North Central is indebted to developers

I want us to flashback five or six years ago and remember the pain in our guts when our home values were at an incredible low value and about 60 percent of our home values were under water.  Unfortunately, some of our friends and family members lost their homes to the banks. There was
doubt about how long it would take to recover but the North Central area had a strong turnaround
and although  e are not back at pre-2005 prices, we have come back a long way.  We certainly are in a great location with excellent schools, tremendous restaurants and top retail stores. I feel there is a common factor as to why our home prices have almost doubled in the past 3-4 years and we owe a large thanks to the home builders/ developers who believed in our neighborhoods as much as we did. Back in the 1970s, the restaurant Willy and Guillermo's at Central and Missouri was torn down for new homes, as was the Ambassador Hotel at 4th Avenue and Maryland, which is now a luxury gated subdivision.
In the past few years, two of my clients, Porchlight Homes and Magee Builders, have built more than 30 new homes in the corridor ranging in price from $370,000 to $780,000 and increasing the per-square-foot price to close to $250. Just a few years ago we were lucky to get more than $175 per square foot but now we are creeping up to the $300 per foot prices, thanks to two incredible homes built on Central Avenue and Lamar by Starion Custom Residences, who tore down an old home that sat on an acre. I have not confirmed the exact square-foot price with the builder but I feel the masterpieces he created are worth every bit of a $300-plus-per-foot price. Another new builder in our area, CE Residential, currently has two new homes under construction on Myrtle, just east of Central Avenue, for around $1.5 million. An old home was demolished, making way for these
fabulous homes. CE Residential also built a new home at Lamar and 2nd Street that sold for $980,000.
Another project that I will be involved in will be located at 325 E Maryland, which replaced a 70-year-old home that should have been condemned many years ago. There will be three new homes, soon to be under construction, at that location. There are many new clients of mine who want new homes and are moving here from other parts of the Valley only to buy a new home. I know I mentioned in another one of my monthly articles that change is good, especially when it pertains to our Central Corridor. I will be representing more than 25 new custom homes in our area over the next 18 months. I am seeing more and more buyers moving here from Paradise Valley and Arcadia in order to be closer to work and schools. These buyers will only move here for homes in the $550,000 and higher range that are brand new or remodeled throughout.
 Please be supportive of these  developers as they take us to a newer financial level. Remember CHANGE is good for a  neighborhood and please know that these builders are building homes that have current zoning in place and they want their homes to conform to the neighborhoods in which they are being built.

The Lieb Group
Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group Manager/Founder
5225 N. Central Ave., Ste.104, Phoenix, AZ 85012
Mobile: 602-376-1341
Fax: 602-996-9141
www.centralphx.com

You get what you pay for

I had a client last week who placed a home in escrow near 28th Street and Camelback, which
had brand new floors, counter tops and cabinets; all bathrooms remodeled; a new roof and new air
conditioning. The home was a fix and flip by an investor and seemed like a great home until...WE
HAD AN INSPECTION...that revealedthe roof was not new,the AC was not new and basically the
home was in poor condition and he canceled. I cannot tell you how many homes that I have seen like this in the past three or four years where investors,who are not licensed, put together what we call a “lipstick remodel” that looks good from the inside until you have that inspection. There are some amazing licensed contractors in our market, so be careful who you choose to remodel your home or in choosing a home that has a licensed contractor who did the remodel because they will stand behind the work.
The other problem that I have seen in the past four years is all the homes that had their roofs replaced because of hail damage. About 75 percent of these roofs were replaced by imposters who issued useless roof warranties. Most of these roofers were storm chasers who go from city to
city preying on desperate people. My take in all these stories is you get what you pay for, so be
careful!
My suggestion is to investigate the contractorseither through the Better Business Bureau or ask for references. The best overall scenario, if you can afford it, is to go with a new home where the state mandates certain warranties that builders must offer their clients, such as one year for cosmetics and two years for any structure issue, along with manufacturer warranties for appliances, roof and air conditioning. I am very fortunate to represent two incredible builders who have called North Central their home for the past two years and will continue to build here for at least two more years. One is Magee Builders, who has built or remodeled more than six North Central homes and currently has a brand-new home located at 7220 North 15th Ave., which is listed for $784,000 and sits on a half-acre lot. Magee has at least 15-18 more new North Central homes either under construction or in the planning stages. The next homes will be completed by the end of July and include 405 E. Montebello, priced around $900,000 and including 3,400 square feet on a 22,000 square-foot lot; and 5506 N. 2nd Street. priced in the mid $700s and including 3,050 square feet with a three-car garage. Magee Builders are Randy Rochford, Brian Magee and Scott McLean.
The other builder that I am representing is Porchlight Homes, which developed a 5.5 acre horse property located on 7th Avenue between Maryland and Bethany Home Road. It is a new gated subdivision, originally consisting of 15 homes which is now down to three spec homes: two at 3,500 square feet and one at 3,150 square feet. All three will be active on the market in mid July. Porchlight has a second gated 10-home subdivision located on Central Avenue just north of Northern Avenue. In just six weeks, eight of  the homes have been sold and the two remaining specs with be active the first of July. NORTH CENTRAL LOVES NEW HOMES. Go new if you can afford to.
My heavy condolences to the family of Herb Sperber, who for many years owned a tuxedo store at 7th Avenue and Campbell called Lad T Dad, which later became Tux and Tails. Herb dressed all of us for proms, weddings, premiers and special functions. I was more nervous on my wedding night, worried about my losing or tearing my tuxedo than I was about the wedding party, which consisted of 250 wild animals. Herb made all of us feel and look like a million dollars and we are all better off for having him in our lives. I still own a tux from Tux and Tails but, unfortunately, it has shrunk over the years! Thanks, Herb, for making me feel special for many a night wearing your clothes. The Valley was a better place with your presence in our lives. Additionally the name Herb is very special to my brother and me because that was our dad's name. I lost another longtime friend this month, Bob Warren, who was in my wedding party and a great customer for many years at the Jockey Club. I enjoyed Bob's company at my club for many nights and years and even playing golf with him. Bob, Mary Ann and I and all of our Jockey Club cardholders will dearly miss you.
See you guys in San Diego!


Bobby Lieb




The Lieb Group
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group Manager/Founder
5225 N. Central Ave., Ste. 104
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Mobile: 602-376-1341
Fax: 602-996-9141
www.centralphx.com

New Construction= New Families= New Businesses

I mentioned a couple of months ago how excited that I am to be involved with two builders who are helping to change the dynamics in North Central, Porchlight Homes and Magee Builders. Porchlight has a 15- home gated subdivision called Claremont Estates, located on 7th Avenue between Maryland and Bethany Home with nine sales to date. Claremont Estates currently has one home active on the market and will have three spec homes completed between June and August. Porchlight also has a second gated subdivision called Sendero Villas, located on Central Avenue just north of Northern, that consist of 10 homes. We currently have sold two homes and there are four specs under  construction. The floor plans can all be seen on my web page at centralphx.com.
Magee Builders has plans for more than 20 custom homes in North Central over the next 24 months. They currently have three spec homes under construction. The first one will be completed by May 1 and the next two will be done within the next 60-90 days. If you plan on moving to North Central over the next two to four months, you certainly have many home choices from either Porchlight or Magee Builders. You also can call me for specs and pricing.
We are no longer a sleepy little villa in North Central with all the new businesses, including restaurants, that are either relocating or moving here ... and there seems to be a daily wait time for a table. We are seeing numerous buyers from Paradise Valley and Arcadia moving to our area because of the new homes and the quality of our schools. Change is inevitable and I hear some long-time residents are not always excited to see changes. Our values, which suffered greatly for about five years, have increased considerably and the new homes as well as the remodeled homes have contributed to the higher prices. I welcome new families and businesses to our area and hope that this trend will continue. I have always been very supportive of longtime area businesses since my dad and I used to own the Jockey Club Nightclub.
This month I am featuring my friend Mark Hester of Hester, Heitel and Associates. "North Central Phoenix is the home to Hester, Heitel and Associates. We are an independent insurance agency that has been in the Valley of the Sun since 1953.The agency was founded by my father, Lynn Hester. Our agency specializes in business insurance and high-net-worth personal insurance. As a specialist in the field of high-net-worth personal insurance, we are very aware of the unique insurance exposures that accompany the highnet- worth profile. Large jewelry schedules and fine arts schedules are commonplace. There are unique coverage techniques that can save money, and simplify large  schedules of insurance, for the consumer. There are also critical liability issues to consider like excess uninsured and under-insured motorists coverage and larger limits for personal umbrella liability. We love insuring some of the most beautiful and well-maintained homes in North Central Phoenix, Paradise Valley and Scottsdale. Our personal attention to our client’s insurance needs and our convenient location at 6122 N.7th St. in Phoenix allows us to service our customers with great ease and accessibility… Our valued customers are our friends and neighbors in North Central Phoenix."
Have a happy and healthy May. Good luck to the Graduates for 2014. My daughter Juliann will graduate from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University.


Bobby Lieb
The Lieb Group
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group Manager/Founder
5225 N. Central Ave., Ste. 104
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Mobile: 602-376-1341
Fax: 602-996-9141
www.centralphx.com

Athletic injuries in young people

I am a huge baseball fan and there is no bigger thrill for me to have the baseball season beginning soon. I played four years of college baseball and far and away it is my favorite sport. My concern with the beginning of the 2014 season is all of the major arm injuries that the teams are experiencing including the Diamondback's star pitcher, Patrick Corbin, who will be out the entire season due to “Tommy John” surgery. My belief is that our kids are throwing a lot of innings as young boys and by the time they are in their early 20s, they are paying the price with injuries.
I am guilty as a dad because my son Sean played competitive baseball beginning at age 8. I
believe he played in more than 75 baseball games that year and subsequently the same amount of
games for the next six years, (and that does not include basketball and football games). We
watched kids throwing sliders and curve balls even at age 8 with total amazement, not realizing how much impact that would have on some of these young arms when they got older. The problem we have in Arizona is that the weather is so awesome that we play sports all year round on many teams and with different coaches, some very experienced and some just there because they are the parent or the legal guardian. I am not saying what we do as parents and coaches is wrong because I coached my kids for more than 10 years. My point is to understand what has taken me a long time to realize, that these young athletes are still growing and the impact of what they are doing at a young age could impede their growth in sports later on because of serious injuries.
I asked the North Central sports guru Itamar Stern of Foothills Sports Medicine to comment on his
findings "Over my long career as a sports physical therapist, I have seen numerous injuries in the
adolescent athlete related to overwork and overuse, none more prevalent than in the throwing
athlete. The throwing motion overloads the immature musculoskeletal system, causing injuries to
tendons, ligaments and bones when the thrower is asked to throw at a high frequency.
“Another problem is general weakness of core and shoulder girdle muscles contributing to injuries
at the elbow and shoulder level. At Foothills Sports medicine PT we recommend a professionally
supervised strengthening program specific to the thrower and the pitch count, taking into consideration the amount of practice and number of games, how frequently the athlete is seen, and how many teams the athlete plays on. Every parent thinks his kid is the next Steven Strasburg but incorrect training might lead to disastrous injuries and shattered dreams.”
Have a great and healthy April. PLAY BALL

bobby Lieb

The Lieb Group
Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group Manager/Founder
5225 N. Central Ave., Ste. 104
Phoenix, AZ  85012
Mobile: 602-376-1341
Fax: 602-996-9141 www.centralphx.com

Change is good

I was honored to be chosen by Local Einsteins Books as one of 15 agents in the Valley to write a
chapter for their book on “What to Know Before Buying or selling a Home.” They picked the top agent in each part of the Valley and I wrote about “Understanding the Real Estate Market of North Central Phoenix.” I was fortunate to list 158 homes in 2013 (13 homes per month) and sold 126 homes this year (10 homes per month). We sold almost 75 homes just in North  Central.
 I was asked recently why I chose to live in North Central with all the beautiful homes that I see throughout the Valley and my simple answer is that is the area my dad lived in and I feel so comfortable here. My parents got divorced in 1965 and I moved to Atlanta, Ga., with my mom and brother and dad moved to Phoenix to buy a ladies dress shop called Kagels at Park Central Mall
with his business partner Gerry Aron. Dad first moved into the Moroccan Apartments on 3rd Avenue and Maryland, which were torn down a few years ago and replaced by Herro Park Townhomes (these were built out and finished by Porchlight Homes). My dad then rented at Executive Towers at 3rd Avenue and Clarendon. Those were then converted into condos, where he lived for more than 20 years. Finally he moved into Crystal Point Condos, located on Osborn and 13th Street, before he passed away a couple of years ago.
I would visit Phoenix twice a year until I moved out here permanently in 1978 to work with dad at the Jockey Club Nightclub, which he owned and was built by Jerry Hassett. We had a second location for seven years at Central and Camelback, which was formerly Navares and now is Sweet Tomatoes. I enjoyed seeing the early Phoenix from 1965 to 1980 but, like all cities and neighborhoods, it must change in order to attract new families and keep the old ones here. I used to go with my dad to Rocky's Hideaway in the Ambassador Hotel on 4th Avenue and Maryland, which is now a gated subdivision of 20 homes called North Central Estate West. The cook at Rocky’s was Gregory Andro, who was Rocky's nephew and later opened many wonderful restaurants called Gregory's Penthouse. One of Greg's best customers was a former star softball player named Rose Mofford, who went on to greater fame as one of our finest governors. Rose, hope you are feeling better because we miss seeing you at Sierra Bonita. also had the very first disco in Phoenix called Herb's Underground, located across the street from the Del Webb Townhouse on Clarendon and Central in 1970. He used to take me to Willie andGuillermos Nightclub and Restaurant on Central Avenue Missouri, where people used to stand in linesfor hours to get in. That was torn down and estate housesare now in its place.
What is my point with this month's article? First of all, that I am very grateful that my dad chose this area to live in for more than 50 years and introduced me and my family to North Central. Second, I get a little upset when I hear people say that our area should always remain the same and never change and that is just not practical. Properties get run down and become a blight to the neighborhood and a seller has the right to sell to whoever they want to for the most money they can. If the new buyer happens to be a developer who is not needing a variance and is keeping the current zoning in place, then that is a positive change and brings new people to our area who want new homes and will pay more money for these homes, which drive our prices up. We sold three
new homes for Magee Builders in 2013 between $740k and $805k and the buyers moved in these because they only wanted new homes and their kids all went to our neighborhood schools. Magee is building another 24 custom homes in North Central the next 24 months and I am proud to be their exclusive agent. Porchlight Homes, another local developer, bought a 5.5 acre old horse property on 7th avenue and Claremont and we have sold 7 homes priced between $625k-$800k and there will be a total of 15 homes in this gated subdivision. Five of the buyers are North Central homeowners who wanted new and gated (two of those five are moving from 5,000-square-foot North Central Homes and want to downsize and stay in the area) and are proud to call this their new home. Porchlight also is building 10 new homes on Central Avenue just north of Northern, which should start selling in January. I am also honored to be Porchlight's exclusive broker.
I understand that not all of you want to see changes to our area and I respect that opinion. Please respect the fact that there are many new people who are moving in to our neighborhood, as well as long time area residents who want to move here and buy new or remodeled homes. I literally have a waiting list of buyers who want homes in our area and that is why I sold more than 20 homes out of 126 home sales in 2013 to clients who bought my listings before they even went in to MLS. There is also a reason that new restaurants and businesses are locating in our area. CHANGE IS GOOD!
Have a great and healthy 2014

The Lieb Group

Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group Manager/Founder
5225 N. Central Ave., Ste. 104
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Mobile: 602-376-1341
Fax: 602-996-9141
www.centralphx.com

Taking the trip of a lifetime

Normally I write this column about the real estate market in North Central but this month I would like to share with you a wonderful experience that my wife Mary Ann and our two great friends Wendell and Jan Chapman just experienced. We got to spend the past week on an incredible journey to the land of Israel. My daughter was fortunate to visit Israel last year on a program called Birthright, which is available to Jewish kids between the ages of 18- 26 and is actually free if they qualify. For the first time ever, the Birthright program invited the parents (we have to pay!), to visit Israel and experience what our kids got to see. We got to meet 84 parents from all over the country and had the adventure of our life.

We started on day one by going to the port city of Caesara and then drove along the  Mediterranean coast to the upper Galilee and saw incredible old ruins of the country. On day two we got to discover the Golan Heights on ATV off road vehicles, looked out at Syria from Mount Bental, then continued to a memorial service at the Valley of the Tears that marked 40 years since the outbreak of the Yom Kippur war, took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and then had dinner in Tiberias.

On days three and four we went to the magical city of Tzfat, met with a Kabbalistic artist, drove to the incredible city of Jerusalem where they had a welcoming ceremony for our group and then stayed in Jerusalem. We also went to visit the Israel Museum, which included the model of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Next we went to visit the Western wall which also is known as the Wailing Wall. We then went to Ammunition Hill where we walked through the bunkers and heard about the battles for Jerusalem in the six-day war.
Over the next few days we went to Yad Vasheem, which is a historical museum depicting
the Holocaust and the children who were killed during this horrible time. We then went
to Israel's National Military Cemetery and then went shopping at the Machane Yehuda outdoor market (absolutely about as crowded as you could possibly imagine) and then went to a sound and light show at the Tower of David Museum.
The final two days we went to the Judean Desert, floated in the Dead Sea, went to Masada and relived the bitter confrontation between the Zealots and the Romans, and then got to ride camels at Kfar Hanokdim. Finally, we visited the site where Prime Minister Rabinwas killed in 1995 and visited the beaches in Tel Aviv.
The passion of the residents in Israel is incredible. It truly does not matter what religion
you practice because this is a country for everybody. The history and the surroundings
from the north all the way to the south of Israel offer a vacation and history lesson for all ages. I was a little nervous because of everything that I had read but I personally will tell you it is absolutely safe and you need to experience what we experienced. If you are interested in a tour, contact Israel Maven Tours at 866-317-9307 or the visit the website at www.Israel-Maven.com.
Have a great November.

Bobby Lieb

The Lieb Group
Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group Manager/Founder
5225 N. Central Ave., Ste. 104
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Mobile: 602-376-1341
Fax: 602-996-9141
www.centralphx.com

MAN'S BEST FRIEND

I remember around 27 years ago playing tennis at my friend Dr Peter Nutley's home when he stopped for a few minutes to walk up to his dog and gave it a treat and started talking to him like he was human..I kept saying to myself what a wacko and then Peter went on to tell me that he took his dog hunting with him and camping..I started to worry a little about my friend that he was so attached to his dog because I had never owned a dog and did not understand. Later that year, I surprised my wife when we got back from our honeymoon with our first dog, a shar-pei named IRIE and we became hooked..Irie would sleep under our newborn Sean's bed and then 2 years later, protected Sean's sister Juliann when she was born. Irie was a great friend and we enjoyed him for many years. About 7 years later we got another shar-pei, Punam and then about 11 years we bought a weimeraner named Jakki who is still prancing around the home..Irie and Punam had passed on and we got our 3rd Shar-Pei, Shay around 9 years ago..Shay was an amazing pet. He never had a bad day and would wake me up when he was hungry and had me trained to do whatever he wanted me to do..When we bought a boxer Layla a couple of years ago, Shay would cause interference on Layla whenever Layla starting getting aggressive with Jakki and was the protective father that he needed to be.. 

 

We almost lost Shay a couple of years ago due to health issues but our vet, Dr BJ Umstead saved him with proper medications and Shay continued to give our family daily smiles. A couple of weeks ago, Shay stopped eating and although we did everything that we could we realized that his time was near. We took Shay in July 5th to the vet and made that really difficult decision to put him at peace..That choice was probably the hardest decision that I ever had to make but I just did not want to see him suffer anymore..Four days later my 2 dogs are very confused to where their pal is and additionally my wife and I are having a rough time because Shay was a huge part of our family..It has taken me 27 years to realize what Dr Nutley had exposed me to that day and that is whatever pet you have, dogs, cats, birds, gerbils, etc., they are addicting and habit forming. Any of you who have suffered the loss of a pet, I sympathize with you and I now realize that these pets are HUMAN after all! I would love to hear about your stories so you can email me at boblieb@aol.com.

 

On to Real Estate..We have now sold 70 homes and have 12 in escrow for 2013. Thanks to all of you for helping me be ranked by The Phoenix Business Journal the number 6 realtor in Phoenix for 2012 with over $50 million in sales and over 110 home sales. I will never take anything for granted and I have been fortunate to have sold over 1000 North Central homes over the past 20 years, some of them even 2 or 3 times. North Central is my speciality area and I think this is the best area to live and work anywhere in the valley. This is why all the new restaurants and businesses are opening here because the retail world realizes what a great area we live in, as well as all of the new construction.. Have you seen the long lines at these places?..Even in 110 degree weather!!

 

Have a great August..Be safe with kids going back to school and remember my parting words for this month..Love those PETS because they love you!!

 

Bobby Lieb
 Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group
602-761-4646 (office)
602-376-1341 (mobile)
boblieb@aol.com