AZ Real Estate Info

The city of Glendale is resurrecting the Watermelon Festival, to be held at Murphy Park in downtown Glendale on Saturday, June 8.  The festival will offer lots of old-time favorite activities like an ice cream social, dunk tank, watermelon toss, seed-spitting competition and the crowning of a Watermelon Queen! These are only a few of the many activities that will be offered, and this festival may very well become a new favorite of Glendale’s many downtown events.   

For more information visit http://azmelonfestival.com

Country music bad girl Miranda Lambert is bringing her Locked and Reloaded tour to Desert Sky Pavilion in Phoenix AZ on Thursday, May 16. Local-boy-gone-country-star Dierks Bentley is joining the tour. This promises to be an “epic” concert for country music fans!

For more information visit livenation.com

April turned out to be another strong month for Phoenix area real estate. According to the most current Cromford Report, April saw the most sales since March 2012. Prices continue to strengthen, but we are not seeing the dramatic month-to-month increases we have seen in the past. Although this may sound like bad news, it is actually an indication that our market is likely reaching a more sustainable, healthy rate of growth.

Average Sale Price April 2013 vs April 2012; $227,687/$189,914

The number of homes on the market has increased from this time last year, with a greater number being non-distressed (ie short sale, foreclosure or auction.) In fact, last month saw the most non-distressed home sales since the height of the real estate bubble burst in 2006.

Despite an increase in listings being put on the market, buyers are still snapping the well-priced properties almost as soon as they are put on the market. Many of my listings are selling shortly after being put up for sale, and often with  multiple offers.

You know that summer is just around the corner when the Wet ‘N Wild water park opens its doors! This favorite Valley attraction offers tons of activities, from the thrilling Maximum Velocity dual coaster to Wet ‘n Wild Jr, which includes child-friendly versions of some of the most popular attractions.

For more information, visit http://wetnwildphoenix.com

USA Today recently ran an article, “11 home features buyers will pay extra for”. Not surprisingly, a large number of these features centered around the kitchen; new appliances, granite countertops, kitchen islands, stainless steel appliances and eat-in kitchens all made the list. The master bedroom was the second-most popular area of the home for desirable features including en-suite master baths and walk-in closets. Fireplaces, hardwood floors and central air conditioning rounded out the list, along with homes less than six years old.

Many times sellers make home improvements with an eye on a possible payoff when they sell their homes. With the exception of the age of the house, all these features can be possible home improvement projects. But what is most interesting about this article is the cash value buyers place on these features. In most (if not all) cases, the premium that buyers place on a particular feature is less, and in some cases MUCH less, than the feature would cost as a home improvement project.

The take-away from this story for me is that it doesn’t always pay to make improvements to one’s home if the idea is to increase its sale price. Yes, a home owner can recoup some of the expenses incurred for remodeling their home, but the big payoff should be that it makes the home owner happy to have the improvements. Generally speaking, only a portion of the investment for home improvements are recouped when the home is sold, and this isn’t even always the case.

The City of Glendale and Westgate Partners will be unveiling Gallery Glendale, an art gallery and community class facility at Westgate on May 17^th. The unveiling kicks off with a public party to showcase the new gallery, which will feature samples of the city’s municipal art collection as well as the works of artists and other collections. Classes will include Zumba and glass fusion jewelry making just to name a few.

Visit http://www.glendaleaz.com/galleryglendale/index.cfm for more information.

Anyone who has recently tried buying a home in the Phoenix area knows that the market is incredibly fierce. Buyers are often engaging in bidding wars in their efforts to buy houses. Homes are being snapped up, often within hours of being put on the market. I’ve even had buyers submit offers on my listings without first seeing the property.

Sellers have begun asking buyers to waive the appraisal contingency when they feel their homes will not appraise for the offer price. With competition so fierce for homes, and with prices going up so quickly, an increasing number of buyers are making the RISKY decision to accept the waiver. By waiving the appraisal contingency, the buyer is assuring the seller that s/he will pay the agreed upon price even if the appraisal comes in low, REGARDLESS OF HOW LOW, unless they stipulate upfront a maximum amount they will pay! This has several serious and potential devastating ramifications for buyers.

Lenders use appraisals to determine how much money they will lend. So, a buyer agreeing to waive the appraisal contingency is contractually obligated to come up with the money to pay the difference between the appraisal and their offer price. Obviously, the seller won’t care where that money comes from, but what if the buyer doesn’t HAVE the cash? Now, it’s not unusual for buyers to submit offers that include paying the difference between the appraised value and the offer value, but these offers are specifically worded so that the buyer agrees to a certain set amount of money that they are willing to come in the deal with, and they DO NOT WAIVE THE APPRAISAL CONTINGENCY! Waiving the appraisal contingency offers NO protection; the buyer will either have to come up with every penny of the difference or face accusations of breach of contract and the legal ramifications that brings. It is important to note that the appraisal contingency is not just about the value of the property, but the condition also. Many times appraisers note "conditions" in the appraisal. Depending on the type of financing these "conditions" will have to be corrected before the underwriter will FINAL approve the loan. If you waived the appraisal contingency, did you exclude the conditions?

The decision on whether or not a buyer wants to waive the protection they are offered by using a properly worded contract is ultimately up to that buyer, but as a Realtor I would never, EVER suggest that any of my clients waive the appraisal contingency. That bit of contractual language was added to our contracts for the specific purpose of protecting the buyer, and no home is worth the possibility of the risk of overpaying that waiving it can cause. Of course all things are relative, are we talking $1,000 or $20,000? Yes, we get requests for $20,000 waivers! Learn the lessons of 2005 and don't repeat them. If most buyers stick to their guns of abiding by the rules of the appraisal, then sellers will have less leverage in mandating buyers give up these rights. If you take the risk then accept the consequences.

Average sales prices for homes in the Phoenix AZ market continue their upward climb.  Since January, the average sale price had increased around $13,000! Although we saw the number of new listings coming on the market increase over the past couple of months, the number of sold listings have been increasing at a faster rate. Buyers are just not getting their fill of Phoenix area real estate, particularly in many West Valley cities where the supply of homes is critically low.

Despite investors leaving our market, new waves of buyers are taking their places. Families who lost their homes to foreclosure or who short sold homes a few years ago are increasingly able to qualify for financing as their fiscal issues slip farther into the past. Folks who were holding off to see where the market would go are feeling pressure to buy before prices go up again. And, of course, those historically low interest rates are luring people back into the market.

Average Sale Price March 2013 vs March 2012; $221,791/$181,283

Phoenix area real estate is definitely a seller’s market, and the increasing prices are making it more attractive for prospective sellers to make the jump and put their homes up for sale. Most of my listings are selling within days of being put on the market, generally having received multiple offers. Buyers pounce on new listings as soon as the “For Sale” sign is hammered into the ground.

Motorcyclists are invited every Thursday evening to gather at the Westgate Entertainment District, where they can enjoy live music, special displays and discounts at bars and restaurants. It’s an impressive sight; as one of the Valley’s biggest bike nights, hundreds of motorcycles line up along Coyote Blvd. Don’t have a motorcycle? You’re still invited, although the special discounts are offered only to those who show a current motorcycle license.

For more information visit http://westgatecitycenter.com/bikenight/

The Arizona Republic ran an article recently that quoted a report published by real estate data collector CoreLogic. According to the report, Arizona is #2 in price gains for February, posting an impressive 18.6% increase and placing us closely behind first place Nevada (19.3%) and comfortable ahead of third place California (15.3%)

As we’ve seen here in Phoenix, investors are still driving the recovery. The report states that the number of first time home buyers is still critically low, but I suspect that a major factor is that the price range they are most interested in (around $150,000) is experiencing a critical shortage, with cash-toting investors are competing in the same price range. It’s not necessarily that there aren’t enough first time home buyers who WANT to buy a home, but they are facing mighty stiff competition. In fact, according to the news story, resale home inventory on a nationwide level hit a 13 year low in January of this year!

The critical shortage will likely start easing up a bit though. Prices have now recovered enough in the Phoenix AZ market that many sellers who formerly were upside down on their mortgages can now actually sell for a profit. We are seeing this already as the number of non-distressed (ie short sale, foreclosure & auction) listings are decreasing and the number of traditional ones are increasing.