19th Annual Maricopa County Home & Garden Show

The show takes place at the Arizona Fairgrounds January 14, 15 & 16, 2011.  It features thousands of home improvement, design and landscaping companies offering exclusive  “home show only” sales, deals and giveaways!
The show will be open Saturday from  10am to 6pm and Sunday from 10am to 5pm.  Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12. For more info www.MaricopaCountyHomeShows.com

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U.S. Households that are on the edge of being foreclosed rose 7 percent from June to July. Even with the US Government trying to halt the slide. The foreclosure rate continues to outpace expectations.

Foreclosure filings were up a total of 32 percent over the same period last year. A total of 360,000 households, or one in every 355 homes, are in the process of foreclosure. This is the highest level since this economic downturn began.

July 2009 had more than 87,000 homes repossessed by the back, this was an increase of 8,000 more homes than were repossessed in June.

The top ten states, with the highest foreclosure rate, were Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Utah, Idaho, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon. The top three cities were Las Vegas, Nevada, Stockton and Modesto California.

Although there has been numerous reports that the economy has reached the bottom, the U.S. housing market has yet to turn the corner in foreclosure filings. To see a stability in the housing market the foreclosure rates will have to significantly decline. With this percentage of foreclosed houses being sold in a neighborhood, housing prices will continue to decline.

United States Capitol

Question – Will the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit be extended or will it expire?

Answer – Well Maybe… Or maybe not. Don’t you just love a definite answer.

For this tax credit to be extended or expanded, congress will have to pass a new bill to make it into a new law. Without this passage the current $8,000 home buyer tax credit will expire on December 1, 2009.

However, their are currently five different bills that have been introduced to the Senate.

S1230 – Home Buyer Tax Credit Act of 2009. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) created the original $15,000 homebuyer tax credit that has now been expanded into the current $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. S1230 includes a non-refundable tax credit up to $15,000, that can be divide equally over 24 months, for all primary residence purchases – not just purchases by first time home buyers. The bill has been sent to the Senate Finance Committee for debate. It has 12 cosponsors, notably including Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the Senate Banking Committee Chairman. It would expire one year after enactment.

Representative Kenny Marchant (R-TX) introduced House Bill HR 2619 on May 21. This bill will extend the current $8,000 tax credit to expire on July 1, 2010 and also includes a tax credit of up to $3,000 for mortgage refinance. This bill has been sent to the House Ways & Means Committee for further debate.

Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) introduced HR 2606 – the Home Buying Credit Expansion Act – on May 21. This bill proposes to remove the first-time homebuyer requirement as well as extends the bill through Jan 1, 2010. It has one cosponsor (Rep Timothy Bishop D-NY) and has been referred to the House Ways & means Committee.

Representative Howard Coble (R-NC) introduced HR 2801 – the Home Ownership Move the Economy (HOME) Act – on June 10. From the Department of Redundancy Department, this bill appears virtually identical to Rep Johnson’s in that it opens the tax credit up to all primary residence purchases and extends the credit to Jan 1, 2011. It has no cosponsors yet and has also been referred to the House Ways & Means Committee.

Representative Dan Burton (R-IN) introduced HR 2655 on June 2. It has picked up six cosponsors, four Republicans and two Democrats. It joins its cousins in the House Ways & Means Committee and also eliminates the first time home buyer requirement while extending the credit to Jan 1, 2011.

What does this mean for you?

Senate Bill 1230 is the most radical of the bills. However, since it is almost identical to the one that failed to pass in the House, it will probably be killed in Committee.

The other four bills in the House are very close if not identical. Unfortunatly, neither of the four actually have any provisions to increase the $8,000 limit. One of the things that will be interesting is to see if their is any interest in adding the provision for the $3,000 credit for refinanced mortgages. All five of the bill eliminate the first time home buyer clause, which should help stimulate stagnant home sells.

We will be keeping a close eye on all of these bills and when we see action being taken we will try to keep you posted.

In alphabetical order:

Ahwatukee Star Spangled Festival and the Red, White and Boom, a Fireworks Celebration.

Where: The Ahwatukee Star Spangled Festival – Ahwatukee Community Center at 4700 E. Warner Rd. in Phoenix.

The Red, White and Boom, a Fireworks Celebration – Ahwatukee Country Club, 12432 S. 48th Street.

When: The Ahwatukee Star Spangled Festival is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m on Friday, July 3rd.

The Red, White and Boom, a Fireworks Celebration starts at 9 p.m., with gates opening at 6.

Cost: Free.

More info : Red, White and Boom. Ahwatukee Star Spangled Festival & Bicycle Parade event.

Where: Anthem Community Park Ball Fields

When: Friday, July 3rd. Activities begin at 6 p.m. Fireworks – 9:30 p.m.

Cost: Free admission

More Info:

Anthem fireworks.

Where: Apache Junction High School.

When: Saturday, July 4, 2009. Gates open at 6:00pm. Live bands 7 – 9pm with fireworks afterwards.

Cost: Free

More info on Apache Junction fireworks.

Where: Tumbleweed Park, on the Southwest corner of Germann & McQueen roads.

When: Saturday, July 4, 2009 starting at 4:00pm. Fireworks at 9:30pm.

Cost: Free admission. Parking $5.

More info on Chandler fireworks.

Where: Mesquite High School located at 500 S. McQueen Road in Gilbert.

When: Saturday, July 4th from 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Fireworks are scheduled to start at 9 p.m.

Cost: Free admission and parking. Fees for rides, amusements and refreshments.

More info on Gilbert fireworks.

Where: Goodyear Ballpark, 1933 S. Ballpark Way.

When: Saturday, July 4, 2009 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm.

Cost: Free admission and parking. Fees for rides and refreshments.

More info on Goodyear fireworks.

Where: Old Litchfield Road and Honeysuckle Street.

When: Saturday, July 4, 2009 from 7:00pm – 10:00pm.

Cost: Free admission and parking. Food and beverages available for purchase.

More info on Litchfield Park fireworks.

Where: Pacana Park located on Porter Road, approximately ¼ mile south of Honeycutt Road. About 2.5 miles east of City Hall (located just off of John Wayne Parkway).

When: Saturday, July 4th from 6 pm to 9 pm.

Cost: Free admission and parking. Food and beverages available for purchase.

More info on Maricopa fireworks.

Mesa cancels after a 50 year tradition due to budget cuts.

Where: Peoria Sports Complex, Mariners Practice Field, 16101 N. 83rd Ave.

When: Saturday, July 4, 2009. Gates open at 5:00pm, fireworks at approximately 9:15pm.

Cost: $5 for each person 13 and older. Free parking. Food court available for food, drinks and beer purchase.

More info on Peoria fireworks.

Where: Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Rd

When: Saturday, July 4, 2009 from 6:00pm – 10:pm. Fireworks begin approximately 9:20pm.

Cost: Admission is free. Food and beverages are available to purchase.

More info on Phoenix fireworks.

Scottsdale’s July 4th Grand Olde Fashioned Picnic is at Scottsdale Stadium on July 4 from 5 – 7pm. No fireworks. Admission and parking are free.

Where: Surprise Recreation Campus located at 15850 N. Bullard Avenue, about two miles west of Grand Avenue between Bell and Greenway roads. (same complex as Surprise Stadium.

When: Saturday, July 4th from 5:30pm to about 8:45pm Gates open at 5 pm.

Cost: Free admission with a canned food donation. Limited to first 10,000 ticketed fans. Parking is free.

More info on Surprise fireworks.

Where: Tempe Town Lake in downtown Tempe, Arizona.

When: Saturday, July 4th, 2009. Gates open at 4 p.m.

Cost: Children 12 and under are free. Anyone showing a current military ID is free. Tickets at the door are $8, or two for $15 (until sold out). Ticket Information (discounted tickets are available).

More info on Tempe fireworks.