Single-family home prices in the Phoenix metro market have finally stopped diving, but the townhouse/condominium segment of the market continues to sink, according to the latest ASU Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI).

If you had an asset worth billions of dollars, would you give it away free? No? Would you hand it over if charging for it would clobber farmers with added expense, hobble businesses in similar fashion, boost unemployment and raise the cost of living for just about everyone?

"Attract more customers, retain the ones you have, and expand existing relationships." That is the magic formula for growth, according to Synovate's Chief Loyalty Architect Dr. Larry Crosby.

The ASU Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) continued to decline in June, but the numbers contained positive signals that improvement is the trend in the Phoenix metro real estate market.

Charging for services involves an organizational shift.

Many companies have been shifting away from a sole focus on products and have added services in order to drive continued growth and differentiate themselves in an increasingly saturated marketplace. In fact, services account for 80 percent of the U.S.

Roger Myerson, a Nobel Laureate in Economics from the University of Chicago, told an audience of Chinese business executives and government officials recently that their country might do better if it liquidated some of its American investments.

Although prices in metro Phoenix dropped 33 percent in May compared to May 2008, the rate of decline once again slowed, adding another month to an improving trend in the market, according to the ASU-Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI).

For decades, insurance companies have been pricing policies based on the belief that adverse selection comes into play among their customers.

Foreclosed homes accounted for 37 percent of the total activity in the Phoenix metro real estate market in July — down from February when foreclosures represented 51 percent of the sales.