It’s my pleasure to introduce Kim Sterling-Heflin, the executive director of Therapeutic Harp Foundation. Kim and I have known each other for a long time. Today I invited her here to discuss her foundation, it’s purpose, why she’s passionate about it, and much more. THF sends therapeutically certified harpists to health care facilities that could benefit from their music. The musicians play for every kind of illness you can imagine, plus babies, children, the elderly, and so on. We love what this organization is doing for our communities in Arizona.

Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:

0:05: Introduction to today’s topic

1:05: About Therapeutic Harp Foundation

2:15: Why use the harp?

5:05: Future research into why music helps us heal

5:50: Why Kim decided to work with Therapeutic Harp Foundation

8:00: The future of Therapeutic Harp Foundation

9:00: How can you help?

9:15: Wrapping up today’s topic

To find out how you can help, visit therapeuticharp.org. If you or someone you know would like to help Therapeutic Harp Foundation, give me a call or send me an email and I can answer any questions or set you on the right path into assisting this great organization. Also, as always, contact me with any questions about real estate. I would love to help with whatever you need.

If you know another nonprofit group or small business that would benefit from our videos please let me know!

Happy holidays to my family, friends, team, and all my clients throughout the years. I’d like to take this time to tell you how much you mean to me, and what effect your tweets, comments, questions, and likes have on me daily. Hearing from you is very important because it validates the time and effort I put into making these videos and sharing my experiences. I give thanks for my health, family, friends, fur babies, a place to live, and being able to put food on the table. From all of us at Romero & Co., we want to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Go out and be kind in the world!

Remember, if you have any real estate needs or there’s anything I can help you with, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you.

 

Happy Holidays! In the spirit of the season, our team would like to extend our warmest thanks to all of you for the amazing year we’ve had. I have been personally and professionally blessed in many ways this year. I am so grateful for my partner, my family, my fur babies, and, of course, my team’s clients. Your continued support means so much to us. The success we achieved in 2018 wouldn’t have been possible without you. We look forward to continuing to serve our community and are excited to work with you all in the new year to come. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Years! To hear our full holiday message, watch this short video. 

         Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As we slowly shift to a buyer's market, it’s time to make some adjustments. For one thing, it's worth looking at some simple home improvement projects that can help ensure you sell your home quickly and at a top price.

The thing is, when it comes to selling your home, not all home improvements are created equal. That's why I've collected the three top home improvement projects that homebuyers love, according to a report by the National Association of Home Builders:

1. A laundry room. More than anything, homebuyers currently want a separate room for washing, folding, and ironing clothes so they can keep the mess out of their living space. If you have an unused basement, it makes a lot of sense to put the laundry room there because all of the utility lines will be accessible and you probably won't have to demolish anything. A new laundry room could cost as little as $1,000 and could contribute a lot more than that when you look to sell your home. 

90% of buyers want energy-efficient windows in their home.

2. Exterior lighting. Exterior lighting is the most desired outdoor feature by homebuyers, appearing on the wish list of 92% of them. Your options for exterior lighting include spotlights, walkway lights, and pendant lights. Fixtures range in price between $65 to $132. Exterior lighting will present your home in the best possible light, impressing these potential buyers and increasing overall interest in your home.

3. Energy-efficient windows. Most homebuyers today care about energy efficiency. Specifically, 90% of them want energy-efficient windows in their new home. A set of energy-efficient windows will drive down the costs for your utilities, improve comfort inside your home, and increase your home's curb appeal.

That's why, whether you are planning on staying in your home for a while or are looking to sell quickly, energy efficient windows are worth considering. In fact, that's true for all of the above projects. If you have any questions about any of these projects or what else you can do to add value to your home before selling, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently stands at around 4.77%. That's near a seven-year high, and almost 1% higher than just a year ago. This is the result of a steady rise starting last September and ending this May.

What impact is this having on the real estate market? It's certainly true that affordability is down. In fact, one estimate from June found that home affordability is at a 10-year low. This is translating into fewer home sales, fewer viewings, and fewer mortgage applications.

However, I don't believe that the shifts in the mortgage rate is the primary mover of the changes we're seeing in the real estate market. In fact, even at its current level, the mortgage rate is still historically low.

Instead, the big reason for the changes in the real estate market is the ongoing growth in prices. Over the past several years, home prices have gone up at close to twice the rate of inflation, and have far outstripped the growth of incomes. 

Over the past several years, home prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation.

The price increases, in turn, have been caused by a lack of inventory, which has been shrinking for the past three years. In my opinion, it’s this lack of inventory (and the resulting hike in prices) that explains most of the effects on the real estate market that I listed above.

If you're looking to sell, you should still have no trouble doing so. Demand continues to outstrip supply, and even with dropping affordability, it's very likely that you would find a buyer quickly and at a top price.

If you're looking to buy, the picture is more complex, because it's so hard to predict what the mortgage rate might do in the near term. One thing we do know is that the severe lack of inventory is unlikely to change any time soon.

As always, if you have questions about the Greater Phoenix real estate market, whether you're buying or selling, you can give me a call or send me an email. I'm here to help.

I was delighted to be joined recently by Cate Hinkle, managing director of TheaterWorks at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. We had a great conversation about her nonprofit theatre company and everything that they’re up to. You can listen to our full conversation in the video above, but I also wanted to break down our discussion with timestamps so you can peruse at your leisure. Here’s what we talked about:

:35- Why TheaterWorks is more than just live entertainment.

1:20- Cate discusses her background in theatre, growing up in the performing arts scene here in Phoenix, and what brought her to TheaterWorks.

2:15- A brief history of the origin of TheaterWorks and The Peoria Center for the Performing Arts.

5:20- Exciting news from Cate about the upcoming theatre season that includes 14 different productions, including “The Little Mermaid” in July.  

There are 14 productions slated to open this year.

7:30- The impact that theatre can have on the youth and a few exciting children’s shows that are coming up this season.

9:15- How to get in touch with TheaterWorks or get all the necessary info for the upcoming season.

10:00- Good news for those of you in Prescott this weekend.

If you have any questions for us in the meantime or any real estate needs we can assist with, don’t hesitate to reach out and give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Today I’m here with Oleg Shvets, the executive director of the Phoenix Boys Choir, to explain a little about what the organization does.

Next month will be Oleg’s two-year anniversary as executive director. Before that, he spent 17 years at the Department of Education as the executive director of DECA, a leadership program for high school students in marketing. Before that, he was a high school teacher.

Oleg is very passionate about providing leadership to young people. When he took over DECA in 1998, the program was on the verge of bankruptcy. Under his tenure, the program grew to be the sixth largest state association in the country and one of the most profitable organizations in the world.

He left DECA in 2015. He was looking for a new opportunity, and the Phoenix Boys Choir was looking for someone with a nonprofit background to revitalize what they were doing. It was a perfect fit.

The choir is celebrating their 70th anniversary this year. They are the only youth choir in the state with a Grammy award. There are about 100 boys in the program between the ages of seven and 14, and another 20 between the ages of 14 through 63. They do a number of shows for the valley throughout the year, and another dozen or so for private organizations.

The choir also tours in the summer. They did a five-and-a-half week tour of China, and this year they are going to Spain and Portugal for two-and-a-half weeks. One of the great things about the Phoenix Boys Choir is they give kids a chance to travel that they might not have had otherwise. The boys also learn about singing, performing, and leadership. 

Make sure to attend a concert to see how amazing the Phoenix Boys Choir is.

Since Arizona schools are underfunded, especially for music and arts education, the Phoenix Boys Choir has expanded their program. They want to be a beacon for community education, so they launched an initiative a year ago to provide free music education programs to elementary schools during school hours, after-school programs to Title I schools, and free professional development for music teachers.

This initiative has opened the door for the Phoenix Boys Choir to work with girls and create a more inclusive, diverse program. There will be a summer music camp for boys and girls this year. They are also going to include a division of the choir for boys and girls to take music classes together and do concerts for their families three or four times a year.

Music and arts programs are so important because they stimulate creativity and help improve right-brain activities, like science and math. The Phoenix Boys Choir wanted to help those schools that didn’t have the money or programs for music education. They have provided workshops for 3,000 students this year alone and gotten great feedback from kids, teachers, and administrators. They look forward to expanding the program next year.

You can visit their website to get tickets to their upcoming events. On April 28, the Phoenix Boys Choir will have a Heroes of Rock Concert featuring songs by Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, and Journey. Their annual gala is also coming up on April 7 at David Dodge’s Taliesin West home.

If you want to help the Phoenix Boys Choir, one of the biggest things you can do is attend a choir event or gala. Come to one concert for an amazing experience.

If anyone wants to audition, the Phoenix Boys Choir is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Auditions are free, so just call and make an appointment.

I would like to thank Oleg for taking the time to talk with us today. If you would like to learn more about the Phoenix Boys Choir, visit BoysChoir.org. As always, if you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

We’d like to wish you a very happy holiday and a warm and healthy new year. We at Romero Real Estate are very grateful to know all of you, and we’re especially thankful for your support in our company.

Home flipping is usually defined as buying a home and then reselling it soon after for a higher price. 10 years ago, it was a mainstay of the real estate boom that led to the financial crash.

After some years of lower activity, it's back in full force, thanks in part to popular TV shows such as "Flip or Flop" and "Flipping the Block." If you're curious about home flipping, here are three facts you should know right now:

1. Home flipping is more profitable than ever. A recent Waco home that appeared on HGTV's show "Fixer Upper" was originally bought for $28,000. It was thoroughly renovated and is now being listed for $950,000—over 30 times its original price. In 2016, the median flipped home sold for $189,900, which is $62,624 over the median purchase price of $127,276. That's a 49.2% return, the most profitable return since 2000—the first year for which such data is available.

2. Home flipping is caused by different factors than 10 years ago. Back then, many flipped homes were speculations. In other words, investors would buy a home and then just wait, hoping that the price would go up so they could sell. The current flipping trend appears to be a positive response to current market conditions, such as the overall shortage of homes for sale, a lack of new construction, and a steady rise in home prices.

Demand still outstrips supply, for now.

3. Home flipping affects all home buyers and sellers. If you're a buyer, you can clearly benefit from the home-flipping craze. Flipped homes are available at all price ranges, from entry-level to luxury homes.

If you are a seller, then the boom in home flipping means you might face tougher competition when the time comes to sell your home.The good news is that demand still strongly outstrips supply for now. These conditions won’t last forever.

If you have any questions or you're even considering investing in a home you can flip yourself, get in touch with me by giving me a call or sending me a quick email. I’d love to hear from you.

Today I’m joined by Catherine “Rusty” Foley, the Executive Director of Arizona Citizens for the Arts, to give us the rundown on what the organization is all about. Selling your Greater Phoenix Home? Get a free home value reportBuying a Greater Phoenix Home? Search all homes for sale Today I’m joined by Catherine “Rusty” Foley, Executive Director of Arizona Citizens for the Arts, to tell us all about the organization.   Rusty grew up here and has been a member of the community for a long time. While she was enjoying her career she was always involved in nonprofit organizations and has always supported the arts. When she retired from her professional career she had the opportunity to become the executive director of Arizona Citizens for the Arts. Arizona Citizens for the Arts is 36 years old and it is the statewide advocacy organization that promotes the value of the arts and encourages the financial support of the arts by both public and private sectors. The arts are a big part of our economy. In fact, in Phoenix alone, the arts contribute about $300 million to our economy’s makeup. Everything from our museums to our festivals which encourage tourism is vital to Phoenix. Additionally, arts and culture are usually among the top five things companies look at when opening new businesses or relocating, further demonstrating the vitality of arts programs. The arts culture in Phoenix is vital to the economy. There are a few events coming up for Arizona Citizens for the Arts as well. To get all the details, watch the video above or click on the respective links. March 14th-The Annual Arts Congress: azcitizensforthearts.org/arts-congressMay 4th-36th Annual Governor’s Arts Awards: azcitizensforthearts.org/governers-arts-awards If you’d like to support the arts in Arizona through Arizona Citizens for the Arts, you can visit their website azcitzensforthearts.org where you will find everything you need to know about attending their upcoming events and how to donate. Like them on Facebook to be up to date on all the important news in the arts community. Also, if you’d like to become a member, you can donate and register on the website as well. If you have any questions about Arizona Citizens for the Arts, or if you have any real estate questions, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’m more than happy to help!