Tubac, AZ – Brasher Real Estate, a trusted name in Southern Arizona since 1984, has expanded its resources by acquiring the Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Real Estate franchise, the protected area of which spans much of Southeastern Arizona. This acquisition gives agents and clients significantly enhanced marketing tools and has positioned Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty/The Brasher Team for exponential growth in both residential and commercial real estate.

Gary Brasher, CEO, and Jacque Brasher, designated broker, of Brasher Real Estate are excited to announce the acquisition of the Russ Lyon Sotheby’s franchise for much of Southern Arizona. The franchise-protected area will extend from Sahuarita to Nogales and from Arivaca to Sierra Vista. The new company name is Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, The Brasher Team.

“We feel very fortunate to have acquired this franchise,” said Gary Brasher. “We needed to take our brokerage to the next level and the timing is perfect for our agents and clients to tap into the huge umbrella of services and marketing tools that come with Russ Lyon Sotheby’s.” Among other things, Sotheby’s is creating a new website for The Brasher Team as well as each of its agents. “We were at a point with technology where we were faced with creating an entire IT department, or connecting with a larger entity that already had these services established.”

Gary and Jacque Brasher have a long history with the principals of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s in Scottsdale, Todd Gillenwater and Jim Lyons. They were childhood friends and early business associates, so the groundwork for this acquisition has been ongoing. It is an informal relationship made formal, “a perfect marriage”, according to Gillenwater.

Sotheby’s is scrupulous in accepting new partners, with a rigorous vetting process designed to insure that only the best people represent the Sotheby’s name. This, along with the fact that Sotheby’s is so well represented in prestigious markets both nationally and internationally, insures a referral network unsurpassed in the industry, another big plus for Brasher’s clients.

Brasher is quick to point out, however, that the players will not change. As each office is independently owned and operated, local sellers and buyers will always have a local office and local agent with whom they can talk face to face. All local transactions will be governed by local decisions. This combination of national/international reach, stellar reputation and local access creates dynamic and effective real estate relationships. “It’s a winning combination,” added Brasher.

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, The Brasher Team is located at One Tubac Road, Tubac, Arizona 85646. For more information, call (520) 398.2506 or visit https://www.RussLyon.com.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Association of Realtors (AAR) the largest professional trade organization in Arizona supporting more than 39,000 REALTOR® members, announced this week that it has installed Evan Fuchs, ABR, CRS, GRI, as 2014 president, effective December 1, 2013. Fuchs is the designated broker and owner of Bullhead Laughlin Realty in Bullhead City, AZ.

As Arizona’s real estate market continues to show positive signs of improvement, Fuchs will tap into his extensive leadership experience and more than 17 years of real estate expertise to lead the association into the next phase of growth and innovation. Fuchs has served on the AAR Executive Committee since 2007 and currently serves on the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors.

“Evan brings an incredible amount of expertise into this role,” said AAR Chief Executive Officer K. Michelle Lind, Esq. “His passion for our industry and diverse qualifications will help guide our association to better equip REALTORS® with the tools to meet the needs of today’s real estate consumer.”
Fuchs’ experience includes committee participation at the Arizona Department of Real Estate, City of Bullhead City, and the Bullhead City/Mohave Valley Association of REALTORS®. Fuchs has been named REALTOR® of the Year three times in 2012, 2006 and 2002 by the Bullhead City/Mohave Valley Association of REALTORS®.

Fuchs can be contacted at (928) 704-6700.

Real Estate Daily News Buzz  is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz for the day will be.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 95.88 points, or 0.6%, to close at 15,509.21 Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.69 points, or 0.3%, to 1,752.07. The NASDAQ composite rose 21.89 points, or 0.6%, to 3,928.96.

Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery gained 25 cents to close at $97.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

FED PROPOSES BIG BANKS TO HOLD MORE CASH, ASSETS
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed that big banks keep enough cash, government bonds and other high-quality assets on hand to survive during a severe downturn on par with the 2008 financial crisis. The proposal subjects U.S. banks for the first time to so-called “liquidity” requirements, referring to the ability to access cash quickly. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said it would foster a more resilient and safer financial system, along with other reforms.

BOURN UNVEILS PLANS FOR THRIFTY BLOCK
TUCSON- Developer Don Bourn unveiled preliminary plans for his Thrifty Block project along East Congress Street between South Scott and Stone avenues during yesterday’s Rio Nuevo board meeting. About eight years ago, the district spent $900,000 demolishing buildings on the block, which stretches along Congress St. between South Scott and Stone Avenues. Bourn received the land for $100 as part of a deal for him to build condos and retail on the property, but has yet to build anything there. The land became the subject of multiple lawsuits, which were finally settled last month. Bourn plans to build a five-story mixed-use development, with 44 residential units and a street-level retail shops and restaurants, renovating the historic Indian Trading Post and the annex building of the old Valley National Bank (now Chase), which flank the east and west sides of the proposed new development. Bourn says he expects construction to begin within a year.

CONFERENCE CALL GAVE MORE IN-DEPTH LOOK INTO ARCP/COLE MERGER
The Real Estate Daily News reported on the merger between ARCP and Cole yesterday, (full story here) these two former competitors will now become the world’s largest net- lease REIT worth about $21.5 billion. In an “epic transaction” for $11.2 billion, the two companies announced Tuesday. “It does create a juggernaut. It does create a category killer,” ARCP chairman & CEO Nicholas Schorsch said during a Thursday morning investor conference call that also included Cole CEO Marc Nemer, who will be stepping down along with Christopher Cole, founder & executive chairman of the Phoenix-based company, once the merger is completed. More information on the conference call can be found here.

ARIZONA MINIMUM WAGE TO INCREASE $.10 ON JANUARY 1, 2014
Arizona Industrial Commission announced this week that effective January 1, 2014, Arizona’s minimum wage will be $7.90 per hour. Every employer covered under the Act is now required to pay each employee wages not less than this amount. For complete resolution click here.

TWITTER SETS $17- $20 PER SHARE RANGE FOR IPO
NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter set a price range of $17 to $20 per share for its much-anticipated initial public offering and says it could raise as much as $1.6 billion in the process. The company said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it is putting forth 70 million shares in the offering. If all the shares are sold, the underwriters can buy another 10.5 million shares. At the $20 share price, Twitter’s market value is around $12.5 billion. That’s based on 625.2 million outstanding shares expected after the offering, including restricted stock units and stock options. Twitter’s valuation is relatively conservative — some analysts had expected the figure to be as high as $20 billion.

US UNEMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS DROPPED 350,000
WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 last week, though the total was elevated for the third straight week by technical problems in California. The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average jumped by nearly 11,000 to 348,250. Weekly applications have been inflated for the past three weeks, largely because California has been processing a huge number of applications that were delayed because of a computer upgrade. The 16-day partial government shutdown has also lifted claims this month because a number of government contractors were laid off temporarily. A government spokesman said the backlog in California affected last week’s figures but noted shutdown’s impact appears to be fading.

AVERAGE US RATE ON 30-YEAR MORTGAGE AT 4.13%
WASHINGTON — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages dropped this week to their lowest levels in four months, a positive sign for the housing recovery. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.13%. That’s down from 4.28 per cent. The average on the 15-year fixed loan declined to 3.24% from 3.33%. Both averages are the lowest since June 20. Mortgage rates have been falling since September, when the Federal Reserve held off slowing its $85-billion-a-month in bond purchases. The bond buys are intended to keep longer-term interest rates low, including mortgage rates. And a slowdown in hiring in September makes it more likely that the Fed will continue its stimulus into next year.

HIGHER PROFITS FROM FORD, OTHERS DRIVE STOCKS UP
NEW YORK (AP) — Another dose of strong corporate earnings, this time from Ford, Southwest Airlines and others, helped push the stock market higher on Thursday. It’s one of the busiest weeks on Wall Street for companies posting their quarterly results. Roughly a third of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index will report earnings, including some of the world’s best-known companies. For investors, this week has also been a welcome return to business as usual. Wall Street has been focused for weeks on what’s going on in Washington, with the government shutdown, the near-breach of the nation’s borrowing limit and questions about what’s next for the Federal Reserve’s massive bond-buying program.