What is the state of the Real Estate Housing Market in the greater Phoenix area?

Let’s begin with the over all numbers.

Current active listings: 12,959. Can you believe that? A continuation of the steady drop in number of active listings in our market.

Current active listings single family homes: 10,102. Also a continuation of the steady drop in the number of active listings.

Sales since December: 34,646 (averaging around 7.5k homes sales per month), 28,767 of those were single family homes.

That’s on pace for another 90,000 homes sold in a year if we keep this pace up. So, would you say we have a stagnant market? Would you say we are having trouble selling homes in the greater Phoenix market? There are some interesting points to this however. Keep in mind that we work with both buyers and sellers. So, we are exposed to and hear the “pulse” of both sides. Sellers are looking for the silver lining in the news above and want to list high. After all, the market is going up, right? Buyers don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. Some are coming off their own short sale or bankruptcy. They are much more cautious. Therefore, you may find multiple offers on a new listing, but the buyers are far less likely to get into a frenzy over the purchase. And, typically the offers are far closer in value than years past. We’ve seen the difference between an offer accepted and the other six that were rejected to simply be the fact it was all cash and not necessarily because it was a higher offer price. Sellers are looking for clean offers. Meaning all those little check boxes on the contract that indicate who is responsible for what or who can perform the contract in the shortest amount of time become much more important in the deal.

We see a more steady increase in prices if any. Keep in mind that most buyers DO have a lender involved in the deal. This means there will be an appraisal and the appraisal contingency within the contact becomes very important to the deal. That is why some sellers may elect to simply go with the cash deal. It removes the lender and in theory maybe creates a simpler deal.

In the past there were many sellers that were selling to “move up” in home… maybe size, amenity, or location. Today, they are less likely to move due to 1) cautions of what the future might hold or 2) it would simply be a lateral move and is not worth the cost. That leaves us with two types of sellers. Those that really need to sell and those that are simply testing the market at a high price to “see what they can get.”

Of course, everything I’ve just said is impacted by what price range you are speaking about. Under $150k and you are including investors looking to fix and flip a home. Some have even been forced to increase their price range simply to try and find a home they can make a margin on. I’ve seen some return to the new homes market for that reason.

From my own observation and through talking with venders and home builders themselves I’ve learned that the new home building market is picking up quite well thank you. Many new home builders have met or acceded their sales numbers this quarter. Drive by many developments and you are once again seeing the parade of cement trucks and the beat of early morning hammering.

Increase your price range to over $500 and on into $800 and we’ve seen 879 homes sold since December 2011. The same period a year earlier brought 1,001 homes sold with an average sales price of $593,329. Compared to $599,978 this year. Making my point earlier that prices are steady to a slight increase. In this price range, I would call it steady.

A small personal note regarding the Grayhawk area in Scottsdale, AZ our former neighborhood. We had a 2,500 sq. ft. two story home with 4 bedrooms. We sold it three and a half years ago. Today… The prices are the same as they were then. So, steady. Depending upon the updates… there may be a slight increase. Smaller homes in the area HAVE seen a slight increase.

I believe it creates a rubber band effect and wonder if/when the rubber band (prices) will react to the low inventory or demand. We are still seeing a buyer driven market as demand goes, but have not seen a marketable increase in prices. Simply a slow pace. Maybe that is just what we need.

Cheers.

For my web crawler friends.. Check out our residential real estate home sales in the Phoenix metro area on www.homesales411.com site. Search directly from the MLS without the lag time you experience in most all other sites like Zillow. Enjoy.

Then give us a call and well help you sift through all the numbers and drill it down to your specific situation. We would be happy to help whether you are looking to buy or sell a home.

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

Scott Farmer ©2012 All rights reserved.

The real estate sell off continues. I always say there are at least two perspectives when looking over real estate sales data. First is the person in front of a computer screen pulling up numbers. Then their is the boots on the ground agent that is digging out the real data day-after-day and house-by-house.

Typically, it is the boots on the ground agent that sees the trends change first. In past blogs, I’ve talked about how the total number of homes on the market has been in a steady decline. The trend continues. Fewer and fewer homes are available. At this writing there are 14,456 active listings (for my stat geek friends, I do not include AWC or Active With Contingency in this number). AWC homes have contracts on them and they are typically seeking backup offers.

As a point of reference, in the peak of the market when homes were selling in hours, we peaked at around 60,000+ homes on the market. Oh  wait, how many active listings did I say there were? 14,456? Yeah, that’s right. And, it includes those homes that no one would dare send… well… even an enemy inside. So, subtract out the “dog” houses and you have even fewer. I’ve been to homes where the only thing missing were the bats flying out of the bell tower.

Don’t forget the slow to navigate short sales or the hard to deal with banks and the number dwindles even further. Don’t get me wrong, we have had great success in dealing with short sale listings from both the seller side as well as the buyers side. It all depends upon your perspective. In previous blogs I mentioned that first time home buyers and investors were driving the market. They are still “trying” to drive this market. However, it is harder and harder to “play” the game. Investors like to buy at 30 cents on the dollar (at most) at the auction. Retail, they don’t want to go much higher. The fix and flip crowd wants room to improve, pay the expenses and get out with $20 – $30k. Good luck. As soon as a decent home comes on the market it has multiple offers on it in days. Sometimes hours. Again.

Buyers are beginning the practice of buying without seeing… again.

The talk of shadow inventory… (property banks hold and are not putting on the market) is said to be around 5,000 or so given the number of foreclosure notices. That is not even a months worth of inventory. I wish they would put it on the market.

It is true that prices have slowly started to respond to this real estate market condition (see how I threw the words real estate in there? I did that for the Google bots), however I still think it is like a rubber band effect. Prices are much slower in responding for many reasons. Lack of buyers ability to get funding for one. HAFA 2 (or loan modification programs) is another. We are in an election year don’t forget. I hope there are more lenders that are willing to loan again soon.

Buyers who had foreclosures two years ago are back in the market. They hold good jobs (our Arizona jobs market is improving) and want to purchase an affordable home. That means even more buyers are in the market. The rubber band stretches.

We are coming into our busiest part of the year (March – May). The rubber band stretches.

Prices remain low, jobs are becoming available again. Industry is hiring. The rubber band stretches.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not all rosy-eyed. I know times remain very tough for a lot of people. Again, I’m giving you boots on the ground, running around with buyers who are desperate to find a nice home kind of impression.

There is a tipping point coming. I’m just waiting to see if it tips quickly or continues to stretch out. Bottom line is we need more inventory. Point of reference on the bottom end. I believe we actually dropped to below 8,000 homes in the buying frenzy of days past. But, we were also not dealing with homes that had been trashed by upset owners on their way out the door. That is a blog for another day.

Arizona is one of the first areas of the country to begin a recovery. Why? Because all the wonderful things we have to offer are still here!

As always, if you are not from the Phoenix valley, I encourage you to visit. If you are and are looking for a change and need top quality real estate representation, give us a call. We would be glad to help. AND, fill you in further on the market.

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

Today, Im going to ramble a bit in describing what we are seeing from a “boots on the ground” real estate agent perspective in the Phoenix real estate market. This perspective is usually far out in front of any news you see reported in the newspaper.

The statistics I recite are from Phoenix real estate ARMLS system and include February of 2012. February saw the total number of homes in our entire Phoenix MLS system drop to below 16,000 homes. This includes all types of homes in the Phoenix metro area for sale (single family to trailers). As a point of reference, the market offered over 60k at the high point. Today, there are only 12,290 single family homes on the market. That includes all price ranges.

Sales per month are in the 6k home range. If we sell every single family home on the market today it would only take 2 months. That corresponds with the average days on market is now under 3 months. We are seeing homes sell to buyers who have never seen the property. This we have not seen since the very high point of the market. Sellers seeing multiple offers are back. Buyers making offers on multiple properties at once are back.

Here is a kicker. Did you ever think a short sale would NOT be a deal? Well, we are now seeing banks counter short sale offers at prices that would make the sale a new high sale for the neighborhood.

Believe me when I say the market has changed. Prices have been slow to recover. Recover they are, however. We’ve seen prices rise single digits at 8%. I think one reason they have not risen more in our market is on the lending side. Keep in mind that if the buyers are securing financing that the banks are a choke point on price. The  home needs to appraise. When markets change drastically (up or down), lenders are slow to react. So, if you are the buyer in a multi-offer situation and want to offer OVER asking price to get the home, you still need the home to appraise. Offering $5k over is one thing. What if you need to offer $10k, $15k or more. It can be a problem for the appraiser. They wait for more indicators such as cash deals. Now you begin to see how the statement “Cash is king” starts to make sense. Not only does the deal have no lender clogging the way, but there is no lender appraisal to be had.

Another indicator is investors and how they see the market. In my neighborhood we have had homes sell in distressed situations far below past values. In some cases by $500k less. Today, we see investors purchasing these homes and not only fix and flip them, but put a fairly substantial effort into the updates. Far beyond what I would consider the minimum fix and flip effort. They would only do this if they had faith in the market that they would not only get their money back but much greater money on their investment. It speaks to their faith on market trends.

More and more buyers are seeing that homes are at record lows and the market is recovering. 401k’s are being used to purchase rental properties again or properties for kids in college.

Buyers are experiencing the same frustrations they did at the very peak of the market just a few years ago. Though prices are low, did you realize that we have one of the hottest markets in the NATION right here in Arizona? Well, we do. Why? Will still have the same great draw to our area that we have always had. The Sun. Great weather, a good highway system to get around, beautiful open desert to go and do so many things, the number of jobs is improving and business is still looking to relocate here, and it remains a great place to retire.

If you have not been here for a visit I encourage you to do so. If you have, you know what I am talking about. If you are on the fence about whether this is the time to make your move, I would say yes. Don’t wait to see the conditions you want in your rear view mirror. Catch them when you still see them ahead of you.

Give us a call and we can discuss these issues as they pertain to your situation directly in this very hot Phoenix real estate market. We are here to help.

You now have a friend in Arizona. Call us. 480-648-9888

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

This article piggy-backs on an earlier article regarding how the Arizona (and more specifically the Phoenix greater area) real estate market is changing. It has finally been widely reported in national news that the greater Phoenix real estate market is one of the few markets in a noticeable recovery.

Typically, we as real estate agents see and experience these changes far sooner than it ever hits the news and specifically the national news.

I thought I would share another example of recover in the vacant land area. Vacant land is land that has not been improved. Often located in areas of “meets and bounds”  or unincorporated areas around our valley. In the past, M&I bank was one of the few banks that was still lending against this type of lot. In some areas of the valley, such as the Dynamite Road area East (or Rio Verde Dr.), M&I bank was one of the only banks in the game. After the market crash, M&I would only loan against lots that they already had in their portfolios. They typically utilized government backed loans when offering new loans on these lots.

Today, I spoke with a local M&I bank representative (M&I bank was purchased by Harris Bank, a Canadian bank). I was inquiring about a lot that they, Harris Bank, currently owned. I was told that they no longer lend against vacant land. That they were “out of that business.” The representative went on to say that they had only 50 more lots in their loss mitigation department. And, after they were sold, they would no longer deal with any vacant land.

I was told that they might get back into lending against lots within a subdivision later in the year. However, those loans would only be short-term loans with a high 35% down payment. This was echoed by another representative in another local bank.

These lots would become cash only deals at this point.

In fact, I was told by the Harris bank rep. that once the remaining lots were sold off, they were looking to reduce their loss mitigation dept. by 80%. I suppose the  positive side of this is that things are improving. They did not expect to see many (if any) new lots coming into foreclosure.

Typically, buyers wait to buy until the bottom of the market. The unfortunate thing is we don’t see the bottom of the market before it gets here we only see it in the rear view mirror. I think this is one more sign of a recovery.

You now have a friend in Arizona. Call us. 480-648-9888

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

As a way to describe our Phoenix metro area real estate market, I thought I would share with you a snapshot of a day-in-the-life of a real estate agent performing a home search.

Client: Investor (investors and first-time home buyers have been the majority of our buyers this past year).

Price range: $30k – $150k

We work with out buyer and they identify 6 homes they feel meet their requirements. They are looking to purchase, repair, and rent a home.

In order to set up a showing tour of homes we perform the following. We call each listing agent regardless of what is placed in the multiple listing. We do this, because we know the market is very fluid. It is important to get the very latest. We ask if there are any contracts on the home. We do this, again, because the market is fluid and many times offers come in and the seller is considering them. No decision  has been made yet, but it is good to know before we go see the property.

We call the owner if the MLS and listing agent requests the showing be set up with them. If we do this a day or so ahead, we will also re-check the MLS and/or call them prior to showing, again, since the situation may change.

On this particular day, we had 6 homes identified as I mentioned prior. Two of the listings had leases in place (renters). This requires a min. of 48 hours notice unless otherwise granted by the renter. One of the homes showing instructions required only a drive by showing. No entry would be provided.

After calling all listings, it turned out that 4 of them, in fact, did have contracts on them. And, as I described earlier, the seller had not yet accepted any, but we were told they would in a few hours and the status in the multiple listing service (MLS) would be changed shortly.

In several cases, there were multiple offers made on a single property. This narrowed our showing list down to two homes and one was the drive by only listing.

2011 had the second highest number of sales in our market dating back 11  years. Surprised? This is not reported widely. Home prices have been gradually rising. December 2011 showed a $6k+ increase in the median home price.

The largest number of home sold in 2011 was in the $100k to $120k price range. Buyers are beginning to place contracts on homes without visiting the properties. This is a tactic used during the peak of our market. Keep in mind that there are currently under 18k homes on the market today. This included all homes, condos, mobile  homes, etc. At our peak market, there were over 60k homes available. So, as you can see the pickings can be slim. Prices are low. Competition is high.

With inventory in mind, we keep an eye on what is often called the “shadow inventory.” This refers to homes that have received foreclosure notices. The status of these homes are in a bit of a limbo. No one knows if the homes will be sold, the foreclosure postponed, or the foreclosure otherwise dealt with. So, we do not know if this is inventory that will “hit” the market or not.

However, even if ALL of these homes hit the market all at once (which is very unlikely, right?) it would only amount to two months worth of inventory. Approx. 6k homes are sold  each month. The number of foreclosure notices is approx. 15k.

Add to this that the average number of days a home sits on the market is currently approx. 3 months. This is typically thought of as a sellers market. Between 4 and six months is typically considered a balanced or neutral market. Below is a sellers market and above a buyers market.

I thought I would share this experience with you as a point of interest if you are looking for a home in our market. We suggest you become fully prepared to act prior to your home search. Find a lender you like (if you intent to get a loan), begin the qualification process and complete it as far as possible. The more complete this process is the better you will be.

Do you research online using the right web site. For instance, we spend quite a bit of time and money providing our clients a web site that is directly tied to the Multiple Listing Service. If an agent makes a change to a listing it directly effects what you will see on our site without a lag time. This is not true of most real estate web sites.

Check out: www.homeSales411.com

You will also be able to see the tax status of the property. This will allow you to see if there are any foreclosure items on the property, what the last sales and loans were on the property, and what the county recorder indicates the taxes to be this year and typically two year prior.

Point of this message: Be Prepared.

You now have a friend in Arizona. Call us. 480-648-9888

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

Be on the lookout for your property tax bill. There has been some changes in Arizona regarding property taxes. Each property is given a Class designation according to whether it is vacant land, owner occupied, or investor owned property. Owner occupied is Class 3, investor owned is Class 4.

Property taxes in Arizona is 10% for these two classes. The difference is in whether the owner can take advantage of the school tax credit, which can be anywhere from $200 to $600. Class 3 (owner occupied) can receive the tax credit, Class 4 cannot.

Here is the thing to watch for. The Arizona legislature passed a bill that automatically sets every property class to Class 4. The bill makes it the responsibility of the homeowner to send in the provided letter to change the status to Class 3. Obviously this was in an effort to capture lost revenue for the state. However, there can be unintended consequences. What if you don’t get your letter? If you do not send in the letter from the State, you do not get the reclassification to Class 3 (if you qualify as owner occupied). Also, owners of multiple Arizona properties could claim class 3 on all their properties. This too has change. Owners must now designate which property is considered their primary property and would receive the Class 3 designation.

Tell you family, tell your friends to be on the lookout (BOLO) for the tax letter from the state. Make sure you get your property Class designation for your property tax.

There is an effort to change this automatic designation back to Class 3, but it has not been in acted as of this writing.

Also, on the tax front. I was recently told in a continuing educational class that the state has also passed a bill that requires all Arizona residents to pay tax (6.6%) on all items purchased over the internet. Wow. You will have a check box on your state tax forms to say whether you purchased and paid tax on items purchased over the internet regardless of state. What a change.

If you did pay tax on the item to another state and it was less than the Arizona 6.6% you would be required to pay the difference. So, if you paid another state 3.3% tax on an item purchased over the internet you would owe the state of Arizona 3.3% also. You are required to keep receipts and track the amounts.

This is in place NOW. Are you doing this?

I will try to follow up on this and report more as I learn more.

You now have a friend in Arizona. Call us. 480-648-9888

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

Home prices dropped in November everywhere except Phoenix

By DEREK KRAVITZ – Jan. 31, 2012 07:09 AM
AP Real Estate Writer

Washington. U.S. home prices fell for a third straight month in nearly all cities tracked by a major index. The declines show that most homeowners are not reaping the benefits from some signs of an improving housing market.

Prices dropped in November from October in 19 of the 20 cities tracked, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index released Tuesday.

The biggest declines were in Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit. Phoenix was the only city to show an increase.

The decline partly reflects the typical fall slowdown after the peak buying season.

Still, prices declined in 18 of the 20 cities in November compared to the same month in 2010. Only Washington and Detroit posted year-over-year increases. And prices have fallen 33 percent nationwide since the housing bust, to 2003 levels.

The Case-Shiller index covers half of all U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The November data are the latest available.

Home values remain depressed despite some hopeful signs at the end of last year.

Sales of previously occupied homes rose in the last three months. Homebuilders are more optimistic after seeing more people express interest in buying this year. And home construction picked up in the final quarter of last year, which helped housing contribute to broader economic growth.

Home prices tend to follow sales, which are still below healthy levels. And a large number of vacant homes are sitting idle on the market, which means prices will likely stay unchanged for several years, said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

“The most likely scenario in the U.S. is that in 2012 prices will bob around a bit, with one month’s gain being reversed the next month,” Dales said. “But in general, over the next couple of years, house prices will do nothing more than remain broadly stable.” Dales said prices might not rise consistently until 2015.

Prices are especially low in Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa, which reached their lowest points since the housing bust more than four years ago.

Washington, New York, Los Angeles and San Diego have suffered the smallest declines.

Economists say home prices are likely begin rising first in hard-hit cities in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.

Conditions are also improving for those in position to buy a home. Job growth is up, prices are down, mortgage rates are at record lows and rental prices have risen sharply since the housing bust.

Still, many people can’t afford to buy or are unable to qualify for mortgage. Some people in position to buy are holding off, worried that prices could fall even further.

A full housing recovery could take years, economists say.

Many economists say the U.S. could be experiencing what similarly occurred in Britain in the 1990s, when it took four years for home prices to rise again after falling prices left homeowners with little financial equity in their homes.

Prices could also fall further once banks resume millions of foreclosures. They have been delayed because of a government investigation into mortgage lending practices that has dragged on for more than a year. Foreclosures and short sales — when a lender accepts less for a home than what is owed on a mortgage — are selling at an average discount of 20 percent.

A deeper recession in Europe could also cause U.S. banks to tighten their lending standards, causing home sales and prices to drop.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/01/31/20120131home-prices-dropped-november.html#ixzz1l4cyXf9w

You now have a friend in Arizona. Call us. 480-648-9888

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

If you are interested in moving to arizona. We can help.

We can help you find a lender you can work with to become pre-qualified (if you are interested in securing a loan).

We can help you find the home that suites your needs.

We can prepare you with as much information as you need prior to your visit.

We can help guide you through the purchasing process and help you best understand the Arizona Purchase contract. Including providing you with valuable information on short sale and bank owned sales processes (they are currently dominating our market).

We can help you feel comfortable with the purchasing process by providing you with valuable links to guides and state provided information.

And we can help you research homes and be your eyes here in Arizona as you need us. Call upon us.

Use the search tools on our site. They are a real-time connection to the MLS data in Maricopa county (Phoenix greater metro area). If you have questions on how to search, let us know and we can advise you. Search 24/7/365.

You now have a friend in Arizona. Call us. 480-648-9888

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

Our winter visitors are here and the activities begin in full swing. The Barrett-Jackson auto auction opened this past Sunday and the first day of car auctions begins today. Each year my sons and I stop in to get our fill of both vintage and futuristic cars. We enjoyed the “hot wheels” style paint job on the Ford mustang as you enter the tent all the way through to the historic hurst that drove President Kennedy after his assassination.

Last year, over 400,000 visited the show. The Barrett-Jackson auto auction gives us the opportunity to see the handy work of may great restorations up close, talk to the proud car owners and get a bit of a history lesson all in one.

The whole event is fun and easy to get to, enjoy and get home. There is plenty of public parking (free) and plenty of food vendors to fit every appetite. This year, I think I saw the biggest corn dog on the planet.

We typically enjoy seeing the “drifting” events where professional drivers take fast cars around an enclosed area and “drift” around sharp turns on turn “donuts” to the crowds delight. However, this year they do not have this event. Something to do with behind the scenes issues with the different car manufacturers all wanting in on the action. In its place is a feature that if you test drive two vehicles a professional driver will take you around the track on your third go around. Of course, they do this in typical speed racer form and at times did several donuts and drifting to the crowds delight.

It appeared that at least two additional tents were added to handle all the cars this year. Make sure you have plenty of time to see them all. My favorite is to take pictures of all the different hood ornaments. They are truly classic.

Once you’ve had a chance to check the cars out in person, don’t forget to check in on your local SPEED channel for all the live auction action. The fun runs through Sunday Jan 22, 2012. You can purchase tickets online at: www.barrett-jackson.com/tickets/

Bring your car questions, camera, and a healthy appetite for shinny things with lots of horsepower! Enjoy our valley.

If you register here at our site, you can receive the latest information on our housing market, see individual areas of interest, such as bank owned, short sales, condos, and much more… Or simply keep informed about the valley’s recovery.

Drop us a note, we would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales

2011 rebounded nicely when it comes to number of homes sold. Total home sales topped out at 101,436, which was the second highest total home sales in a decade. Only 2005 was higher with 104,725 sales. You may recall 2005 as being the height of the real estate boom in our valley. Home sales in 2002, 2003, 2004 were 67,950, 80,052, and 98,922 respectively. You can see that 2011 faired quite well considering the struggling economy around the country. Many financial scholars consider Arizona’s housing market to be in recovery. The number of home sales being at this level sure helps.

Other numbers to consider are the average home sale price and days on market. The median home sale price has risen slightly from $124,900 to $129,900 and the current days on market is under 95 days and sits squarely in what many consider a sellers market. Normally, this would cause home prices to begin to rise, right? Consider these factors. Over half of our sales in the valley were either short sales or banked owned. This would have an effect on sales price in several ways. In both cases, banks would want to move their inventory as they are not in the real estate market (so to speak). Their process can be a grindingly slow one at times. Unlike a “typical” sale where a seller can pick and choose the price at any moment.

Consider this. You want to sell your home, but you live in a neighborhood where more than 50% of the home for sale are short sales or bank owned. You want to raise your price, but the last 6 months only show the sales of these other depressed homes. This effects your pricing. Even if your agent does a great job of marketing your home and you get a contract at your higher price, if a lender is involved, your home will still have to appraise. The only way to get out of this situation is to find a buyer willing to pay cash and at a price that is above the last sales. So, what about your home will entice them to do this.

My point here is simply to remind you that there are many factors and they are all connected. Be wary of reports that give one or two statistics. I have not even mentioned issues with buyer qualifying for loans and/or lending issues.

I believe our recovery will continue, but at a snails pace. It is great that homes are selling and 2011 ended at such a high rate. Now we need our economy to stabilize and for home owners to not be forced into foreclosure. It is good to hear that the President is working on changing some lending road blocks this Spring to allow for the refinancing of home loans (see earlier article).

If you register here at our site, you can receive the latest information on our housing market, see individual areas of interest, such as bank owned, short sales, condos, and much more… Or simply keep informed about the valley’s recovery.

Drop us a note, we would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.

See the complete ARMLS Report Here.

Scottsdale, Phoenix real estate sales and purchases email: scott@scottsdalescott.com

Scott & Sandy Farmer, REALTORS®, GRI
Remember, when it comes to real estate: “It’s A Farmer’s Market”

Realty One Group, LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona>

ScottsdaleScott: Scott Farmer, Scottsdale Real Estate Home Sales