Sitting here at my desk this afternoon, completing the final paper for a house that sold this week, I found myself wondering if the number of houses for sale in Scottsdale has decreased, now that we are into the spring selling season. I’ve been as busy as ever, and I know many other agents are too, so thought it was worth a quick look.

Courtesy of Altos Research, I pulled the following two charts. Looking at the whole of Scottsdale, you can see that the number of single family houses for sale (inventory) has dropped by about 25% since this time last year. However, just looking at the past six months, it appears that the number of homes available has stayed about the same.

All Homes for Sale in Scottsdale

Still a bit curious, I took a look at four Scottsdale zip codes that cover a wide range of house prices, from 85257 in South Scottsdale, to McCormick Ranch in 85258, to DC Ranch in 85255, onto the far north of zip code 85262.  Median home prices in these zips, definitely increase the farther north you go.

As you can see, the higher priced areas have followed the trend of declining (25-30%), and then plateauing in the past six months.  What you see in the lower price ranges, are significantly fewer homes for sale, and a steady supply over the past year.

Homes for Sale in Scottsdale 

What I think I find most amazing in the chart is how few homes are actually for sale in Scottsdale 85257.  Not a lot to choose from, which has to be a positive for home sellers with equity and a well-maintained home!

White Heron (Large)

I started a photography class, offered through the City of Scottsdale, earlier this month.  The instructor, Mary Gulino, has done an exceptional job helping me find my way around my new Canon Rebel.

One of the comments Mary made to our class was not to get stuck behind the camera and miss the beauty of life as it passes by.   A simple comment that hit home for me.  Especially now, at this time of year.

Scottsdale has so much going on in the winter months.  In January, it was the Barrett-Jackson and Russo and Steele car shows.  During February, Scottsdale hosted the Arabian Horse Show, and this week, the Phoenix Open was held at the Scottsdale TPC.  Cactus League spring training starts March 3rd.  The Renaissance Fair is on-going.  Bike paths are filled with runners, walkers, and riders. The skies are blue, and the weather is fine.  Life is good.

When you live in a place like Scottsdale that has so much going on, I think it’s easy for residents to forget to take time off and play along with our winter visitors.  Mary prompted me to think a bit bigger, and I’ve taken her comment to heart.

Yes, I’ve making time to get out and “experience life”, and definitely feeling “At Home in Scottsdale“!

Scottsdale 101: How the City is Run

by Dru Bloomfield on February 26, 2010

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I’ve been taking this fabulous series of classes from the Scottsdale Association of Realtors, called Scottsdale 101.  An amazing amount of information is being provided to us by the employees of the City of Scottsdale and my plan is to share some of what I hear. It’s interesting to learn about the inner workings of the city, and to see the dedication and enthusiasm of the many speakers who are educating a room full of Realtors on the inner workings of the city.

Scottsdale Governing Structure

In our first class, David Ellison, Assistant City Manager, and David Richert, Acting City Manager, explained the structure of Scottsdale city government.

Scottsdale operates under a charter government, where the elected officials, the City Council, set policies, and the City Manager and his staff, implement the policies and oversee the delivery of Scottsdale city services.

city-manager-org-chart

City of Scottsdale Organization Chart

Scottsdale and many other cities in Maricopa County, including Phoenix and Chandler, use this charter form of government.  The structure is set up to take the politics out of running the city, by separating administration and policy-making, thus providing a continuity of service.

The City Council consists of seven members and the Mayor.  A similar set up to corporation with a Board of Directors and Chairman of the Board.

In Scottsdale, the City Council assigns six positions:

  1. Attorney
  2. Auditor
  3. Clerk
  4. Manager
  5. Treasurer
  6. Judge

The Scottsdale City Manager is, in effect, the CEO running the equivalent of a $1.2 billion business, with responsibility for about 2400 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Approximately 100 other employees report to the other five positions.

One of the things that I’ve been most struck by in the six classes I’ve attend so far is how plugged-in and proud, the speakers have been.  The assistant city manager talked a bit early on sharing that city employees created the employee values, and that they are actually implemented, because employees feel like they own them. He also talked about what an innovative and creative city, Scottsdale is. The excitement of working in such an environment has been evident in every present I’ve seen over the past three weeks.

Scottsdale General Plan

The city has a General Plan that serves as a guide to the city’s future in regard the character, land use, and quality of life.   It also includes aspects related to:

  • Economic vitality
  • Community involvement
  • Housing
  • Neighborhoods
  • Open Space & Recreation
  • Preservation and Environment Planning
  • Cost of Development
  • Growth Area
  • Public Services and Facilities
  • Community Mobility

Voters actually have to approve the plan and the next iteration of the General Plan will be up for vote in 2011.

Get Scottsdale General Plan 2011 info on Facebook.

Scottsdale General Plan Growth Areas

The General Plan focuses on future growth of three primary areas of Scottsdale:

  • The Airpark — Plans call for a roadway system surrounding the Scottsdale Airport which would allow travelers to circumvent some of the busiest intersections surround the airport.  The City Council has already approved a $110M budget for the project with completion of Phase 1 occurring in 2012.
  • Downtown Scottsdale – from Thomas to Camelback Roads, including Fashion Square
  • McDowell Road (formerly the Motor Mile) — The remaining car dealerships would be moved to the 101 and McDowell Road.

Other Miscellaneous, but Interesting Scottsdale Facts

  • The city is 32 miles long and covers 185 square miles.
  • Downtown Scottsdale covers 800 acres.
  • The fiscal year starts July 1st.
  • Scottsdale is one of eighteen cities in USA with AAA rating by all three rating agencies. Triple-triple A.

Last summer, pre-foreclosures and lender-owned properties made up 25% of the active listings in the MLS.  However, about 45% of the actual sales were distressed properties.   Average price per square for a normal home sale was just over $200 per square foot, $150/sf for a pre-foreclosure, and closer to $140/sf for lender owned properties.

Scottsdale-reo-short copy

Looking at where we are today, you can see that we have a slightly larger number of pre-foreclosures on the market and about 50% of all the properties sold in January were either pre-foreclosure (and most likely short sales) or lender-owned (REO) properties.  What is very interesting is that the average price per square foot has increased for all property types, to almost $240/sf for normal sales, to about $160/sf for pre-foreclosures, and to $150/sf for foreclosures.

Scottsdale-market-distress-feb2010

I expected the higher numbers of distressed listings and sales.  However, the increased price per square foot was totally unexpected. 

I’ve been seeing an increase in prices in the lower end of the real estate market in various cities around Phoenix, but have not seen much of that pricing behavior in Scottsdale yet.  By the numbers though, it is happening.  Surprised me…. what do you think?

When home buyers arrive in Scottsdale, they often come with opinions about what part of town they want to live in.  Friends or family will say that they should only live in North Scottsdale, where the newer homes are, or they should find something downtown, close to all the restaurants and night life.  Regardless of the local knowledge that they’ve received, buyers quickly see that North Scottsdale, South Scottsdale, and the area they surround all have personalities of their own.  In addition to home prices varying widely, home size and age is also very different.

To give you some sense of the differences, I’ve broken the city down into 3 areas that are defined on the following map.  The red circle encompasses what I will call North Scottsdale, and the purple circle includes South Scottsdale, downtown, and neighborhoods north to Indian Bend Road.  In between, you will find many of the “ranches”, including Scottsdale, McCormick, and Gainey Ranch. (For today, I’ve left out Scottsdale 85254, since this area is mostly located in the city of Phoenix.)

Scottsdale-zip-code-map-regions
In all of the charts you will see below, the light blue line is the average for all of Scottsdale.  The other lines will denote the various zip codes in Scottsdale.

North Scottsdale: 85255, 85262, 85266

Mid Scottsdale: 85258, 85259, 85260

South Scottsdale: 85250, 85251, 85257

The information I’m providing you is taken from homes currently on the market, not all of the homes in the given geographical area.  It will give you an idea of the differences based on the inventory of single family homes for sale in Scottsdale over the past 3 months.

Average Price per Square Foot

The average price per square foot for a home for sale in Scottsdale is currently $260 per square foot.

south-scottsdale-price-sf-jan10

In South Scottsdale, home prices vary from $120 to just over $200 per square foot.

mid-scottsdale-price-sf-jan10

In central Scottsdale, prices currently average $200-245 per foot, while in the northern parts of the city, prices average $260-330 per square foot.

north-scottsdale-price-sf-jan10

As you can see, there has been a steady, gradual decline in home listing prices pretty much through the city over the past 90 days.

Median Home Age

The average age of a home on the market in Scottsdale is surprisingly just under 15 years. south-scottsdale-home-age-jan10

In the southernmost part of the city, homes for sale are older, with a median age of 50 years, while in the area just north of downtown Scottsdale, the median age is closer to 35 years old.

Further north, the median age of homes for sales in the McCormick and Gainey Ranch areas (85258) is 24 years, while to the north (85260), homes are in the 21 year range, and to the east (85259) towards Fountain Hills, the median age drops dramatically to 13 years.

mid-scottsdale-home-age-jan10

In the northern reaches of Scottsdale, the median age of homes for sale ranges from 8-11 years.

north-scottsdale-home-age-jan10

As you would expect, these numbers are pretty static in all zip codes.

Median Home Size

When it comes to home size, the differences between the areas are even more striking.

The median home size in Scottsdale is just over 3200 square feet.  However, in South Scottsdale the median home size is closer to 2000 square feet.

south-scottsdale-home-size-jan10

In central Scottsdale, the median home size varies considerably more, from a median of 2600 square feet for homes between Indian Bend and Bell Roads (85258 and 85260), and jumping  to 3800 square feet east of that area (85259).

mid-scottsdale-home-size-jan10

In North Scottsdale, homes for sale in all zip codes are considerably larger than the city median, ranging from 3600 to 4300 square feet.

north-scottsdale-home-size-jan10

What’s it all mean?

In South Scottsdale, the homes for sale are smaller, quite a bit older, and less expensive. Think affordable. First-time home buyer. Investment. Rental.

In North Scottsdale, homes are much larger, typically built in the past 10 years, and cost considerably more than the Scottsdale average.  Think luxury. Vacation home. Golf get-away. Desert living.

Then, there’s the middle of Scottsdale playing in with the rest of the picture for a diverse Scottsdale home market, providing a little something for anything thinking of buyer in Scottsdale.

Data Source: Altos Research

Scottsdale Fit City 5K and Expo

by Dru Bloomfield on January 25, 2010

Clear morning in Scottsdale

The weather cleared Saturday for the 2nd annual Scottsdale Fit City Kickoff at the Civic Center Mall.  The 5K Race / Walk was a first, and the mostly flat course was adjusted to workaround the flooding on Osborn.  The day was absolutely beautiful, sunny, clear blue sky, and cool crisp air.  Besides the run, there were many booths, featuring products and services for people of all ages interested in fitness, health and wellness.

fit-city-start-ine (Large)

Mayor Jim Lane issued a Fit City proclamation and handed out awards to the top race finishers. Many other local city, school, and business leaders were in attendance, too.  The crowd was really friendly and very relaxed.  I ran into a few people I hadn’t seen in awhile, plus got a great training tip from James, a trainer at Pulse Fitness, located in North Scottsdale.

Mayor Jim Lane Scottsdale Fit City 5K

Fun morning.  I’m looking forward to next year’s event  already!

UPDATE:

Race Results