Rare Find in North Scottsdale: Your Ground-Floor Retreat at Talavera Is Finally Here

11680 East Sahuaro Drive, Unit 1018, Scottsdale, AZ 85259

UPDATE: This beautiful condominium sold quickly and at full price, which is the highest price in the complex for a 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit without a garage! I've set some pricing records on my listings multiple times over the years.

If you've been keeping an eye on the North Scottsdale real estate market for any length of time, you already know that when something becomes available at Talavera, you pay attention. This is one of those communities where residents move in and simply don't leave - and once you see what the area has to offer, you'll understand why. So when a ground-floor unit hits the market here, it’s not just a listing, it’s an event… and definitely not one you want to miss…

254 Views, 0 Comments

Taliesin West in Scottsdale: Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Desert Masterpiece

Where Architecture Meets the Desert: Discovering Taliesin West

You know how some buildings just sit on top of the land? Then there are the rare places that look like they actually grew right out of it.

Set against the rugged backdrop of the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale, Taliesin West feels less like a standard building and more like a quiet conversation between architecture and the desert. Sunlight slides across angled walls. The wind moves through open courtyards. Rough desert stones turn golden at sunset. Everything about the compound suggests that it belongs exactly where it stands.

This was Frank Lloyd Wright’s goal from the start. When he arrived in Arizona in the late 1930s, he wasn’t looking to force his architecture onto the…

198 Views, 0 Comments

Homebuyers Are Backing Out at the Highest Rate Ever Recorded

Getting Under Contract Used to Feel Like the Finish Line. Not Anymore

Something genuinely interesting is happening in the housing market right now, and if you're thinking about selling your home, this is exactly the kind of thing you need to understand before you put up that for sale sign.

Back in the not-so-distant past, getting a buyer to sign a purchase agreement felt like you had basically won. Pop the champagne, start packing boxes, call the moving company. The hard part was over. But that's just not the reality anymore, and the numbers tell a pretty striking story about how much things have changed.

In December alone, roughly 40,000 home purchase agreements across the United States were canceled before ever making it to the closing…

402 Views, 0 Comments

March Momentum: Events, Exhibits & Migration Trends

This month’s newsletter is a little bit of everything: a fond farewell to my annual lederhosen moment, a roundup of can’t-miss March events in and around Scottsdale (hello NASCAR and MLB Spring Training!), a look at a new exhibit at Taliesin West, helpful local news links, and a snapshot of how domestic migration is reshaping our population here in Arizona. Whether you’re here for the fun, the facts, or a little of both—I’m glad you’re here. Let’s jump in!

Time to Trade in My Lederhosen

For most of my life, I proudly believed I was German. I even took German in high school. My brother and I are adopted (not related), and Mom always said one of us was German & English and the other German & Irish — she just couldn’t remember which. My brother had…

118 Views, 0 Comments

The 25 Biggest Turn-Offs in Home Showings That Cost You Thousands

25 Things Turning Buyers Away Before They Even Make an Offer

So you've decided to sell your home. You've picked an agent, set a price, and scheduled showings. You might even be feeling pretty confident about the whole thing. But here's the thing that a lot of sellers don't realize until it's too late: the way your home shows up during those visits can make or break whether a buyer ever submits an offer. And we're not just talking about obvious stuff like a leaky roof or a cracked foundation. Sometimes it's the small, seemingly harmless details that send buyers heading straight for the door.

Real estate professionals across the country see this play out every single day. They walk into homes with their clients, watch those clients form instant…

339 Views, 0 Comments

Why the Housing Market Isn't Actually Falling Apart (Even Though It Feels Like It)

Reasons the "Housing Is Doomed" Narrative Misses the Whole Picture

Every time you scroll through social media, there's another post about how housing is completely broken. Prices are sky high. Mortgage rates are brutal. Rent keeps climbing. The comments section fills up with people saying the whole thing is about to collapse, that we're headed for another 2008, that you should just wait it out because everything's going to crash.

But here's the thing. When you actually look at what's happening in the housing market right now, the picture is way more complicated than any single viral graphic can show you. Yes, housing is expensive. That's not up for debate. But there are some genuinely positive shifts happening that get completely drowned out by…

247 Views, 0 Comments

February Newsletter: A Confession, a Big Number & a Deadly Appliance

I hope you're staying warm and finding reasons to smile this February! Of course, you're probably laughing since it's not that cold here in the Phoenix area and we've gotten up to the 80's, so who's cold? Well, I am, which is why we moved here from the Chicago suburbs. And we're shivering just looking at the weather they've been having in the Midwest. This makes me appreciate winters in Arizona.

I'm excited to share what's been happening in our corner of the world. February has a way of mixing heart and history, and this month’s newsletter does exactly that. From a small Valentine’s Day confession to fun happenings around town, a real-life example of how $43,000 can make a major difference, and reflections from four decades in real estate, this…

181 Views, 0 Comments

The Equity Sitting in Your House Deserves Your Attention: Here's Why and What to Do About It

Your Home Has Been Quietly Building Wealth for You

When was the last time you really thought about what your house is actually worth to you financially? Not as a place to live, but as a genuine financial asset. If you're like most people, probably not recently. And honestly, that's exactly why you might be sitting on way more wealth than you realize without even knowing it.

Here's the thing about home equity. It's one of those financial concepts that sounds complicated but really isn't. Yet somehow, most homeowners don't give it much thought until something forces them to. Maybe they're thinking about selling. Maybe they need cash for something. Or maybe they're just curious about where they stand financially. But the truth is, understanding…

272 Views, 0 Comments

Hello to 2026: Homes, Headlines & What’s Ahead in Scottsdale

New year, new newsletter.

I haven't sent a newsletter in years, so I’m bringing it back as a simple way to share practical, local insight about Scottsdale and the surrounding areas - things I’d want to know if I lived here or was thinking about a move.

This was sent out as an email newsletter, and I've converted it to a blog post with some extra features and information.

Here's the January lineup:

A New Year's story featuring my crabby Grampa

Things to do in and around Scottsdale in January

It's an even drier heat (aka, the thermostat wars)

2026 Housing Vibes: No Wild Swings, Just a Smoother Ride - Or So the Experts Say

Free subscription to azcentral and more from The Phoenix Public Library

Market Trends for Carefree, Cave…

428 Views, 0 Comments

The Quarter-Century Shift: A Realtor's® Honest Take on 2025's Market and 25 Years of Change

You know that feeling when you're flipping through old photos and suddenly realize just how much time has passed? That's exactly where I found myself as 2025 winds down.

Not because I'm getting sentimental about another year ending—though there's certainly some of that—but because this particular year marks something bigger. We're closing the door on a full quarter century, folks. Twenty-five years since we collectively panicked about Y2K, wondering if our computers would implode at midnight. (Spoiler alert: they didn't, but plenty of other things in real estate certainly exploded, imploded, and transformed beyond recognition.)

I started in this business in 1983, which means I've now spent 42 years watching people make one of the biggest…

408 Views, 0 Comments