Recently, realtors and industry experts gathered to showcase neighborhoods in central and east Phoenix. It appears that home buying and selling is strong in specific neighborhoods, such as the area between 35th and 40th streets, from Oak St. to McDowell. Homes have consistently been selling for about 97 percent of value.

With gas prices soaring to an all-time high, people are focused on living closer to work.

The foreclosure and mortgage crisis dominate the news. Andrew Waite, author of ‘Where to live in Phoenix’, confirms that 94.6 percent of all mortgages are current. And, with certain neighborhoods still doing well, it’s really not accurate to blanket the entire valley with the same negative stats.

Phoenix, the ‘Valley of the Sun’, has always been very neighborhood-centric. The recent housing market highlights how individual communities within one city have their own lifestyle and characteristics.

In the last Neighborhood Advisory Council meeting in Sonoran Foothills, the Community Manager pointed out how we can be proactive in taking control of our neighborhood. Developers and home builders market new communities using enormous marketing budgets. Once the community is turned over to the homeowners, we can still make an impact.

I guarantee each neighborhood has several resident realtors and mortgage brokers. I, for one, am looking forward to marketing my neighborhood as an attractive place to live with all of our surrounding beauty and amenities! I don’t think it’ll happen right away due to simple geography, but as more businesses are built nearby –the better it will get.

For accurate neighborhood housing stats, contact your neighborhood Realtor, Kelli Grant.