Well, summer in Scottsdale is FINALLY over! One hundred degree highs are behind us for at least six months, we hope. And the glorious time of year that makes us all very grateful to live here is here!

Seriously, who can complain about this forecast of sunny days, with high’s in the 85-90 degree range. While it still may be a bit warm for some, it feels like heaven after a long, hot summer.  Right?

More Scottsdale weather info:

• Monsoons make beautiful sunsets
• Scottsdale Weather: Amazing nine months of the year
• Crazy Cold Weather–Icicles in Scottsdale!
• Winter in Scottsdale

Easy to see why with a beautiful forecast like this!  Sunny and in the 80’s most of the week.

We had a bit more rain this morning, but no rainbows.

By afternoon, the sun was back out, and the Scottsdale forecast shows we are back on track for some great weather. Sunny with high’s in the 60’s.

Enjoy!

Winter in Scottsdale

photo credit: Dru Bloomfield – At Home in Scottsdale

Barcamp was fabulous.  Truly an event to be remembered as it was the first time I’d attended an un-conference. Imagine a room of 100-120 people deciding what sessions and breakouts we were going to have in the next 8 hours.  And to do it in a matter of 20-30 minutes.  And for participants at the end of the day, to say it was the best conference they’d been to.  I was fascinated by the process, and besides learning how my peers use technology in their businesses to create a better client experience, I finally met and connected with people that I’d only known on-line.  I volunteered to lead a session on blog comment policy, and the session combined with two other groups on-the-fly, and we had a standing room only crowd.  (You’ll notice my simple policy updated below the comment box below, courtesy of the perspective that Zillow shared in the session.)

Blogger Connect and the Inman Conference were a continuation in learning.  Hearing from experts in many different aspects of real estate, technology, social media, and much, much more.  Craig Newmark (customer service rep and founder! of www.craigslist.org) was a real hoot, and if you ever get a chance to hear him speak, go!  Listening to Merlin Mann talk about mastering the email Inbox was extremely motivating…. as of right now, I really have zero emails in my Inbox, and it feels Great!

What was discussed and I confirmed by experience is that techonology is wonderful, but it is only a tool.  I spent my time face to face with people, talking, exploring, and discussing.   And what folks were sharing as the bottom line of this conference was that technology helps us meet people who we connect with, but it is the face to face contact that creates the longer, deeper relationships that business is built on.  So, no, I didn’t blog last week, but I did connect with a bunch of very forward looking people who have their eyes on the horizon and their feet on the ground.

And for those of you who were sweating in Scottsdale, San Francisco was lovely, but it almost seemed like winter when compared to our weather.  50-65 degrees.  Overcast skies.  Breezy. My hotel was just off Market Street and the walk to the conference took about 15 minutes.    Quite a nice change to be outside with a jacket on.

Yet, as always, it’s good to be back home…. in Scottsdale.

Valley population gains moderating

Last year, Maricopa County (home to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, and most of the metropolitan Phoenix area) was the fastest growing county in the U.S. based on number of residents added, according to a just released census estimate.  Our growth has slowed, yet the county is still growing, adding more than 100,000 residents last year, which the author indicates is “so far is the lowest rate this decade, but still enough to call it a boom.”

And where are our new residents coming from:

• 40% of the increase is from natural causes (births)
• 39% are moving here from other states
• 21% are moving to Maricopa county from other countries

That means that approximately 60,000 people moved to Phoenix last year and need to buy or rent a home.  165 people have been moving to Maricopa County a day.  Wow. 

So if you are thinking about a move to the Phoenix Metropolitan area, please know that Elliot D. Pollack has excellent economic data and forecasts on his ArizonaEconomy.com web site.  From there, you will find that the majority of our new residents, relocating from other parts of the country, are coming from California, the “Rust Belt”, other states in the Southwest, and the Northeast.

One of his recent reports, “Greater Phoenix Economy: What you need to know….”, has a wealth of information for a business person considering a move to the Phoenix area. In reading this report, I was taken back to my grade school days, where we were taught that Arizona was developed on the 4 C’s: Cattle, Copper, Cotton, and Citrus.  (In this report, an obvious fifth C has been added – Climate!)

Today, Phoenix’s economy is based on:

• Aerospace
• High-tech
• Advanced Business Services
• Transportation, Distribution, & Wholesale Trade
• Tourism
• Retirement & Second Home

Every time I read one of these reports, I get excited about living in Arizona, and specifically, the Phoenix-Scottsdale area:

Here are a few more of the “fun facts” that I discovered, or was reminded, of this morning:

• Phoenix is sunny 86% of the year (compare to Seattle at 43% and Chicago at 54%)
• The median age in the area is 33, lower than the national average of 35 years.
• Phoenix is the #4 move-to destination for young, single, educated adults.
• When compared to peer metro areas, Phoenix ranks 6th in median household income (when adjusted for cost of living)

So while real estate sales have slowed, and there’s much discussion about whether or not we are in a recession, I like to operate from the “glass half full” perspective and see that the job market in Phoenix has evolved, we still have great weather, and people moving to the area still need a place to live.

If you have any questions or would like some more info about the area, just let me know. 

Is rain on the way?