Looking for some tips to get your home sold…. here’s my perspective, along with some great input from a few of my favorite Phoenix area Realtors.
From today’s AZCentral.com: Online marketing key to selling home
From the category archives:
Scottsdale
Since I’ve started taking a intermediate photography class from the City of Scottsdale Park & Recreation, my life seems to revolve more around my camera than ever before. As a Realtor, photos are a big part of my job. In fact, with most initial home shopping being done on-line, I decided that improving my photography skill was a must.
One of our assignments this semester is to complete a photo log, taking a photo a day and creating a presentation at the end of class. Today, I was thinking about that project and thought it might be interesting to see what photos I could put together for you that would document and describe what this past week looked like for me.
Take a look what this past week included for me, living and selling real estate in Scottsdale.
Here’s a quick update on the status of the Scottsdale real estate market, looking at it from a “distressed” point of view.
First, a reminder of where the Scottsdale market was last year at this time. A quarter of the listings were either pre-foreclosures or lender-owned properties, yet these two types of sales accounted for almost half of the sales. Depending on the type of sale, listing prices in June 2009 ranged from about $180 to $350 per square foot. Sales prices ranged from approximately $140 to $210 per square foot, with normal sales being about 50% higher than distressed sales.
Looking at today’s market, you will see that not much has changed. More pre-foreclosures are listed, but not significantly more. Sales of lender-owned properties are down a bit, pre-foreclosures are up a bit, for a wash. Listing prices ranged from about $190 to $310 per square foot. In June 2010, sales prices ranged from approximately $145 to $215 per square foot, with normal sales being about 50% higher than distressed sales. Not a lot of difference. According to the Cromford Index, the market is a bit more distressed.
All in all, more of the same, a bit of bumping across the bottom as many have predicted. Only time will tell when, we start to see some significant improvement.
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For the sake of clarity, I have included the following definitions of terms that were used in this Cromford Report chart:
- The Distress Index gauge at the center shows a value from 0 to 100 which expresses the overall level of foreclosure activity.
- REOs or lender-owned properties have already been through the foreclosure process and completed their trustee sale. These properties were sold by the trustee to the beneficiary (lender). In a few trustee sales (typically less than 5% at the moment), the property may be sold to an investor or wholesaler who is prepared to bid higher than the bank. These properties are not classified as lender-owned.
- The Pre-foreclosure category includes those properties that have started the foreclosure process, but have not yet had the trustee sale. We also include those which are being marketed in a short-sale situation, even if a notice of trustee sale has not been issued. In a full pre-foreclosure situation, the owner(s) have received a notice of trustee sale and the property is being marketed in order to try to sell the home before foreclosure completes. Many of pre-foreclosures are in a “short sale” situation, where the price asked is lower than the outstanding debt secured by the home. Such sales require the approval of the lender.
- Normal sales are those where the owner has the unencumbered right to sell the property without requiring approval from a lender, court or external corporation of any kind, and the owner is not a financial institution. In a normal market, these constitute the vast majority of all listings and sales. The degree to which these sales become a smaller proportion of all sales indicates the level of distress being felt in the market.
- Active listings include active-with-contingency and are measured at the beginning of the calendar month. All figures are for single family detached homes only. Monthly sales means sales that closed during the preceding calendar month. The date shown at the top of the dashboard is the date on which this measurement was taken.
As an Accredited Real Estate Buyer’s Representative of the National Association of REALTOR®, I get the benefit of regular industry updates that give me insight into current housing trends.
Home Sizes Decreasing
Today, I was reading an article about the trend towards smaller homes, which shared that:
- The average size of a new single family home was flat in 2008 and decreased in 2009.
- Homes with at least three bedrooms decreased in 2009, for the first time since 1992.
- The number of homes with four bedrooms have been decreasing since 2007.
- Homes with two stories peaked in 2006, and have been on a downward trend since.
New Home Builder Trends
The article “Home Trends 2010: Consumers’ Most Sought-after Features” also included a list of the ten most likely features that builders will include in 2010:
- Walk-in Closet in Master Bedroom
- Laundry Room
- Insulated Front Door
- Great Room
- Low-e Windows
- Linen Closet
- Programmable Thermostat
- Energy Efficient Appliances and Lighting
- Separate Shower & Tub in Master Bedroom
- 9-foot Ceilings or Higher on First Floor
Comparing Scottsdale to National Trends
From my perspective working with buyers in the Scottsdale area, I would agree with most of the list, but find that the insulated front door and programmable thermostat have never been on my client’s wish lists. However, ceiling fans, a newer (or high-efficiency) air conditioner, and a good roof are a big demand item in our area. And great outdoor living spaces are often a requirement, too. I think it’s just the difference in climate.
Buyers are more more concerned with heat than cold here. And because it’s so dry, roof materials dry out, and are more inclined to leak during our summer monsoon rains. And when the weathers beautiful, which if very often, home owners want to be outside.
Other features on the builders’ list are definitely similar to those that I get from buyers moving into the area. However, buyers quickly learn the differences between north and south Scottsdale, both in age and price of home.
Existing Scottsdale Homes
Older ranches in South Scottsdale are single story, in the range of 900-1500 square feet, and often 3 bedroom. They typically do not have walk-in closets, high ceilings, or great rooms. The laundry rooms are sometimes in a separate small workroom or in the garage. Master baths typically just have a small shower.
The farther north you look in Scottsdale, the newer the homes. And the newer the home, the more likely it will have high ceilings, a great room, walk-in closets (sometimes in all bedrooms), and large spacious master bathrooms. These houses will be much larger, ranging from 1,800-5,000 square feet, and more. Two story homes are more common. High-efficiency appliances are the norm, too.
New Home Communities
There are only a few new home communities in the Scottsdale area, since the city is mostly built-out. As of today, I know of Wingate Ranch, Sera Brisa, Montacino at McDowell Mountain Ranch, Rosewood at DC Ranch, Verandahs at Silverleaf, Quisana at Troon North, and a couple more in the most-northern parts of Scottsdale. Prices for these new homes range from $550K-$1.5M, so are often out of reach for many buyers.
The size of homes in these communities has not decreased, however, you will find, most if not all of the building features in these upper end homes.
Additional resources for home buyers:
Time for some Friday fun.
I started listing bank-owned properties again, after a short lay0ff, and have been working with several clients getting offers negotiated and agreed to by today, to qualify the 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credit. As a result, my writing has fallen behind, so I thought I’d share a few of the photos I took at the 11th Annual Eldorado Skate Park Competition, held March 27, 2009.
A beautiful day to watch some amazing boarders.
A lot of concentration and athletic ability.
He did land this one!
Lots of rail riding.
I can fly!
Eldorado Park is a 60-acre park with 3 ramadas, 5 picnic areas, 3 softball fields, a soccer field, a full basketball court, a sand volleyball court, an outdoor amphitheater, swimming pool, 2 lakes, 2 playgrounds, a 5K course, horseshoes, restroom and home of the Wedge Skate Park.
A map of Eldorado Park:
Learn more about other Scottsdale Parks
Last week, I shared that Scottsdale condo listing prices have been decreasing over the past year. This week, I’ll show you the same is true for single family homes in the city, with median list price decreasing by $100,000 since May 1st, 2009.
The statistics for the properties in this following report are divided as follows:
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First Median Range (Blue): Most expensive 25% of properties
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Second (Green): Next 25%
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Third (Orange): Next 25%
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Fourth (Black): Least expensive 25% of properties
By appearance, it looks as if the upper end of the market has taken the brunt of this depreciation, which it has, when looking at it from a purely dollar perspective. However, percentagewise, the lower end of the market truly has seen the greatest median listing price reduction, approaching -25% since May 1 of last year, and the Upper/Second Median listing price has demonstrated the least reduction in listing price, only in the range -12.5%. Interestingly, this second tier is where the overall median listing price of Scottsdale sits.
However, the time to sell appears much more like a roller coaster, than in the Scottsdale condo market. Overall, the days on market for active listings has increased in the past year, with a dip occurring in the fall season before a steady continued increase. Days on market has been on a downward trend over the past month or so.
The time to sell as well as the market trend definitely varies by price range. High-end homes are on the market for a much long period of time. The time to sell Scottsdale’s lowest priced homes has plateaued over the past six months at around 125 days. However, the mid-range home have been fairly consistent over the past 10 months, but are now tracking downward.
I think it will be interesting to see how the next couple of months play out.
Data Source: Altos Research
