by Dru Bloomfield on November 7, 2009
By now you may know that the real estate tax credit has been extended to contracts written and accepted by April 30th, 2010, and also expanded to included move-up home buyers.
The National Association of Realtors published this helpful guide for comparing the program that was expiring on November 30th with the one which was just signed by President Obama yesterday.
NAR Issue Brief: Homebuyer Tax Credit
A couple of the highlights include:
- Purchase contracts must be written by April 30, 2010.
- Move-up home buyers are eligible for a $6500 tax credit, providing they meet income limits and occupancy rules.
- First-time home buyers are still eligible for a $8000 tax credit, with income limits.
- Qualifying home prices are capped at $800,000.
I suspect that there are a few home buyers that are breathing a sigh of relief, knowing that they still have time to find a home, make an offer, and close before the extended 2010 deadline.
And there’s the potential to release a whole new wave of homes for sale. Homes that have been lived in, where the owners have taken care of them, and will disclose the history of the home to the buyer. I’ve listed six houses like this in just the past two weeks, and I suspect that I will be hearing from a few more folks who’ve been sitting on the fence, deciding whether the time was right to sell and buy up.
I do have questions:
- Are move-up home buyers immediately eligible?
- What if they have an accepted contract scheduled to closed between today and December 1st?
UPDATE:
Here’s a link to the actual language of H.R. 3548: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The bill appears to extend the dates, so that it appears that a seller who has lived in the current home for five consecutive years, out of the past eight, could get the tax credit for a home purchase as early as Monday. You will find the Extension and Modification of First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit in Section 11.
by Dru Bloomfield on October 14, 2009
“How long will it take to sell my house?”
I can count on this question in every listing appointment. And the short answer is, “Depends”.
Depends on:
- Where your house is located
- How you price it
- What kind of condition it’s in
- And a host of other external factors that buyers and sellers don’t have direct input into, like interest rates, tax incentives, consumer confidence, …..
Today, I’ve pulled some Altos Research housing data, to show you how long homes have been listed for sale in Scottsdale. In this first chart, for the whole of Scottsdale, you can see that number of days on the market peaked in July and has started a steady downward trend.
![clip_image001[15]](http://athomeinscottsdale.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/clip_image00115_thumb.gif "clip_image001[15]")
However, we all know that real estate is local, so I’ve done a quick comparison of the Median Days on Market for several Scottsdale zip codes.
First, from the southernmost part of the city, Scottsdale 85257, time to sell a house didn’t start decreasing until the September.
In Scottsdale 85258, where McCormick and Gainey Ranches are located, Days on Market matched the same pattern as the City of Scottsdale and started decreasing in July.
The same trend is true for Scottsdale zip code 85255, home to McDowell Mountain and DC Ranches, as well as Grayhawk.
However, moving northward toward Carefree and Cave Creek, you can see that the zip code 85266, home to many luxury homes and the community of Terravita, the number of days to sell a house still has not peaked.
When it comes times to sell your home, you will want to look a lot closer at statistics in your neighborhood. Some subdivisions sell much more quickly than others, so it’s imperative you have a good sense of what is going on close to home, as well as in the surrounding areas. Armed with current and relevant data, you and your agent can then price your house to sell, know just how long it might take.
Related Links – More Scottsdale Real Estate Statistics
To take a look at what is going on currently (as of the day your are reading this post), you can look at the following reports for the city of Scottsdale and then for each Scottsdale zip code:
Scottsdale Real Estate Statistics – Single Family Homes
- 85262 – North Scottsdale including Desert Mountain, north of Jomax and east of Pima Road
- 85266 – North Scottsdale including Terravita, north of Jomax and west of Pima (new zip code as of 7/1/2007)
- 85255 – North Scottsdale, including DC Ranch, Grayhawk, and McDowell Mountain Ranch
- 85260 – North Scottsdale, between Shea Boulevard and Bell Road
- 85254 – Scottsdale address, but located in City of Phoenix. North of Shea and South of the aqueduct.
- 85259 – North Scottsdale, mostly east of 104th Street and west of Fountain Hills
- 85258 – Central Scottsdale, including McCormick Ranch and Gainey Ranch
- 85250 – Central Scottsdale, between Chaparral and Indian Bend Roads
- 85251 – Downtown / South Scottsdale, between Chaparral and Thomas Roads
- 85257 – South Scottsdale, south of Thomas Road to the Tempe border
by Dru Bloomfield on August 7, 2009
photo credit: Andreas Demmelbauer
The Arizona Regional MLS, where homes for sale in Scottsdale, Phoenix and other area cities can be found, has just added the ability to list the following green (environmentally sound / energy efficient) features to sales and rental listing descriptions.
New tracking fields include:
- Solar PV Panels
- Solar Pool Equipment
- R‐Value Upgrades
- HERS Rating
- Energy Audit
- Energy Star Appliance(s)
- HVAC (16 SEER+)
- Gray Water System
- Recirculation Pump
- Tankless Hot Water Heater
- Sustainable Flooring
- Smart Home Systems
Also, Green/Energy Certifications can be listed, but must be documented with the associated certification:
- Energy Star Certified
- LEED Certified
- LEED Neighborhood Development
- Green Program Certification Pending
- Scottsdale Green Building Program
- NAHB Green Program
To protect the integrity of the home listing information, the following definitions will be used:
- Solar PV Panels: Solar Photovoltaic Panels, panels used in the generation of building electricity from the energy of sunlight using solar cells for energy and converting sun energy directly into electricity.
- R‐Value Upgrades: upgrades from building codes, refer to builder invoice, verification may be necessary.
- HERS Rating: Home Energy Rating, a professionally certified energy analysis of the home’s design.
- Energy Audit: a professional inspection that includes IR photography, blower door test and other forms of advanced inspection techniques.
- Energy Star Appliance(s): Energy Star labeled appliances that convey with the property.
- HVAC (16 SEER+): heating, ventilating, and air conditioning in the home with a SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating of 16 or above.
- Gray Water System: a system to collect wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing, for reuse.
- Recirculation Pump: a water conservation pump providing nearly instant hot water at the point of use.
- Tankless Hot Water Heater: provides hot water only as needed quickly to the point of use, also known as Instantaneous or Demand Water Heater.
- Sustainable Flooring: flooring made from natural, recycled, reclaimed or certified sources without the use of toxic chemicals in manufacturing or installation.
- Smart Home System: the integration of the residence’s various home automation systems.
So now, if you have an energy efficient home for sale, you can tout it, and if you are planning to buy green home, you can search for it, too.
by Dru Bloomfield on September 12, 2008
Everyone is looking for a change in the local real estate market. Yesterday, I got a call from a TV reporter asking if I was taking buyers to look at homes in the afternoon, as she would like to interview us. The gist of the interview of the buyer was to be, “Why are you buying now?”, and the catalyst for the subject was the latest ASU real estate research.
I was not able to meet with the reporter since I was already committed to a board-related meeting, but the phone call reminded me that I have been challenged finding a home for one of my buyer clients. Either the home is wrecked and overpriced, or it’s priced well and under contract before we can get to see it. A slight exaggeration, but definitely a view of both ends of the spectrum.
Yesterday’s call did prompt me to email my database of potential home sellers in South Scottsdale. For the most part, homes that are in my client’s price range will be in the zip code 85257, but there are a few in both 85251 and 85250. I’ve done all sorts of searches, being as creative as possible, to make sure my client has seen what is available in Scottsdale’s real estate market. So, I sent this email went to home owners in this area, seeing if we could find someone who’s been sitting on the fence, or maybe just found out they are being transferred to another part of the country.
I’ve been working with a well qualified, first-time home buyer, who is looking for a 3+ bedroom home in Scottsdale. Pool is optional, but a nice backyard is important. She can do a little fix-up, like paint and carpet. The kitchen layout is really important to her, as she wants to be able to cook, while still being able to converse with her guests.
Her preferred price range is $175,000 to $200,000.
In the past, you’ve contacted me to do a quick home valuation. Looking through my records, I see that your home might be a possibility, and am contacting you for that reason.
Please call or email me, if you might consider selling at this time and your home is in a condition that matches my client’s preferences.
We’ll see if I get any responses. If you have a home that you’ve been thinking about selling, or know someone who does, and it matches my client’s needs, could you call or email me?
Thanks!
by Dru Bloomfield on June 28, 2008
So, the question today is: How long does it take to sell a house in Scottsdale?
Interestingly enough, with the huge range of prices in Scottsdale, there’s not all that much difference in how long it’s taking for a house to sell. The chart below is busy, but will give you the basic information.
1. Time to sell has definitely increased significantly in the past year.
2. Regardless of where you live in Scottsdale, it’s taking approximately 3-4 months (median value) to sell a house, except in the northernmost area of the city (Desert Mountain and the surrounding areas), where 6 months is closer to the norm.
Scottsdale Zip Code Map
Remember that the zip code 85266 in North Scottsdale is new as of July 2007, so the tracking data has taken a while to correct, as home owners and their agents shifted to the new code.
by Dru Bloomfield on June 24, 2008
A sign our our times…
Dear Seller,
I appreciate your feedback that I have undervalued your Scottsdale home. I just want to take a moment to clarify my preliminary estimate of the selling price of your home, which can be very different than the market value of your home.
My approximation of selling price is based on a number of variables, that include the experience that I have representing a good number of home sellers and buyers in this very tough market. Even homes that are have high values are going at reduced rates, simply due to the extreme amount of competition. Buyers expect to get a good price at a value that will hold fairly well in a depreciating market, so for the most part, they bargain hard. If they do not find a middle ground with one seller, they just move on.
It’s not the way any of us would like it necessarily, but more the reality of the current Scottsdale real estate market. If you must sell your house in this market, and have found an agent who is confident that they can sell your house at the price you are looking for, then you’ve found a match. I view my priority in working for a client to sell their house, not simply market it, and then request a series of price reductions until the current market value is found.
In the end, neither the seller, nor their listing agent decide what a property is worth, it is the buyer, who makes an offer for what they are willing to pay, who decides the price and market value of the home.
![clip_image001[15]](http://athomeinscottsdale.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/clip_image00115.gif "clip_image001[15]")
