Selling your first home in a buyers’ market? You can get the best possible price if you know how to negotiate.

It’s no secret to Realtors that fabulous kitchens sell homes. Improve the room used primarily for food preparation, and the entire house will feel homier to residents, guests and prospective buyers alike.

I’m sure by now you’ve heard that we have a short supply of homes to sell. As I have been saying, this shortage is pushing up the price of homes that do go onto the market.

The value of home sales in Western states rose over the last year even as the number of transactions slipped, according to an official with the National Association of Realtors.

The real estate market is improving dramatically according to real estate professionals, and those looking to get involved in the market can learn all about their options at the Arizona Homebuyers Expo this Saturday, April 13.

Selling any home can be challenging, depending on the market. But if you have an old home and want to appeal to buyers in their 20s and early 30s, you may need to take some extra steps.

When speaking about business success it doesn’t come from one individual.

Selling season is upon us — does your home have its best foot forward? Or, do you still need to be convinced that now is finally the time to place your home on the market?

The National Association Realtors and Remodeling Magazine released a report comparing remodeling cost versus value. Results depend upon various factors such as location, work quality, neighborhood home values, the timing of selling the house and the actual completion of the project.

The number of distressed homes listed for sale in Ahwatukee was 52 percent lower on Feb. 1 when compared to the year earlier, based on data from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Arizona recently hosted school-choice supporters from across the country in Phoenix for National School Choice Week. Research conducted by Dr. David Garcia, Arizona State University, concludes that after nearly two decades of expanding choice options in our state, traditional public schools continue to be the choice for nearly nine out of 10 Arizona students. In fact, more than 3,500 students come to Kyrene for their education from outside our boundaries because parents are exercising their right to choose.

Norma Mae White, 82, of Ahwatukee, formerly of Indiana, Pa., passed away on Jan. 29 at St. Andrew’s Village after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. Born Feb. 16, 1930 in New Bethlehem, Pa., she is predeceased by her husband, A. B. White III, her parents Ernest and Lorena Dinger, and her grandson, Benson Adam White.

It’s all good in Ahwatukee! The supply of homes coming onto the market has not caught up with the demand for housing in our community. This is pushing up the price of homes. In ZIP codes 85044, 85045 and 85048, the median sales price in January was $216,750, up 19.8 percent from $181,000 in January of 2012. The average sales price in January was $255,614, up 17.4 percent from $217,718 in January of 2012 and up 6.6 percent from $239,813 last month. January 2013 was the highest level compared to January of 2012 and 2011.

A new real estate company in Ahwatukee Foothills believes keeping the focus on successful agents is what will ultimately create a successful company.

The state may be getting an all-Republican Corporation Commission because of a last-minute move by the Arizona Association of Realtors to get a panel they think will be friendlier to their issues.

The Republican Victory Fund (read Steve Pierce, AZ Realtors, and Western Growers) has spent a lot of money to attack Dr. Janie Hydrick, candidate for state senate from Legislative District 18, with three mailers that are completely devoid of facts. All three have the same basic text, and what is her great crime? Why, she’s a member (not the leader) of the Arizona Education Association, much the way your lawyer would be a member of the American Bar Association, or your doctor, the American Medical Association. Every statement on the fliers, except the spelling of Hydrick’s name, is unverified, (and unverifiable, since they’re innuendo, not facts).

Good news for homeowners: You’re not going to lose your state rebate of up to $600 a year if you forget to check your mail.

Foreclosures are dramatically down in the Phoenix-area housing market. This means fewer cheap homes coming onto the market, prices rising for the sixth month in a row as a result, and many buyers finally starting to turn their attention from bargain resale homes to new-home sales. A new report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University reveals some trends for Maricopa and Pinal counties, as of March:

Foreclosures are dramatically down in the Phoenix-area housing market. This means fewer cheap homes coming onto the market, prices rising for the sixth month in a row as a result, and many buyers finally starting to turn their attention from bargain resale homes to new-home sales. A new report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University reveals some trends for Maricopa and Pinal counties, as of March:

Verbally battered by local officials, a southern Arizona lawmaker is abandoning her proposal to warn area residents and visitors about dangers from illegal immigrants.

Verbally battered by local officials, a southern Arizona lawmaker is abandoning her proposal to warn area residents and visitors about dangers from illegal immigrants.

Phoenix is known for its “urban sprawl,” where suburbs and cities stretch across the entire Valley of the Sun. Back in the days of the housing boom, one popular slogan among realtors was “drive until you qualify,” meaning housing got more affordable the further you went from the city. The trade-off to that, however, was a longer commute. Since public transit in Phoenix is horrible (aside from the light rail for a few college kids), the only option for most of us is to drive if we need to get anywhere.

Every year for the last 20 years, Jack Heidemann has kept up a tradition of doing something his mind and body tells him he still can do, even if he knows it's not quite on the same level as it used to be.