Posted By Kraig Nelson on Aug 1, 2022

AUGUST 2022

See August real estate report below. 

Kraig’s History Highlights

From the Cave Creek Museum
Kraig Nelson, Historian

Kraig Nelson

In this brief commentary, Kraig Nelson combines insights into Cave Creek’s history and the current real estate market in Cave Creek, Scottsdale, and Carefree. The Peak thanks the Cave Creek Museum for their long-standing support of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive.

The pre-Columbian  Native American culture, identified as Hohokam, are known as extraordinary canal-builders and the Valley’s first farmers. It was the rebuilding of their hand-dug canals, allowing a new culture (Arizona territorial pioneers) to  rise again, like the  mythical bird, that led to the name of a new city- Phoenix. Archaeologists tell us the Hohokam were living along the Salt River by approximately 300 B.C.

and mostly dissipated as a thriving culture by about A.D. 1450. Many Hohokam moved to the Cave Creek area approximately A.D. 750. In the 1870s, their abandoned canals (“ditches”) were revitalized by early Cave Creek Anglos to nurture their thirsty crops. We know the Hohokam were master engineers as demonstrated by the fact approximately 1,000 miles of gravity-driven canals have been identified in the Phoenix Basin. The Hohokam were the only prehistoric cultural group, in the Western Hemisphere, to rely on a canal system, irrigating and farming approximately 110,000 acres.

According to anthropologist Dr. Stephan Plog, the Hohokam incorporated a concept called polycropping which included planting maize (corn), beans, and squash in one mound. In Native American parlance this concept was known as the “Three Sisters.” The king of crops was maize; however, maize lacks a required amino acid called niacin (B3). Without niacin, a deadly condition arises called pellagra. By adding beans and squash with maize, this harmful dietary issue was negated, a healthy combination of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and proteins were provided with this healthy combination. Today, in parts of America, this embellished food combination is known as succotash.

The etymology or word development of maize comes from the Native American word mahiz which meant “that which sustains us.” Early English settlers, challenged with Native American pronunciations, created the word maize. The word corn is an English term, from Germanic korn., meaning small nugget and refers to any edible cereal­ grass-crop including maize, barley, wheat, or rye, as it does to this day in England. English and German settlers desiring to differentiate maize from the other cereal-grasses referred to maize as Indian-corn, later shortened to corn. So, maize and corn are synonymous.

Maize is native to the Americas. Science Daily reports that maize was domesticated as early as 10,000 years ago in Mesoamerica, roughly the southern half of Mexico and the northwestern section of Central America. The late Deborah Duchon, nutritional anthropologist, explains that originally two natural and perennial grasses, teosinte and gamma, began to cross-pollinate when growing in close proximity. Observing the desirability of seeds (now, corn-kernels), the indigenous people began to cross-fertilize and cultivate (future) maize with larger kernels, wider and longer cobs, and leaves that grew over the kernels which are called husks. Because of the seed-encapsulating husks, corn no longer self-reproduces and requires human cultivation. Wild maize no longer exists.

Paleobotanists proclaim maize is humankind’s first and greatest feat of genetic engineering .

Kraig’s Realty Reality

August 2022

Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, data published July 2022

Kraig R. Nelson, PLLC, Associate Broker

• Distressed sales (short sales and lender owned) represent 0.10% of the total sales volume. Last month- 20%
• There is a 33-months supply of residential inventory in the Phoenix Metro Area. Generally, a balanced market for buyers and sellers is about 6 months; however, all accurate statistics are neighborhood specific. Last month- 1.68 months of inventory
• Total residential inventory [17,973 units] is 77.60% higher than one year ago and up 29.60% since last month. Last month- 13,870 units
• Average days on market in Metro Phoenix is 30 days; 3 days more compared to one year ago. Last month- 28 days
• Median sold price in Metro Phoenix is $475,000; 80% higher than one year ago. Last month- $475,000- no change
• Average sales price in Metro Phoenix is $590,810; 70% higher than one year ago. Last month- $589,100
• Monthly rent for single-family residential: average lease is $2,359. A lease is considered to be one-year. Last month- $2,286
• Total Phoenix Metro residential units sold and closed last month: 7,720; this is 20.10% lower than one year ago and 6.70% lower since last month which was 8,279
• Summit Funding in Tempe reports a conventional, 30-year-mortgage, fixed-rate, is 50% and a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 4.99%; both 5% down. Last month- 6.25% and 5.625% respectively
• Sales price of a single-family home was 70% of the original list price; 101.80% last month istressed sales (short sales and lender owned) represent 20% of the total sales volume. Last month- 0.10%

Cave Creek Museum Website, www.cavecreekmuseum.org Visit Website

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