Monday, November 7, 2011 at 2:05PM Todd Deniger, President of JKD Building Group in Paradise Valley and Scottsdale Arizona takes you on a tour of a recent high-end pool renovation.
Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 5:31PM 
President Obama on Monday responded to growing concerns about the nation’s battered housing market by unveiling a plan to help reduce the monthly mortgage payments of homeowners who owe more than their properties are worth.
As he met with distressed homeowners in Las Vegas, the foreclosure capital of the nation, Obama announced steps to allow “underwater” borrowers to refinance their mortgages at today’s ultra-low rates — near 4 percent.
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 5:08PM PHOENIX, Oct 24, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Arizona Public Service now has the 20 largest home builders in its service territory taking part in the APS ENERGY STAR Homes program.
The program encourages and incentivizes builders to construct homes that meet or exceed stringent 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency efficiency standards, resulting in homes that are at least 20 percent more efficient than standard homes.
An ENERGY STAR home can save homeowners up to $400 a year on their utility bills.
"The cleanest, cheapest source of power is electricity that is never generated or used, which comes from energy efficiency," said Tom Hines, APS program manager. "By encouraging home builders to incorporate energy efficiency features into every home they construct, we are able to meet growing energy demand without needing to build new power plants."
As an energy resource, energy efficiency is four to five times cheaper than building a new natural gas power plant.
An ENERGY STAR home uses a combination of energy efficient improvements, including effective insulation, sealed construction and ductwork, quality heating and cooling equipment and tight windows. Along with saving energy, the homes provide additional value when being sold, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 4:58PM (Wall Street Journal) Canadians are on a Sun Belt shopping spree.
Phoenix and other warm-weather cities that have seen real-estate prices crater are newly popular among Canadians looking for second homes or investment properties, brokers and buyers say.
They are lured by the weak U.S. dollar, historically low interest rates and rock-bottom property prices, dragged down by high unemployment and a wave of foreclosures. For the two years that ended in March, Canadians made up the largest percentage of foreigners buying homes in the U.S.—23%—up from 11% in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors. Arizona and Florida are the focus of their interest, according to the Realtors' group.
Germain Villeneuve has $50 million to spend on Phoenix real estate, all from Canadian investors like himself. The former real-estate broker, 50 years old, moved to Phoenix from Montreal in January to oversee acquisitions for the Living Well Homes investment fund. Since October, he has bought 110 houses and two apartment buildings in the Phoenix area.
Living Well plans to fix up the properties and rent them to locals who have lost their homes to foreclosures and short sales—transactions in which the property sells for less than the mortgage. Then, five to seven years from now, the fund hopes to sell the homes for a profit.
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