

PRICKLY PEAR BRAISED RED CABBAGE 1/2 head chopped red cabbage 1/2 cup prickly pear puree 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped 1/4 lb. apple-smoked bacon, chopped small 2 Tbs. canola oil Procedure In a large pot with a cover, brown the bacon in the canola oil. Add onions and cook until translucent on low heat. Add cabbage, prickly pear puree and balsamic vinegar. Cover and cook on low heat until tender. This will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

PORT WINE SAUCE reserved pork scraps 4 Tbs. chopped shallots 2 sprigs thyme 1 cup ruby red port wine 2 cups veal stock Procedure In a small sauce pot, brown pork scraps on high heat.

Add the shallots and sauté until translucent. Add port and reduce it over medium heat by half. Add veal stock and heat to a simmer.

Reduce sauce until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.

To Plate On a large dinner plate spread sweet potato mash in a circle.

Next place cabbage right in the middle of the mash. Slice pork and place it around the cabbage. Add green beans right over the top. Sauce lightly and enjoy.

Serves: four

Making a home unique, special, and personally intuitive are challenges every

By Debra May Himes, ASID, LEED AP homeowner encounters whether the home is 1,500 square feet or 15,000 square feet.

Often, a home needs just a touch of glamour, or special visual interests, to take it from “nice” to “knock-out!”

No matter the size of the home or space, there will always be common issues to contend with. For example, how to bring interest to that space? What will make a home or space stand apart from another one? How should large spaces be fashioned to feel more intimate? How can smaller spaces feel larger?

Designing a home or space properly can also be quite an investment. If and when a homeowner decides to sell the property, the home should stand alone from the other choices on the market. Creating fascinating and compelling details is optimum, in that those remarkable elements and appealing design choices hopefully will remain in the memories of those who are viewing your home.

In many instances, a touch of drama is a great way to create interesting spaces. The trick though, is to understand exactly what that means and how to achieve it. For larger spaces, there is usually a bit of a stronger challenge, but properly designing the space will certainly include focusing on at least one area in the room to add that touch of drama.

Fireplaces, interesting art, important pieces of furniture, beautiful views and conversation areas will help determine those focal points.

The opposite will be true when designing smaller spaces. In this case the challenge is usually to make the space feel larger. The best way to achieve this may be to simplify.

For a smaller space, this may be achieved by determining a focal point in the room and addressing it with something that will demand attention when someone enters the space.

When incorporating some drama, you might take a cue from current design trends.

For color, the “new neutral” is definitely gray - not an icy gray, but more of a warm gray.

That gray is being paired with all sorts of other fashionable hues such as yellow, apple green, and purple.

As we look back upon 2012 and forward to 2013, we see that the Phoenix housing market is well underway with a healthy, managed recovery. In fact, Phoenix continues to lead the nation in its recovery and we expect 2013 to show an even brighter outlook than 2012.

We still have a long-term supply shortage for residential homes, although it has eased considerably at the bottom end of the market compared with the spring of last year.

Due to the usual dip in higher-end homes sales volumes, pricing tends to be a little weaker during the summer. This was still true in September when prices were only slightly higher than in August, July or June. However the comparison with the summer of 2011 is stark. Average price per sq. ft. was up over 23% since September 2011 and now that we are moving into the cooler months, prices are resuming their advance with greater speed.

Many cities have seen very large increases in average pricing over last year. This has encouraged more sellers to enter the market and we are seeing a significant increase in supply in most areas. Investor purchases are down from the peak in July and August and will probably decline further.

Investors (as opposed to speculators) tend to react to rising prices by reducing their appetite for additional homes.

Most homes below $250,000 that are priced realistically are still attracting a large number of offers within a short time, and offers will often exceed the asking price. It is still much quieter in the luxury market and active adult sector but prices are firming here as we enter the season when

Organic shapes versus geometric or linear lines are on-trend now and can be seen in furnishings, fabrics and even wall décor. Wall panels in all sorts of materials, shapes and patterns are a way to make a big impact. Check out InterlockingRock panels by ModularArts.com for inspiration.

A statement headboard in the Master Bedroom is another sure way to create drama.

These headboards can be upholstered in all sorts of gorgeous fabrics, crafted from wood or even made out of leather-upholstered large mosaic pieces.

Often, the use of interesting texture is all that’s necessary. A simple wall or other mundane architectural element can be absolutely transformed with the application of materials such as stone, metal, tiles, crystals...the options are as limitless as your imagination!

Now, get your imagination working on overdrive and plan to put a little panache in your home’s design as well!

Debra May Himes, Principal of Debra May Himes Interior Design & Associates, LLC can be reached at 480.497.2699 and DMHDesign.com.

snowbirds return to the Valley.

With the current stability in pricing, appraisals have had a chance to catch up, so recently appraisals have tended to come closer to current market value. With renewed price escalation, we expect low appraisal issues will reemerge during the first quarter.

The situation for the average home buyer remains fairly difficult despite extremely low interest rates and still-cheap prices by any historical standard. This is because the number of homes for sale is still well below normal and well-funded investors are still here in sufficient numbers to make very serious competition with multiple all-cash offers with few strings attached. Many ordinary buyers continue to come away empty handed after submitting 10 or more offers.

Investors are focused primarily on the lower price ranges, where the rental return on investment is highest. So prices have continued to move higher for homes below $250,000.

After moving backwards for a while in 2012, the upper-end of the market is starting to show renewed signs of life.

Now that cooler weather has returned we anticipate stronger pricing to be reported albeit on weaker sales volumes. In a normal market, rising prices tend to reduce demand and so inhibit sales volume. We saw the opposite behavior in 2004 and 2005 when strong price gains drew in an increased number of buyers in a frenzy of speculation.

Today’s market is relatively well-behaved. Investors are risking their own money rather than borrowed funds, so risk is being more carefully managed.

We believe that 2013 will continue to be a year in which home prices rise and demand remains strong.

Author and statistician Michael Orr is the Director of Real Estate Studies at ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business, and Principal of The Cromford Report.

Tosca Symphony Hall, January 25th – 27th 602.266.7464 | AZOpera.com Opulent sets evoke the palaces and cathedrals of 19th century Rome in this production of Puccini’s beloved opera, while soprano Jill Gardner lends her rich voice and insightful performance to the role of Tosca. Baritone Gordon Hawkins, a Valley resident renowned worldwide, provides powerhouse vocals as Scarpia. Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Waste Management Phoenix Open TPC Scottsdale, January 28th – February 3rd 602.870.0163 | WMPhoenixOpen.com Golf, spectators, corporate sponsorships, local celebrities, schmoozing, flirting, eating, drinking, sunshine, 16th hole, charity, Bird’s Nest…wait, we did mention golf, right? As you know, the PGA’s most popular spectator event once again graces the Valley. No matter if you’re truly a golf aficionado or simply like to be where the action is, the annual Phoenix Open is one great way to spend a week or a weekend.

War Horse Gammage, February 5th – 10th 480.965.3434 | ASUGammage.com You saw the Academy-Award nominated film, now see this beautiful tale of courage, loyalty and friendship live on stage. This powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London, New York and Toronto. At its heart are astonishing life-sized puppets that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride.

Corks & Cactus Desert Botanical Garden, February 23rd – 24th 480.481.8188 | DBG.org Who wouldn’t want to spend a gorgeous Arizona evening sipping libations in a tranquil, scenic setting? Corks & Cactus blends boutique wines, gourmet concessions and desert beauty into a delightful event. Enjoy sampling from 40 different wines each day, listening to live local entertainment and food items available for purchase from Fabulous Food Fine Catering and Events.

Cactus Corridor January | February 2013

M

MONSON LUXURY GROUP

MONICA MONSON REALTOR®, CLHMS, EPRO

SPECIALIZING IN THE MARKETING AND SALES OF DISTINCTIVE LUXURY PROPERTIES One of the most creative luxury real estate marketing professionals in Arizona, Monica Monson’s talents are working with luxury homeowners in creating strategic, custom International marketing programs that reach affluent, qualified buyers. Her background in marketing and public relations has been the foundation for a true “out-of-the-box” approach that consistently gets homes sold. Contact her today to talk about the market, your property, and her innovative strategy for your success!

Real Estate Activity in

Cactus Corridor Luxury MONSON LUXURY GROUP’S FEATURED LISTINGS

SALE PENDING

MONICA MONSON

13445 N. 84th St. 6000 Sq. Ft. | 4+ Bed | 4.5 Bath $1,995,000

C: 480.250.0848

facebook.com/ scottsdalerealestateaz

@luxeagent

10120 E. Desert Cove 5621 Sq. Ft. | 5+ Bed | 6 Bath $1,395,000 SOLD

Ideas to Freshen Up Your Interior Design

monica.monson@russlyon.com

www.MonsonLuxuryGroup.com 12402 N. 102nd St. 4781 Sq. Ft. | 4+ Bed | 5.5 Bath $1,100,000

10541 E. Charter Oak Drive 4575 Sq. Ft. | 4+ Bed | 5.5 Bath $1,175,000

CACTUS CORRIDOR LUXURY REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY

Arizona’s Premier Boutique Lender Committed to Creating Customers for Life

Arizona Department of Financial Institutions AZ BK# 0902614. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend.

Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.

Active

Under Contract/Backups

Pending

Closed 2012 YTD*

# Listings

18

4

1

27

List/Sold Volume

$31,870,600

$4,645,000

$1,150,000

$29,044,000

List/Sold Price

Low $850,000 Avg $1,770,589 High $9,995,000

$825,000 $1,161,250 $1,395,000

$1,150,000 $1,150,000 $1,150,000

$810,000 $1,075,704 $2,622,500

Approx SF

Low Avg High

2,600 5,220 9,693

3,442 5,210 6,222

3,770 3,770 3,770

4,000 5,260 8,200

List/Sold Price Per Approx SF

Low Avg High

$171.28 $325.45 $1,153.85

$202.52 $224.83 $248.18

$305.04 $305.04 $305.04

$153.90 $201.87 $319.82

Days on Market

Low Avg High

5 101 381

47 182 296

214 214 214

4 106 630

Source: MLS. Information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. *YTD as of 12/22/12. Data reflects homes with a list price of $800,000+.

If your home is currently listed, this is not a solicitation for that listing.

Produced by Desert Lifestyle Publishing • 480.460.0996 • www.DesertLifestyle.net

Valley Real Estate

What Does 2013 Have in Store?

Signature Cuisine from a Venerable Valley Favorite

LON’s at The Hermosa’s Pork Tenderloin

Cactus Corridor

Real Estate Report