How's real estate marketing doing? Is huge jump in home prices that is evident in some areas symptoms of a value bubble? Good questions, yes?

Two things to keep in mind when surveying market:

1. All real estate is local, 2. Real estate is cyclical.

Here in Arizona some residential areas have seen as much as a 30% jump in value in last 8 to 12 months. The word about increasing Arizona home values has spread across country. We recently sold a home to an out of state buyer who never looked at property. His agent is just buying homes, because buyer is sure prices will continue to escalate.

In case of another of our houses a buyer offered $2,000 above our asking price on day we posted a for sale sign on property. We were asking more than we expected to get!

At same time we received a telephone call from a relative living in California. He was very excited because his brother-in-law was sure he would get rich by buying a couple of Arizona homes. Should her do same, he asked?

Such events have all earmarks of a price bubble... if only in Arizona. On other hand...

On a recent trip to Buffalo, New York, local newspaper ran a story explaining that home sales were up. In same article it revealed that median price of a home had dropped. In other words, people are hurrying to buy homes that are dropping value. There's more...

Mortgage Banker's Association data shows that adjustable-rate and interest-only mortgages accounted for nearly two-thirds of mortgage originations in second half of last year.

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Negotiations for a contract between company A and company B have been going on for months, with law firm C as author and mediator of contract. Three representatives from A and B have been part of a drafting committee with a partner from C, making a committee of seven, each with various electronic records of by laws, budgets, minutes, and memos. The deadline for final draft of contract falls due in a few weeks.

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