I love Tempe and have an affinity for the sales trends of Tempe Homes. Our brokerage is headquartered out of Tempe, AZ just 2 miles from Arizona State University. Tempe is filled with history, great neighborhoods, entertainment, sports and a sense of community.  Not only that, it’s centrally located with many of the valley’s main freeways passing through or around it. So down to business.

Tempe, along with Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, were three of the cities that withstood the rapid depreciation we experienced during 2007 and 2008 for the longest period of time. Perhaps saying they withstood depreciation is not entirely accurate. It’s more accurate to say they maintained higher values than most  surrounding Phoenix communities. Let’s talk about the below chart provided by the Cromford Report™.  

The meter in the upper left hand corner indicates the current price per square foot in Tempe is almost $116.  The meter on the top right corner indicates the annual average price per square foot for 2010 is about $118 per square foot.

The middle graphs indicate the averages expressed in monthly and annual terms.  You can see that the prices spiked as much as $10.00 per square foot in the timeframe between June and August 2009.  That was attributed to increased home purchases and occasional bidding wars over properties when buyers thought the tax credit was going to expire.

As a point of reference, price per square foot in Tempe two years ago was $157.  3 years ago, In February of 2007, the price per square foot was about $178.  It becomes clear that a $20 drop per-year has been the standard. Have we bottomed out? Except for the upward spikes shown in the graph Tempe appears to be somewhat flat. Is this the time to take a serious look at Tempe homes for sale?

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Tempe Center for the Arts

Phoenix Real Estate in the 50’s – 60’s

There are a lot of new homes in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Face it, Phoenix has not been around as long as many of the east coast cities. I can go six months showing homes at not see a home that was built before 2000. This statement would not be true in many cities from across the United States.  So, if you live on the east coast and are reading this blog just bear with me.

Lately I’ve been showing lots of homes to clients who want to live in Tempe, Arizona.  I came up with an idea to write about the "Top 10 signs you’re in a house that was built in the 50’s – 60’s."  Here we go:

10. The electrical power reaches your home from a cable dangling over your head.
 9. The trash is picked up in an alley from behind your house.
 8. The water heater is outside.
 7. The power box is 18 inches square.
 6. Armstrong linoleum tile matches your pink toilet.
 5. All of the interior cabinetry is quarter inch stained plywood.
 4. The windows crank open.
 3. The gas heater is in the hallway closet.
 2. The doorbell is a Nutone chime.
 1. The stove does nothing but get hot.

Phoenix Real Estate

Housing Tracker Phoenix

Phoenix Real Estate

Arizona Relocation

ARIZONA RELOCATION – What are your “must haves?”

This article was sent to me by a friend in the mortgage industry. It’s not an article specifically about relocation, but an interesting look at what people are considering “must have” features in their homes. The survey was conducted by AVID Ratings Co.,which conducts an annual survey of home-buyer preferences. CEO Paul Cardis says these are 10 “must have” features in new homes. This survey is not focused specifically on Phoenix / Scottsdale, Arizona relocation. Rather, it is a Nationwide
survey and here are the direct quotes:

1. Large Kitchens, With an Island
“If you’re going to spend design dollars in a home , spend them where people want them — spend them in the kitchen,” Cardis said. Granite countertops are a must for move-up buyers and buyers of custom homes, but for others “they are on the bubble,” Cardis said.

2. Energy-Efficient Appliances, High-Efficiency Insulation and High Window Efficiency
Among the “green” features touted in real estate, these are the ones home buyers value most, he said. While large windows had been a major draw, energy concerns are giving customers pause on those, he said. The use of recycled or synthetic materials is only borderline desirable.

3. Home Office/Study
People would much rather have this space rather than, say, a formal dining room. “People are feeling like they can dine out again and so the dining room has become tradable,” Cardis said. And the home theater may also be headed for the scrap heap, a casualty of the “shift from boom to correction,” Cardis said.

4. Main-Floor Master Suite
This is a must feature for empty-nesters and certain other buyers, and appears to be getting more popular in general, he said. That could help explain why demand for upstairs laundries is declining after several years of popularity gains.

5. Outdoor Living Room
The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow, even in Canada, Cardis said. And the idea of an outdoor room is even more popular than an outdoor cooking area, meaning people are willing to spend more time outside.

6. Ceiling Fans
(I would consider this one to be specific to Phoenix / Scottsdale Arizona relocation

7. Master Suite Soaker Tubs
Whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, Cardis said, but “they clearly went down a notch,” in the latest survey. Oversize showers with seating areas are also moving up in popularity.

8. Stone and Brick Exteriors
Stucco and vinyl don’t make the cut. (ouch, this one hurts and could aimed specifically at Phoenix / Scottsdale Arizona relocation.)

9. Community Landscaping, With Walking Paths and Playgrounds
Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.

10. Two-Car Garages
A given at all levels; three-car garages, in which the third bay is more often then not used for additional storage and not automobiles, is desirable in the move-up and custom categories, Cardis said.

In my opinion, people relocating to Phoenix / Scottsdale — and those relocating across town — do tend to have some differences in home preferences. Most of my relocation clients have tended to be a little wealthier because they were corporate executives being relocated. My out of state relocations have not been as concerned about items number two, six, and nine. However, they’ve usually expressed an interest in numbers one, three, four, and the opposite of nine (because they prefer golf course communities). Additionally, most prefer a three car garage.

My clients who have relocated across town are almost always interested in items number one, two, six, nine, and ten with little or no care for items four, five, and seven.

Arizona Relocation

Phoenix Real Estate

There currently 9,200 homes for sale in the city of Phoenix. Real estate deals are around every corner in the Metro area. Many REO properties need some work and we expect that. Some Phoenix real estate deals  need lots of work and cause potential buyers to go hmmmm …. And then there’s the occasional house that really stinks! Literally.

I took a buyer, who flew in from New Zealand, out to look at REO properties on Wednesday and saw some really good deals for Phoenix homes for sale. The banks don’t like to waste time anymore and most are starting to price properties really aggressively … enough so that many REO homes are still getting up to 15-20 visits in the first week.

Well, we are 5 homes into our search when we open the door to a really nice looking home in Phoenix. Real estate memories fill my mind, but this was one of those moments that would have been interesting to record — then watch our reaction on video. I knew something was wrong as soon as I swung open the door. 5 steps into the house and my eyes were beginning to sting. Holy pet urine Batman! This was not the work of a random “tinkler.” These pets had the run of the place. I never thought I would need to stop by Big 5 Sports and buy 2 gas masks before showing any Phoenix homes for sale.

My client was shocked at the smell. It was almost so thick it could be cut with a knife. But after traveling half way around the world to look at Phoenix real estate she could not be stopped. She proceeded to do a quick walk-through of the downstairs and headed upstairs. I started to assess her weight and wondered if I would need to carry her out of the house. It has been awhile since I worked out regularly at the gym. My mind started remembering the correct lifting techniques to avoid back injury.

She disappeared up the stairs and I tried to regain my senses. It occurred to me that she might think this yank was a pansy, so I darted up the stairs. That was a mistake because I started to breath harder. My memory was jolted into remembering that warm air rises. If it was possible, the smell was even worse upstairs. Of all the Phoenix real estate I could have been in … then I lost my train of thought.

Where am I?

Then I remembered. My client came out of the master bedroom and headed for the stairs (thank you God). She didn’t appear faint (thank you God). We headed outside and locked up the house. My client actually liked the floor plan and features and commented that removing the carpet would help a lot. She wondered what my thoughts were on the subject.

I actually had thoughts on the subject because, first of all, my sight and mind was returning. I told her I had bought a house with a similar problem at the trustee’s sale, which of course was “sight unseen” (and smell un-smelled). I described the process of scrubbing and sealing concrete. I described the process of sanding and sealing 2×4’s that were along the concrete floor. Thankfully she was losing interest in the house and I wouldn’t need to return (thank you God)! On to better smelling Phoenix real estate!

Today I received an email from the listing agent wondering what I thought about the house. It was then I decided to write this post. My return email will contain a link to it. That should be satisfactory feedback, don’t you think?

Phoenix Real Estate

Housing Tracker Phoenix

I usually break down the Phoenix housing market on a micro level. But, and as Monty Python used to say, “and now for something entirely different,” here’s a look at the larger macro picture.

I was interested to see just how far prices have dropped since the boom years. So I logged into the multiple listing service, came up with a few criteria, pushed a few buttons, and here you go: a 10-year look at the average price and price per square foot in the Phoenix housing market. This is my disclaimer: this information came directly from the Arizona Regional MLS. Any realtor and can get the same information. I’m not responsible for any errors in the data. OK, now that that’s over with, let’s get back to this post.

Read that chart in this manner: in 2009 there were 92,146 residential sales in the Phoenix area. That total sales volume equaled $15,668,606,573, or an average price of $170,045. Since the average sold home was 1,930 square feet, the average price per square foot in the Phoenix housing market for 2009 was $88.00

Housing Tracker

Phoenix residents and those in the know realize the rest of the chart isn’t really any ground breaking news because this information was available on an intuitive basis. In other words, we all knew that house values started an amazing increase in 2004 – 2005 and that many people bathed in the “afterglow” during 2006. But seeing these numbers all in one place — and in black and white — is a littleshock to the system. However, then the foreclosure crisis set in and home values decreased to their current state.

You can see a $94.00 drop in the price per square foot from 2006 to 2009. Obviously, that is due to the fact that approximately 55% of all homes sold in 2008 – 2009 were foreclosure-type properties. I’m talking about bank owned homes and short sales. That quantity of foreclosure sales is enough to suck the life out of values in any housing market (and we won’t name other housing markets in this post — you know which ones I’m talking about ).

When people ask me “is this the time to buy real estate” I can now honestly say prices are lower than they have been in the last 10 years.

Phoenix real estate

Housing Tracker Phoenix

December 2009 Housing Tracker – Phoenix Market

Here is another in a series of reports for our regular housing tracker. Phoenix market results for December 2009 indicated an increase in the number of homes that sold for under $100,000. December 2009 is the first month in which there was any significant increase in this statistical category.

Looking at the total number of homes that sold for under $100,000 is one way to look at Metro Phoenix housing. Market tracker information is revealed in the following chart and is read in this manner: “There were 7,670 homes sold in metropolitan Phoenix during the month of December 2009. 2,811 (or 36.6%) of all thesesales were under $100,000. 2,249 of those homes (80% of the total) were foreclosure type sales.”

As indicated by the color yellow, this number had been on a decline since a peak of 3,866 homes in May 2009. At that time 90% of all homes that sold for under $100,000 were foreclosure-type sales (indicated in orange).

A primary reason for the June through November decline has been thegradual increase of home prices in the Phoenix area. Our Phoenix housing market tracker has indicated the increase began in April 2009 when the average price in the entire metropolitan area was approximately $84.00 per square foot. Price per square foot in December 2009 was approximately $91.00.

Phoenix housing market

DMOZ Directory

Phoenix Real Estate Market- Record Setting December, 2009?

Yes, it’s true. We had 7,670 residential sales in the Phoenix real estate market last month, though it wasn’t quite the all-time high. December 2004 was the only month in this last decade that had higher sales, and that was by less than 200 homes. Is that an amazing feat for the Phoenix real estate market? Definitely, considering that December is historically one of the lower sales months in the entire year as people turn towards holiday shopping and parties. It’s also an impressive feat considering all of that doom and gloom reporting on the national economy.

Take a look at these numbers from the Arizona Regional MLS.

MONTH – SALES
2009 – 7,670
2008 – 5,630
2007 – 3,347
2006 – 5,311
2005 – 6,527
2004 – 7,829
2003 – 6,311
2002 – 5,954
2001 – 4,531
2000 – 3,907

Additionally, 2009 recorded the third highest residential sales in the last decade. 2004 and 2005 (boom years) were the only two years with higher residential sales in the Phoenix real estate market.

33,014 more homes were sold in 2009 than in 2008, or a 55.7% increase!

YEAR – SALES
2009 – 92,292
2008 – 59,278
2007 – 54,231
2006 – 74,106
2005 – 104,133
2004 – 98,294
2002 – 68,411
2001 – 62,523
2000 – 55,400

There are currently 33,278 homes for sale in Metro Phoenix. Real estate sales are off to a pretty good start in January 2010 after a great December 2009.

Phoenix real estate blog

Phoenix homes and foreclosures