To search for Arizona foreclosures click here.

Nevada has long held the No. 1 spot for the most foreclosures in the nation. And while it still does, a dramatic shift is taking place in the state. Foreclosure sales dropped 40 percent in February in Nevada, according to foreclosure data of western states by ForeclosureRadar. 

Other western states hard-hit by foreclosures are also seeing big improvements in a reduction to foreclosure sales. Foreclosure sales dropped in Oregon by 32 percent, 22 percent in California, 17 percent in Arizona, and nearly 7 percent in Washington. 

Nevada has seen dramatic decreases in its foreclosure sales and filings since the state implemented a new law that says lenders can be held criminally liable for any errors made in the foreclosure process. Other states are considering adopting similar measures. 

While states have seen a drop in foreclosure sales, some state are continuing to see an increase in foreclosure filings, a sign that the foreclosure crisis is not completely behind hard-hit western states. For example, foreclosure filings increased 39 percent in Oregon and 6 percent in Arizona in February. Spikes were offset by steep declines in the month prior.

If you are looking for a very rewarding high paced career where layoffs and fear over the economy has got you down, e-mail Dan Adler at Keller Williams Southern Arizona. We are currently hiring new and experienced agents to fill a large gap in Arizona’s desperate need for top sales associates. Build your own schedule, with incredible results! Inquire within: Dan@TheDanAdlerTeam.com

All Realtors Are Not The Same!

In all candor, who you are in business with matters. In today’s real estate market it really matters! If you needed major surgery on your knee you would hire the best surgeon right? Of course you would. You wouldn’t hire someone from a billboard or bus stop sign would you? You wouldn’t hire a family member or friend just because they were an MD either. You’d hire the best! The same should be true in real estate. Dan Adler is a Veteran United States Air Force Officer, a recipient of Tucson’s 40 Under 40 Top Business Leaders Award, a certified real estate educator by the State of Arizona, a frequent guest lecturer to the University of Arizona’s Eller Business College, a U of A Alumni, a Team Leader, an owner/investor in the Keller Williams Southern Arizona franchise and one of the top sales professionals in the state. Dan only hires the best and brightest talent for his Team. If you are considering selling, buying or investing in real estate, you owe it to yourself and your family to interview The Dan Adler Team. We cherish your trust!

Honesty First, Integrity Always and Extensive Market Knowledge

Keller Williams Realty Climbs to Second-Largest Real Estate Franchise in United States

Goals set for worldwide expansion to add 75,000 international associates

AUSTIN, TEXAS (March 8, 2011)—Keller Williams® Realty Inc., announced today that it is now the second-largest real estate franchise in the United States based on the total number of sales professionals, surpassing Century 21, according to research conducted by REAL Trends a leading source of analysis and information in the residential real estate industry. The company claimed the number two spot with 77,672 U.S.-based associates at the end of 2010, just two years after claiming the number three spot from RE/MAX® International.

“Once again, this milestone achievement is a direct result of the dedication of our associates and the stability and profitability of the Keller Williams business models,” said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty. “It’s incredible to see the momentum that our associates and our offices have right now.”

This news comes one week after the announcement of positive growth by the company at their annual convention in Anaheim. Including its presence in Canada, Keller Williams closed the year with 79,315 associates and 701 market centers (offices). At the convention, Willis also shared that Keller Williams associate profit share was up 7.2 percent, with its agents receiving $34.6 million dollars back in 2010. Despite industry contraction, Keller Williams associates across North America also showed significant percentage gains in listings taken (+13%), contracts closed volume (+9%) and contracts closed units (+6%).

The company also formed Keller Williams Worldwide with Chris Heller as president, citing plans for global expansion, with plans to grow the division by an additional 75,000 associates in 10 years.

“Our goals are to expand the Keller Williams Realty model – with the focus on training and our sound business models,” said Chris Heller, president of KW Worldwide. “And, when looking for the right country and business partners in planning for expansion, we will not sacrifice the perfect fit with our mission, vision and the KW culture, those are absolutely necessary.”

Despite the sharp downturn in the real estate market, since 2005 Keller Williams Realty has grown 30 percent in agents, 40 percent in market centers, 21 percent in closed units and 11 percent in closed GCI.

“It is such an honor to be a part of a company with such dedicated and driven people,” said Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty. “Our associates are setting the pace in the industry. It is truly an exciting time to be in real estate and to be a part of the Keller Williams family.”

down in monthly and yearly comparisons.

The median price – the point at which half of homes sold for more and half for less – dropped to $149,450, down 9.4 percent from June 2009. The median sales price for May 2010 was $151,000, the MLS reported. The average sale price also dropped about 9.4 percent from June 2009 to $189,231 last month.

The number of homes sold this June was down from the previous month, as expected with homebuyers’ tax credits expiring.

Meanwhile, inventory increased and more homes were put up for sale than during the previous month. There were 1,505 new listings in June, compared with 1,463 in May. The total of active listings increased to 6,852 in June, up from 6,742 in May.

Real Estate Franchises: Most Recognizable Brands for 2009

 390,000 Home Owners Select the Top 10

The Top 10 real estate franchises, most recognized by the real estate industry as quality national brands are:

1.     Keller Williams Realty

2.     Coldwell Banker Real Estate

3.     RE/MAX International

4.     Century 21 Real Estate

5.     Prudential Real Estate

6.     Sotheby’s International Realty

7.     EXIT Realty

8.     ERA Real Estate

9.     Weichert Real Estate Affiliates

10.   Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate

   Keller Williams Realty’s  #1 national ranking  is due in no small part due to the strong online and social media presence of their agents and the fact that during 2009 KW surpassed RE/MAX in agent count nation wide. In 2010, Keller Williams Tucson Territory merged with Realty Executives Southern Arizona to become Keller Williams Southern Arizona. In less than 120 days the agent count of Keller Williams agents in the southern Arizona marketplace multiplied ten-fold!

The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in Tucson will be open next Saturday to answer taxpayers’ questions and help with tax-filing issues.

“During the expanded Saturday hours, taxpayers will be able to address economic hardship issues, make payment arrangements or get help claiming any of the special tax breaks in last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including the Homebuyer Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Credit, the Making Work Pay Credit and the Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit,” says an IRS news release.

IF YOU GO

• What: Tucson IRS office open for special Saturday service day.

• When: Saturday, March 27, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Where: 300 W. Congress St.

• For those interested, The Dan Adler Team utilizes the services of Lt. Col. (R) Weston Jones CPA for our accounting needs. He can be reached at 722-6617.

Keller Williams® Realty Inc. announced today the launch of Keller Williams Southern Arizona. The new operation, formerly with Realty Executives®, includes seven offices, with more than 375 top-producing real estate agents and staff.

“We felt it was our responsibility to be the stewards of our agents’ careers and, based on our research and what we have seen, it is obvious that Keller Williams Realty is the right choice for a positive future,” said Anthony Azar, operating principal of Keller Williams Southern  Arizona. “We absolutely have the best agents in the city, and that is statistically supported by their rankings and their designations. We are thrilled to be a part of a company that is as serious about growth and success as we are.”

Sue Cartun, operations manager of the new organization, added, “KW’s philosophy of putting agents and ownership on the same side of the table was an incredibly important part of our decision to join Keller Williams Realty.”

This comes on the heels of a year of positive growth for Keller Williams Realty throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company outpaced the downward trend in the real estate market and grew in every category – opening 30 new franchises, ending the year with a 16 percent year-over-year increase in the number of contracts closed per agent, more than 76,879 associates across North America (up three percent). In addition, the company gave back more than $32.2 million in profit share to its agents.

“We make it our business to get in business with the best – and Anthony and his associates are proven leaders in the Southern Arizona marketplace,” said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty. “It’s our honor to welcome them to the Keller Williams family.”

In 2009, in addition to becoming  the 3^rd largest real estate company in the U.S., surpassing Re/Max®, Keller Williams Realty received the highest overall satisfaction ratings from home buyers among the largest full-service real estate firms from J.D. Power and Associates for the second year in a row, and  was ranked as the No. 1 real estate franchise on the 31^st Annual Franchise 500 list by Entrepreneur magazine.

“I am so thrilled to be a part of the Keller Williams family,” said Nancy Colvin, team leader for the new Kolb La Playa office. “Joining forces with Keller Williams Realty is a huge benefit for our agents and was the best decision for our team as a whole.”

“We are confident that with this change, Tucson-area residents will think of us when they think of real estate,” added David Jones, senior team leader in the new operation’s Joesler Village location. ”We’re proud to be one of the leading real estate companies in the state.”

Tucson was listed in the March Sunset magazine as one of the West’s “20 Towns of the Future” for its “fresh, innovative and environmentally sound buildings.”

That might surprise folks who have driven past miles of aging ranch homes in the city’s center or explored the cookie-cutter sameness of subdivisions on its fringe.

Sunset focused on urban-infill pockets of creativity amid our boomtown sprawl, specifically citing architects Rob Paulus and the husband and wife team of Luis Ibarra and Teresa Rosano as part of a “new guard of architects and designers.”

Those two firms have garnered local and regional design awards for their work in the past decade.

Paulus is known for his transformation of an 80-year-old icehouse into the sleek, modern Ice House Lofts and for the visual surprise of places such as Barrio Metalico.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects uses a mix of modern and traditional materials to create open, airy spaces on tight lots.

Teresa Rosano said urban high style can be a hard sell in Tucson, which “still sees itself as a town.”

“There are a handful of people doing exciting stuff,” she said.

“I would definitely call Tucson a hub for fresh and innovative thinking about sustainable development,” said Don Chatfield, the deputy director of operations for the Sonoran Institute, which encourages infill and environmental sensitivity with its biennial Building From the Best awards.

“We have a way to go to put that into practice as a norm,” he said.

Part of the gap between thought and action, Paulus said, is a reluctance by some architects to take on their own building and financing. “If you can design and build, that’s a complete commitment to your craft,” he said. “I wish there were more design-savvy people doing it.”

Anne-Marie Russell, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, said interest in architecture, specifically modernist architecture, is strong and growing, with 20 to 30 “top-tier architects” working in the form.

“If you want an architecture-designed home, Tucson is probably the most affordable place to do it,” she said. To see the best homes of this style contact someone from the Dan Adler Team (520-275-2132 or email us) at Keller Williams Southern Arizona.

Russell said contemporary architecture expresses concepts from the region’s earliest forms – the pit house, the pueblo, the adobe.

“They had to pay attention to light, to wind, to sun. All of these buildings were incredibly smart – cooling towers and thermal mass and sleeping porches.”

Rosano, whose first building experience was helping her father make mud-adobe blocks for the family’s Marana home, said the key is to allow the natural setting to dictate building concepts.

Our setting, she said, “requires a different way of thinking and a real understanding of place.”

Paulus said Tucson’s mild winters and “crazy sun” in summer offer “a clear diagram to design within.”

Laura Shaw, senior vice president of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc., said any positive listing in a magazine such as Sunset is good news to her. “It’s especially good to be recognized for a kind of creative uniqueness,” she said.

“I always think about these rankings in terms of young professionals. A lot of young people are looking for unique, creative places to start families and careers.”