by Dru Bloomfield on March 4, 2010
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.
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.
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!
by Dru Bloomfield on February 5, 2010
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.
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.
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?
by Dru Bloomfield on October 15, 2009
What a great surprise and honor to find out AtHomeInScottsdale.com was included in a recent article on “Must-Read Real Estate Blogs“ by Francesca Levy.
The sub-title of the article “Even small, neighborhood-specific issues discussed online can be of interest to a national audience” set the tone for Franceca’s article and mentioned many other real estate bloggers from around the nation, including local blogging phenomenon, Jay Thompson, over at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy.
Many home buyers and sellers are changing the way they interview agents, doing a lot of research on-line, before ever making contact via email, phone, or text. You all have busy lives, and my goal is to provide current Scottsdale (and sometimes Phoenix) real estate information, that’s available day or night.
If there’s ever a topic, you’d like me to cover, just let me know.
( Many thanks to Mike Simonsen, CEO of Altos Research, for tipping me off about the article and for providing current statistics about the Scottsdale real estate market!)
by Dru Bloomfield on August 30, 2009
Scottsdale home prices have plateaued over the past 3 months. Price per square foot is one indicator of market health, and you can see that in Scottsdale, that figure has been hovering in the $180/square foot range.
At the same time, you can see that prices are still down 10%, when compared to this year’s annual average, and down 21.6% when compared to the same month last year.
by Dru Bloomfield on August 3, 2009
If you planning to purchase a home before the $8,000 tax credit deadline hits, or you’ve had your eye on the luxury market, you need to know where you stand as you craft your offer to purchase real estate in Scottsdale, or any of the surrounding cities.
If you are looking for a home priced under $350,000, know that you are not alone, and the pickings are thin. Multiple offers and competing with cash buyers are just two of the challenges, particularly with foreclosures. The good news is that I’m seeing more listings from primary home owners who are motivated to sell their homes and are pricing them to compete with the bank. And when these well cared for and lived-in homes are priced aggressively, they do sell in very short periods of time.
We are no longer in a real estate market where a buyer can assume that they will find the house of their dreams in their price range, located in just the perfect area. Not when there’s less than a 3-4 month supply of homes in these most affordable price ranges. It’s tough. Home buyers quickly get an extreme appreciation of just how competitive the market is right now.
For those looking in the price range of $350-500K, the market is considered “balanced”. About the right number of homes, when balanced with the number of home buyers.
Once you start looking above the $500K range, and especially above $800K, you can see that there is a glut of inventory. Home sellers in this price range have more staying power, and unless they are truly motivated, have not reduced their prices to what the few luxury home buyers are willing to pay. This is where I think we will see the biggest price changes in the next 12-18 months. At least that’s my hope. Seven years of inventory is unheard of, yet that is where the market over $3M sits.
If you are a home buyer, before you do anything, get your financing in order. So much has changed, and even well-qualified buyers are jumping through hoops to provide all the documentation that is needed now. Then, roll up your sleeves and get ready to move quickly. That is what it takes! Time really is of the essence.
And, if you are home seller, with a home that should be priced $350K or less, know that you have some power in the home sale negotiation again. Clean it up, price it well, and make it easy to show!
by Dru Bloomfield on July 2, 2009
Altos Research has a proprietary market action index they use to track the real estate market. Looking at Scottsdale’s action over the past year, it shows that real estate is on an upward trend. Sales are up. Inventory (number of homes for sale) is down. Prices are still dropping. All of these aspects of the real estate market are included in calculating the health of the market. From this chart, Scottsdale still has a long way to go since an index of 30 is considered a balanced market, but for now, it’s headed in a healthier direction.
Not being content with generalities, and knowing that real estate is local, I’ve broken down this same indicator by zip code, and then grouped by North, Central, and South Scottsdale.
South Scottsdale Real Estate
This area covers from Indian Bend Road south to Tempe. The lower priced homes in 85257 are definitely leading the way, but 85251 and 85250, are not far behind and are following the same trend of improvement, since the low point at the beginning of 2009.
Central Scottsdale
This area runs from Indian Bend Road north to about Bell Road, but doesn’t include McDowell Mountain Ranch. The Scottsdale zip codes 85254 (that’s located mostly in the City of Phoenix) and 85260 are showing the most improvement (since Feb 2009) with 85259 (east of the 101), and 85258 (McCormick and Gainey Ranches) bringing up the rear.
North Scottsdale
North Scottsdale Scotts zip codes 85255, 85266, and 85262 are showing improvement as we move through the year and are much more stable than the latter part of 2008.
When you look at the where the Market Action Index is currently hovering for each portion of the city, you see that South Scottsdale with it’s lower prices is seeing stronger improvement than up north, where the average price of a home is considerably higher.
To put it in perspective:
North Scottsdale Market Index ranges from 11-13. Central Scottsdale ranges from 13-16, and South Scottsdale ranges from 15-18.
From the charts, you can see that the latter portion of 2008 was considerably stronger than anything we’ve seen this year. Short sales and foreclosures are playing an increasing role in the Scottsdale real estate market. Time will tell what the overall impact will be.
