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Four offers in this market?

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Last week, I had something happen that I had not seen in a long time – 4 offers in on a house my client had made an offer on! Now, this is Arizona, one of the states that makes headlines regularly about the dismal state of the real estate market. Needless to say, I was not anticipating the frenzy of offers…

The house was in a nice subdivision in Chandler, priced in the $330’s (within the local FHA mortgage limits) and well-maintained. It had a cute backyard and was on a corner lot. It would be easy to move right in to.

My client liked it and decided to make an offer a couple of days after seeing it. I called the agent to see if there was any interest and she said she was expecting another offer besides the one I was going to submit. By the end of the day, there were three live offers in play and a fourth one on the way in.

Sadly, my client did not get the home, but this scenario clearly illustrates some key things at work – If your property is in a good location, is in good condition and is priced properly, it is going to get a lot of interest, even in a market facing some tough challenges.

It particularly helps if the home is within FHA mortgage limits, as we are seeing a lot of movement locally in that price point as the popularity of FHA loans grows.

The Luxury Condo Market in Greater Phoenix – July 2008

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The numbers for July are in and the luxury condo market had a somewhat slow month in July. (Note: The luxury condo market is being defined as condos for sale for over $1 million.) These numbers are down quite a bit from May where there were 8 sales and 7 units pending.

At the end of July, there were 108 condos for sale throughout the valley. Fifty-three of these condos were in Scottsdale, thirty-eight of them were in Phoenix, and the remainder, seventeen, were in Tempe.

At the end of July 2008, two luxury condos were sold and four were pending. The two condos sold were located in the Scottsdale Waterfront and The Residences at 2211 Camelback. The pending condos are located in Scottsdale Waterfront, Esplanade Place and Two Biltmore Estates.

Here is a quick look at the July 2008’s numbers:

Valleywide – July 2008*
For Sale: 108
Pending: 4
Sold: 2
Average Sale Price: $1,544,000
Average Price/Sq. Ft. Sold: $504.63
Scottsdale – July 2008*
For Sale: 53
Pending: 2
Sold: 1
Average Sale Price: $1,688,000
Average Price/Sq. Ft. Sold: $683.68
Communities: Scottsdale Waterfront
Phoenix – July 2008*
For Sale: 38
Pending: 2
Sold: 1
Average Sale Price: $1,400,000
Average Price/Sq. Ft. Sold: $337.19
Communities: 2211 Camelback
Tempe- July 2008*
For Sale: 17
Pending: 0
Sold: 0
Average Sale Price: $N/A
Average Price/Sq. Ft. Sold: $N/A
Community:

If you have any questions about the luxury condo market or would like to learn more about any of the communities mentioned above, please feel free to contact me.

* Disclaimer:
Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data pulled the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) and can change at any time. This blog represents the opinion of the author. No warranties implied or expressed.
Copyright © 2008 Heather Tawes Nelson

Scottsdale Luxury Home Market – July 2008

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In September of 2007, I started compiling data on the Scottsdale luxury home market broken into price ranges. (Note: The data is for single-family resale homes.) As of July 2008, we are seeing some mixed results. However, some promising trends have been emerging, with results varying depending on the price range.

– JULY 2008 –
 

Homes Priced Between $1,000,000 – $1,499,999
– Actives: There were 543 actives, which is lowest level we have seen since before we started tracking this information last September.
– Pendings: There were 38 pending homes, which is just below the average of 39 we have seen over the last 11 months.
– Sold: There were 24 sales in July, which is down from a high of 31 in June.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 91.3%

 Homes Priced Between $1,500,000 – $1,999,999
– Actives: There were 269 actives in July which is down 3.2% over June. The number of active homes for sale has been decreasing in this price segment since April when there were 321 actives.
– Pendings: There were 10 homes pending in July, down from 16 in June, a 38% decrease. The average pending figure for the last eleven months is 11.
– Sold: Ten homes sold in July which was a large jump from June’s 6, a 67% increase. However, the pending sales for July are down, so we can anticipate that the August sales number for this price segment will be impacted.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 93.1%

Homes Priced Between $2,000,000 – $2,999,999
– Actives: There were 335 homes for sale in this price point in July. We have been seeing this number decrease since April, when there were 379 homes on the market in this price segment.
– Pendings: There were 8 homes pending, a 27% drop over June This figure is well below the average of 11 that we have been seeing for the last eleven months.
– Sold: There were 5 home sales, a sharp drop from the 10 sales in June and below the last eleven months’ average of 8 sales per month. .
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 91.7%.

Homes Priced $3,000,000+
– Actives: There were 277 homes for sale in this price point in July. The number of actives has been dropping steadily since the high of 341 in February. The last time we saw this number this low was around October of 2007.
– Pendings: There were 7 pending homes, a 40% increase from June’s 5.
– Sold: Only 2 homes sold in July which is half of the average of 4 sales per month over the last 11 months.
– Sales Price to Listed Price: 78.6%

As you can see, the results vary by price band. Active listings in all price points have been trending down which is good news. It indicates that some of the excess inventory is getting absorbed by the market. However, for the most part, sales and pending sales are down, with the $2,000,000-$2,999,999 price range being impacted the most significantly. Hopefully, we can continue the trend of decreased active listings and can turn things around from a sales and pending sales standpoint.

For more Scottsdale area market statistics, please visit my Real Estate Market Reports page.

 Disclaimer:
Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data pulled the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) and can change at any time. This blog represents the opinion of the author. No warranties implied or expressed.
Copyright © 2008 Heather Tawes Nelson

 

Scottsdale Real Estate Market Performance for Single-Family Homes – Through July 2008

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Here are the most recent figures for the Scottsdale single-family home resale market. Sales dropped off a bit in July, but the number of active listings dropped again, which is good news.

 

Trend Analysis – Scottsdale Single-Family Homes – Resale
All Price Points                
2007 2008  
Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Avg.
Active  3,761  3,876  3,950  3,743  4,154  4,254  4,304  4,249  4,063  3,941  3,872   4,015
Pending     251    150    235    191    262    287    312    349    364    338    327      279
Sold    177    236    168    190    187    227    246    270    300    321    286      237
Percent Change- Month Over Month
2007 2008
Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul.
Active  N/A 3.1% 1.9% -5.2% 11.0% 2.4% 1.2% -1.3% -4.4% -3.0% -1.8%
Pending  N/A -40.2% 56.7% -18.7% 37.2% 9.5% 8.7% 11.9% 4.3% -7.1% -3.3%
Sold N/A 33.3% -28.8% 13.1% -1.6% 21.4% 8.4% 9.8% 11.1% 7.0% -10.9%
Data Courtesy of the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS)

July Highlights:

  • Active listings dropped again to 3,872, a 1.8% decrease over June. This figure has been dropping since March where it hit a high of 4,304 active listings. This is good news in that some of the excess inventory is getting absorbed by the market each month.
  • Pending sales were down again to 327, or -3.3% over June. This is the second month in a row we have seen this number decline, which will have an impact on August’s sales numbers.
  • There were 286 homes sold in July, down from 321 in June.  As I mentioned in June’s performance report, the drop in pendings would most likely impact July’s numbers.

Overall, July was a mixed month. It is very encouraging to see the active homes for sale inventory go down every month, but having the pendings and sales decrease puts a damper on the momentum Scottsdale had going for the last several months.

Disclaimer:
Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data pulled the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) and can change at any time. This blog represents the opinion of the author. No warranties implied or expressed.
Copyright © 2008 Heather Tawes Nelson

Grayhawk Golf Club – Now on You Tube

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Scottsdale Arizona’s Grayhawk Golf Club courses – Talon and Raptor – are already world-famous. Now, you can learn more about them via Grayhawk Golf Club channel on You Tube.

The channel, which recently launched, has a collection of useful information about everything from the golf club itself to golf tips.

A selection of the videos on the channel includes:

  • Hole-by-hole walkthroughs
  • Golf Tips – Putting, Chipping, General Tips
  • Meet the employees- Selected employees describe their jobs at Grayhawk
  • A tour of Grayhawk Golf Club and the Clubhouse

Grayhawk’s new channel is a great way to familiarize yourself with golf club and the two courses before you visit, or, if you do not have any plans to visit Arizona for the time being, you can apply the golf tips to your game at home.

Click here to see Grayhawk Golf Club’s You Tube channel.

 

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About the Grayhawk Community: Grayhawk has two distinct neighborhoods. The Retreat was developed around the two golf courses and is guard-gated. It has a large number of wonderful amenities including tennis, exercise trails and a community pool. Homes range from townhomes to custom single-family homes. The other neighborhood is called The Park. The Park consists of single-family homes and is a wonderful family-oriented community. The Park has several large play areas and parks sprinkled throughout the area. For more information, please contact me.

 

 

 

Arizona Ranks Second in Distribution of “High-Impact Firms”

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The SBA Office of Advocacy recently released a report ranking Arizona number two with the second largest distribution of “High-Impact Firms.”

The report describes these “High-Impact Firms” as:
– Older – They average 25 years in business.
– Accountable for the majority of revenue and job growth in the private sector.
– They span all industries.
– They represent only 2-3% of all firms.
– Smaller – The vast majority of these firms have fewer than 20 employees.

Arizona ranked number 2 behind Alaska, with 7,463 high-impact firms, or 2.57% of all Arizona firms. When taken to the MSA level, Phoenix/Mesa ranks 3rd with 4,932 of Arizona’s 7,463 high-impact firms. Only Norfolk, Virginia and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina ranked higher.

 

What Is the State of the Mortgage Industry?

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I have a guest columnist for this post. Steve Smith of Eagle Home Mortgage in Scottsdale, Arizona put together an informative overview on what is going on with the mortgage industry during these volatile times.

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Loan AppWhat Is the State of the Mortgage Industry?

There has been much written of late regarding the general state of the mortgage industry. There is no simple answer to this, but let me tryAll Posts and explain some of what has been going on and where we see the industry heading in the near future. Most of what I will be talking about is loans that are at or below $417,000.

There is no question the mortgage industry has gone through and is still experiencing major changes over the way business was done in the past three years. For those of us who have been in the business longer than 10 years, it is really “back to basics”. What that means is we are back to the three “C’s” – Credit, Capacity and Collateral.

The Three “C’s”
Credit is self-explanatory in that you must have a demonstrated record of paying your bills on time with no derogatory credit. To get the best rate and terms, most lenders are looking for credit scores above 700. FHA loans are an exception to this and I will talk more about them later.

Capacity means the borrower can document their income is sufficient to not only maintain their current debts but also the new loan they are asking for. Down payment also falls into this category and has become more of an issue. With again the exception of FHA, most loans today require a minimum down payment of at least 5% and in most cases 10%. The borrower must show these funds are available along with sufficient reserves in case of some type of income interruption.

Collateral is the appraisal on the home they are purchasing. This really comes under tight scrutiny in a declining market such as the greater Phoenix area. We are seeing many lenders requiring either a second appraisal or a field review. Any type of discrepancy is often times resulting in a counteroffer for a lower loan amount.

Types of Loans Available
The vast majority of borrowers – well over 80% – can, and do, qualify for mortgages in today’s market. Contrary to what you read in the media, most borrowers do qualify and will have no problem getting a mortgage. The types of mortgages that have been discontinued or substantially revised are the more unusual type loans such as 100% financing, interest only adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), and stated income loans. Any number of variations of these types of loans have caused so much trouble in the industry with borrowers defaulting when they are either unable to make the payments or realize the property is worth substantially less than what they paid for it.

One of the bright spots in the mortgage industry today is the FHA loan. Through the end of 2008, the maximum loan amount for Maricopa County has been increased to $346,500. This means that ANYONE purchasing a primary residence can apply for 97% financing on their home. Not only can you get a higher loan amount, FHA is more forgiving on credit scores. Any credit score above 620 gets the best rates and terms available under FHA rates. The 30-year fixed FHA is one of the best deals in the market today. For those of you unfamiliar with fixed loans, “30-year fixed” simply means the loan has a fixed monthly payment with a guaranteed rate and will pay off at the end of 30 years.

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If you would like to contact Steve Smith from Eagle Home Mortgage to learn more about the mortgage industry and loan products, he can be reached at (888) 648-0783 orSSmith@eaglehomemortgage.com.

Treat Your Family to “Summer Splash” at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak

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Kid on waterslideThe Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak in Phoenix is already well-known as a fun family resort with plenty of activities for parents and kids alike. To add to the fun, they have launched a “Summer Splash promotion that really packs in the savings.

In addition to a great room rate that includes a two-room suite, you also get complimentary access to the River Ranch pool complex complete with a lazy river, water slides, a kiddie pool and poolside activities, complimentary kid’s meals at participating restaurants, free admission to the Friday Night Dive-In Movie, extended weekend pool hours and more. If you opt for the Resort Value Pack (an additional $2.25 per day), you will also get free access to the Mini-Golf course, free fitness center access, unlimited local phone calls and more.

Other amenities at the resort include tennis, multiple restaurants, an on-site ice cream parlor, shopping and a luxurious spa. For anyone who wants to escape from all of the activity at River Ranch, there are smaller pools located throughout the resort as well as an ‘adults only’ pool accessed via the Fitness Center and Spa.

Whether you are interested in visiting Phoenix with your family or you are a local family looking for a quick getaway, the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak is the perfect place to escape to.

The Summer Splash promotion runs through September 8, 2008. For more information, please contact the hotel directly at (602) 997-2626.

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