Sonoran City News

Foreclosure Information

Renting Your Property for The Super Football Bowl Game

Phoenix is hosting multiple sports events during the beginning of 2008. The FBR Open. The Fiesta Bowl and the Super Bowl are just some of the events happening in the area during January and February 2008. If you haven't been paying attention, the FBR Open is occurring the same week as the Super Bowl. This will present a challenge for those seeking hotel rooms but presents an opportunity for those with properties available to rent.

If you are one of the many Phoenix and Glendale area homeowners who has been struggling to find a tenant for your vacant property, you might well consider making it available for a short term rental. Many out-of-town visitors will be here for more then just a few days and would prefer to stay in a home rather then a hotel. There are many different ways of promoting your property as a vacation or weekly rental and you might be shocked at the going rates.

If you would like more information, email me.

Why Isn't Your House Selling? - Part 2

My email box is filled with people wanting to debate my "the only reason your house hasn't sold is price" statement so I thought I would visit it more in depth.

One of the first things people tell me when they are preparing to sell their home is what upgrades the home has. Typically a home seller wants to increase the selling price of their home in proportion to the amount of upgrades. I can see where this train of thought comes from. If someone spends $20,000 upgrading their kitchen it stands to reason that upon sale, they would like to recoup some, if not all, of the cost. In an older neighborhood this might be a valid argument.

If you are planning to sell a home in one of the newer suburbs of Phoenix, AZ, your home might not be old enough to need a remodel but you might have gone whole hog on the upgrades when you purchased. Do these upgrades justify pricing your home for more then the other homes in your neighborhood? Maybe.

Let's say you live in a subdivision which is less then 5 years old. You have granite counters and stainless steel appliances, travertine floors, Berber carpets and designer ceiling fans. When you purchased the house, these upgrades cost you an additional $30,000. To you, this should equate to selling your home for $30,000 more then the other homes in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, when it comes to selling your home, it just doesn't work that way.

Phoenix - Yes, Some People Think it's Hot Here

One of the greatest things about my chosen career path is the opportunity to speak with people across the US and across the world. Generally, if they are calling me, they intend on moving to Phoenix, AZ at some point in the future. They are drawn by the affordable housing, job opportunities, year-round recreation, and the weather.

Let me be totally honest, I spent the first half of my life in the Mid-West and on the East-Coast (Ohio and Maryland). When someone mentioned Arizona, the first thing that always came to mind the old Road Runner cartoons with visions of tumble weeds. When I heard that people used rocks instead of grass for their front lawns, I was speechless.

I've been here for 10 years and I've grown to love desert landscaping (rocks in the front yard) and think nothing of dodging the occasional tumbleweed rolling down the street. I've even seen my fair share of Road Runners. All in all very cool. I even enjoy sharing the story of the day we had a snake in our bathroom.

Phoenix Arizona is not the Old West nor is it a Road Runner Cartoon. It is a modern, growing, cultural city which continues to attract tens of thousands of new residents each year.

It is, however, hot. You can claim the lack of humidity makes it a dry heat and therefore more bearable but in reality my oven is a dry heat and I don't even think about turning it on during the summer.  Hot is hot. But I lived on the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie and I can promise you I'll take 115 degrees and no humidity any day over 85 degrees and 75% humidity. Oh, and Phoenix had surprisingly few flying mosquito type bugs. No water, no bugs. It would be nice if we had fireflies, but you can't have everything, now can you?

Really, if you are considering moving to Phoenix and the heat is what is stopping you, think about this...air conditioning is a whole lot better then shoveling snow.

America's Fastest Growing Suburbs

Forbes.com just released it's list of America's Fastest Growing Suburbs. While Lincoln, CA took the top spot, four of the top-ten places are Arizona cities, specifically cities in the West Valley of Phoenix.

Buckeye, Surprise, and Goodyear took spots two through four, and Avondale placed ninth. Buckeye grew an astounding 191% since 2000, Surprise came in at 165%, Goodyear 142% and Avondale 102.4%.

Buckeye and Surprise should surprise no one by their showing. Both cities have demonstrated aggressive growth this decade and both intend to continue. Buckeye, if all goes as planned, will surpass the population of Phoenix once the developments along Sun Valley Parkway complete. The same can be said for Surprise as that city dominates the growth in the Northwest Valley.

Phoenix Real Estate Market Statistics July 9 - July 15, 2007

This is residential only. Derived from the Arizona Multiple Listing Service. It should give a good snapshot of what is happening in the market.

These are the statistics for 9 July to 15 July 2007.

Total Active Properties: 54438

Active - 2843 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	400	0	0	$ 29,900	$0	0
Avg	2014	3	2.27	$ 380,039	$0	3
Max	7080	7	7	$5,750,000	$0	7
Expired - 516 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	572	1	1	$ 69,000	$0	0
Avg	2027	3	2.28	$ 389,467	$0	174
Max	8131	6	7	$ 5,500,000	$0	917
Sold – 878 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	600	1	1	$ 58,500	$47,500	0
Avg	1946	3	2.24	$ 357,616	$ 343,576	109
Max	6900	9	8	$ 4,485,000	$ 4,150,000	612
Cancelled – 1202 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	392	1	1	$ 1	$0	0
Avg	2149	3	2.38	$ 441,928	$0	135
Max	9549	8	9	$10,000,000	$0	725

These are the statistics for 9 July to 15 July 2007.

Total Active Properties: 54438

Active - 2843 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	400	0	0	$ 29,900	$0	0
Avg	2014	3	2.27	$ 380,039	$0	3
Max	7080	7	7	$5,750,000	$0	7
Expired - 516 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	572	1	1	$ 69,000	$0	0
Avg	2027	3	2.28	$ 389,467	$0	174
Max	8131	6	7	$ 5,500,000	$0	917
Sold – 878 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	600	1	1	$ 58,500	$47,500	0
Avg	1946	3	2.24	$ 357,616	$ 343,576	109
Max	6900	9	8	$ 4,485,000	$ 4,150,000	612
Cancelled – 1202 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	392	1	1	$ 1	$0	0
Avg	2149	3	2.38	$ 441,928	$0	135
Max	9549	8	9	$10,000,000	$0	725

A Bright Real Estate Future in Phoenix

Homeownership - The American Dream

"Your blog has become negative".

Someone I hold near and dear had the presence of mind to point this out to me. He is correct. My blog has become negative and I need to do something about it. I don't mean to have every message be a negative one nor do I wish to become a Kool-Aid drinking mouthpiece of positive spin. I've always had a habit of saying what is on my mind and believing honesty is best.

Honesty is best. And honestly there are some very positive things happening in the Phoenix real estate market. One of those things happened today. I'll share.

At the end of 2004, I was contacted by a nice young couple, pregnant with their second child. They had been renting and felt it was time to buy before the addition of their second child. Their expectations were extremely realistic; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, good school system, etc. Basically they wanted a decent starter home in a neighborhood where their kids could play catch in the street.

The American Dream.

Sadly, in 2004, there would be no American Dream for them. Try as I might, there were no homes in their price range which remotely fit their needs. After a lot of tears and a reality check, we set up a plan and they continued to rent.

New Phoenix Foreclosure Resource

As foreclosure numbers rise to levels which haven't been seen sine the early 1990's a new resource has been created to help those facing foreclosure.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix provides free housing counseling services. The hotline is available 24-hours a day at 888-995-HOPE (4673).

There are a number of other Phoenix foreclosure resources available here. Please, if you are struggling to pay your bills, contact your lender sooner then later. The longer you wait, the less options available to you.

Pricing Phoenix Real Estate

A man owns a 2,500 square foot home in a well established subdivision. He wants to sell. He had the home appraised 6 months ago for $450,000. He calls me and tells me he wants to list his house. I do a market analysis, pull comps, and tell him his home should be priced at $395,000.

He has a fit.

I explain there are 22 other homes in his neighborhood of the same floor plan all currently for sale. The highest priced is $415,000, the lowest is $370,000. In the past six months, 8 homes of the same floor plan have sold. The lowest for $362,000, the highest for $412,000. The average days on market for his neighborhood is 131.

He has a fit. He tells me that he looked his house up on Zillow and it shows $465,000. I try to calmly explain to him that he might want to ask Zillow if they are willing to buy his house for that price. He has another fit (I might have had that coming). He then explains to me that he has spoken to 2 other agents, both of whom will list his house for over $425,000. He tells me he will not be using me because I do not know what I am talking about and hangs up the phone.

This all occurred a little over 4 months ago.

Fast forward to yesterday...

Phoenix Real Estate Market Statistics July 2 - July 8, 2007

This is residential only. Derived from the Arizona Multiple Listing Service. It should give a good snapshot of what is happening in the market.

These are the statistics for 2 July to 8 July 2007.

Total Active Properties: 53916

Active - Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	0	0	-1	$ 42,000	$0	0
Avg	2004	3	2.30	$ 372,732	$0	3
Max	8234	8	6.5	$6,895,000	$0	7
Expired - 570 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	400	0	1	$ 54,000	$0	0
Avg	2087	3	2.31	$ 406,594	$0	168
Max	13966	7	9.5	$ 9,880,000	$0	599
Sold – 641 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	446	1	0.5	$ 41,000	$40,000	0
Avg	1941	3	2.20	$ 359,940	$ 346,537	110
Max	8300	6	5	$ 5,395,000	$ 4,945,000	641
Cancelled – 979 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	500	1	1	$ 70,000	$0	0
Avg	2149	3	2.39	$ 416,522	$0	131
Max	10000	7	11	$7,900,000	$0	547

These are the statistics for 2 July to 8 July 2007.

Total Active Properties: 53916

Active - Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	0	0	-1	$ 42,000	$0	0
Avg	2004	3	2.30	$ 372,732	$0	3
Max	8234	8	6.5	$6,895,000	$0	7
Expired - 570 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	400	0	1	$ 54,000	$0	0
Avg	2087	3	2.31	$ 406,594	$0	168
Max	13966	7	9.5	$ 9,880,000	$0	599
Sold – 641 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	446	1	0.5	$ 41,000	$40,000	0
Avg	1941	3	2.20	$ 359,940	$ 346,537	110
Max	8300	6	5	$ 5,395,000	$ 4,945,000	641
Cancelled – 979 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Beds	Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Cumulative DOM
Min	500	1	1	$ 70,000	$0	0
Avg	2149	3	2.39	$ 416,522	$0	131
Max	10000	7	11	$7,900,000	$0	547