Terravita Real Estate

Terravita Market Updates July 2011-Present


 

  January 1, 2012 Terravita Market Update



Terravita ended a strong year on a strong note!  The average price per square foot and annual sales are both way up compared to this time last year.  I am too hung over to write much but BE PREPARED FOR A GREAT 2012! 
 

 
 

If you know of anyone who is thinking of selling their home, please tell them to give us a call and ask about our Guaranteed Home Sale Program and our Buy this Home and I'll sell yours for Free Program!

Seriously, our new home selling systems cannot be beat, and will ensure not only that our sellers sell first, but that they net the most money possible.
 
 

Here are the December 2011 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:
 

8

Closings for an Average of $196 per foot

114 

Average days on the market 

4

Homes under contract

6

Price Changes

48

Active Listings

 

   

Month

Average Price Per Foot

 January

$185

 February

 $196

 March

 $200

 April  $192

  May

$186

 June  $167
 July  $173
 August  $183
  September
$218
 October  $189
 November  $187
 December  $196

  

 

December 1, 2011 Terravita Market Update






Terravita had a pretty good November with 5 homes going under contract and the average price per foot staying about the same as last month. If I had a crystal ball, I would say that you should anticipate seeing that average price per foot increase as we move through the first two quarters of next year. And while I am on the subject, I would like to speak to the average price per foot.

I haven’t discussed this for a while and I have had a number of people ask me recently why I use price per foot. And my response is that I really don’t use it! Or at least not to establish a home value. I do use it to talk to people who aren’t as familiar with the way home values are determined, because it is a good rule of thumb or a convenient yardstick. Price per foot is a simple tool for approximating or calculating home values for comparison purposes, but it has little do with the way I establish the value of a home. In my 27 years selling real estate and near 500 homes I have sold just in Terravita, I have discovered the nuances of what the public will value in a property and what they won’t. It isn't really a science but it is kind of an art. Just as an example, I listed a home this month for $281 per foot even though the average in Terravita is under $200! (And thanks to all of you, we got it sold!)

I hope you enjoy getting my market updates and find that the price per foot is helpful. I will have a new group of metrics early next year that I think you will find more useful and like even better.

   

 

If you know of anyone who is thinking of selling their home, please tell them to give us a call and ask about our Guaranteed Home Sale Program and our Buy this Home and I'll sell yours for Free Program!

Seriously, our new home selling systems cannot be beat, and will ensure not only that our sellers sell first, but that they net the most money possible.
 
 

Here are the November 2011 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:
 

3

Closings for an Average of $187 per foot

271 

Average days on the market 

5

Homes under contract

19

Price Changes

46

Active Listings

 
   

Month

Average Price Per Foot

 January

$185

 February

 $196

 March

 $200

 April  $192

  May

$186

 June  $167
 July  $173
 August  $183
  September
$218
 October  $189
 November  $187

 

November 1, 2011 Terravita Market Update

 
Here are the October 2011 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:
 

2

Closings for an Average of $189 per foot

167 

Average days on the market 

5

Homes under contract

9

Price Changes

42

Active Listings

 

   

Month

Average Price Per Foot

 January

$185

 February

 $196

 March

 $200

 April  $192

  May

$186

 June  $167
 July  $173
 August  $183
  September
$218
 October  $189

  

 

 

October 1, 2011 Terravita Market Update

  

Even though the weather hasn’t cooled much, many of the Terravita seasonal homeowners are about to begin flocking back to Scottsdale. When they get here, they will be pleased to discover that the Terravita real estate market average price per foot is $9 per foot higher this September than last September, and the inventory is actually a little lower than it was last year at this time.  But, if they have been giving any thought to selling their home, they will blown away when they hear about how the overall Phoenix real estate market is doing.

In October of 2007 there were 58,000 listings for sale in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (YIKES!).  This morning there were only 19,000 homes available for sale, and the Greater Phoenix area has been averaging over 8,000 sales per month in 2011! Obviously Terravita is a much higher price point than the vast majority of these sales, but clearly the market has changed!

Do you know anyone who has been holding off
selling their home until the market changed?


If you know of anyone who is thinking of selling their home, please tell them to give us a call and ask about our Guaranteed Home Sale Program and our Buy this Home and I'll sell yours for Free Program!

Seriously, our new home selling systems cannot be beat, and will ensure not only that our sellers sell first, but that they net the most money possible.
 
 

Here are the September 2011 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:
 

2

Closings for an Average of $218 per foot

32 

Average days on the market 

4

Homes under contract

8

Price Changes

42

Active Listings

 

   

Month

Average Price Per Foot

 January

$185

 February

 $196

 March

 $200

 April  $192

  May

$186

 June  $167
 July  $173
 August  $183
  September
$218

  

 

HEADS UP FOR SOME GOOD NEWS!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the season opening Open House on Sunday. It feels great to be back in the saddle again, and I am very optimistic about this season! While I don’t feel the change in the weather yet, I really think I feel the change in the market.  But don't take my word for it.  If we can work it out, I am going to bring in the foremost authority on the real estate market here in the Valley to present next month.  If you are interested, save the date for the morning of November 19th.


In my September month end wrap-up, I mentioned the extraordinary reduction in inventory the Valley has recently experienced. That speaks to a very local phenomenon that I believe will ultimately turn out very well for sellers, and for buyers that get off the fence soon. But I wouldn't expect the media to catch on any time soon - at least not our local media.


The national media may be a bit ahead of the curve though, and I thought you should know about it:


The Wall Street Journal
Last week, in an article entitled 

, the WSJ told their subscribers:
“It’s an excellent time to buy a house, either to live in for the long term or for investment income…Houses aren’t the magic wealth creators they were made out to be during the bubble. But when prices are low, loans are cheap and plump investment yields are scarce, buyers should jump.”

 


In an article two weeks ago, MarketWatch.com (the online blog for WSJ) told their readers:
“Now could be the best time in history to buy a home.”


Forbes.com
In a report to their subscribers, Capital Economics reported that:
“The previous declines in house prices and the more recent drop in mortgage rates to record lows have created an unusual situation in which the median monthly mortgage payment is more or less the same as the median rental payment.


Why is this important? Last week, Forbes explained to their readers:
“If rents simply kept up with inflation at a 3.2% annual increase, a $1,500 rent payment would cost that renter nearly $900,000 over the next 30 years. The same $1,500 payment made to their mortgage would be only $540,000 (because the payments don’t increase with inflation).”


They went on to explain the advantages of homeownership during retirement:
“Even with a dismal 1% growth rate over 30 years, a $300,000 property would appreciate well over $100,000 giving the homeowner an additional nest egg for retirement…
At a time when retirement is becoming much more challenging, an extra $400,000 (or likely more) can make a major difference not to mention the impact of NOT having to pay a mortgage.  How much less would you have to save for retirement if you didn’t pay the mortgage?”


Bottom Line
When the local market appears to be making a large change, and an iconic financial newspaper and the financial magazine say that it makes financial sense to purchase a house now . . .  it could be time to buy a home!


 

September 1, 2011 Terravita Market Update

Month

Average Price Per Foot

 January

$185

 February

 $196

 March

 $200

 April  $192

  May

$186

 June  $167
 July  $173
  August
$183

  

 


Sorry I missed you last month when I was traveling to Minnesota.  We left the record heat in Minnesota to come back to Arizona for the hottest month ever!  In the Terravita real estate market, August was a typically slow month with just 3 homes going under contract, but we are just 60 days away from the beginning of the fall season!  Which means cooler weather and hotter sales numbers!

Since there wasn't much going on in the Terravita real estate market this month, I thought I would share a couple of things I found interesting.  

As some of you know, I generally take my listings off the market through the slow summer months to keep the dreaded "Days on Market" down.  However, if you are interested in seeing a couple of my listings that are off the market for the summer, check them our by clicking here and here .
 
Here are the August 2011 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:
 

8

Closings for an Average of $183 per foot

306 

Average days on the market 

3

Homes under contract

4

Price Changes

34

Active Listings

 

 

August 1, 2011 Terravita Market Update

 

Month

Average Price Per Foot

 January

$185

 February

 $196

 March

 $200

 April  $192

  May

$186

 June  $167
  July
$173

  

 

Scott is in the wilds of Northern Minnesota this weekend with no internet access.  He asked me to say that he hopes you are all enjoying your summer as well, and asked me to pass along this month's Terravita sales statistics.  Enjoy! 

Lindsay Hayes 
Administrative Assistant to Scott Gaertner, P.C.
Keller Williams Northeast Realty
602-432-3208
Lindsaykhayes1@gmail.com
 
 
Here are the July 2011 Terravita Real Estate Market’s statistics:
 

10

Closings for an Average of $173 per foot

102 

Average days on the market 

5

Homes under contract

7

Price Changes

34

Active Listings

 

Is The Greater Phoenix Market Heading Back Up?

Apparently Terravita real estate was not the only market to have an extraordinary sales month in June. According to the June Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) reports, there are some serious indications that our overall market could be bottoming out. Not everything is positive on the pricing side, but other metrics are beaming. As many of you know I am a bit of a skeptic, but I view my job as supplying you the information so you can make up your own mind.

I don't want to get too “inside baseball” here, so below are just a few of the more obvious highlights. I have included a couple of articles and supportive graphs below for those of you who are interested.

Here are some highlights:

  • On June 30th, 2,216 homes closed escrow in the Greater Phoenix area, The largest total we have ever recorded for a single day.
  • June home sales in the Phoenix metro area surged to 11,125 units, the highest number of transactions in a decade
  • Pending foreclosures have dropped dramatically since the darkest days of the housing crisis. Pending foreclosures dropped to 27,616 in June from a high of 50,568 in November 2009.
  • Distressed sales, which include both lender-owned sales and short sales, accounted for nearly 68% of all sales or 7,544 units. Short sales increased nearly 6% in June from May, signifying that some lenders might be more willing to work out agreements with homeowners in order to avoid foreclosure.
     
    Suffice it to say that the news was good enough to cause Tom Ruff, a real estate analyst with the Information Market to say, "July could very well be a landmark month as some buyers start to realize what the investors have known for quite some time. Historically low prices coupled with historically low interest rates make a very strong tonic."

    Don’t expect to read much about the market turnaround as the media and word of mouth are generally months behind the curve.  Stay tuned . . .



Articles

 

 

 

Dust Storm


Just a quick update in case you out of state owners are getting calls from the people who watch your homes.  Below is the reason why . . .

Tuesday night we had the largest dust storm I have seen in my 30 odd years in the Phoenix area. To give you a sense of the magnitude of the dust, here is a photo my son sent me from his iphone as the dust rolled through Scottsdale:


As the photos below that I took the next morning should attest, the aftermath was amazing. The streets in Terravita look like dirt roads, and while it isn't as easy to see, the sidewalks and everything else is coated with dust and/or mud.

Fortunately, the mess is nothing a good rain can't clean up, but even though we are in the monsoon season we haven't had any yet. The largest problem is the pools. I would not want to be a pool cleaner this week.




Entering the Carefree Gate


Facing toward the Main Gate

66th Way

These cars were clean earlier in the day

  

Click here for an interesting piece regarding the storm:

 

 

July 4th, 2011 Terravita Market Update


 

 The Gaertner twins are heading to the pool soon
 but they wanted to be sure and wish everyone a safe and Happy 4th of July!!

 God Bless America.

 

 

July 1, 2011 Terravita Market Update


 

Month Average Price per Foot
January $185
February $196
March $200
April $192
May $186
June $167

OMG!


What a June! The Terravita real estate market had a HUGE sales month for June, with 13 homes going under contract*.  Normal sales for this month are in the 3 or 4 range, so 13 borders ridiculous and unheard of.
 
But not quite . . .

I do need to qualify this for my readers with a good memory though: We actually had 12 homes go under contract in June of 2009, but that was THE aberrant year of all years.  You will recall that the quarter preceeding the 2009 sales year is when we first discovered that our booming economy was actually built on sand, and that our investments were a mirage.   The hangover effect of that crisis completely inverted our normal sales pattern, putting the bulk of the sales in the second quarter instead of the first quarter where they have always been.  It looked like this:
 


Now check out this year’s chart!
 

Does this mean we have hit bottom and prices are starting back up? Not likely.

In fact, as I have said here before, sales prices and temperatures have a strong inverse relationship in Terravita.  This year is no exception.  People don’t usually trudge around in 114 degree heat to make a “pretty good” deal.  They are generally bargain hunting.  The list price on the homes that went under contract in June averaged under $180 per foot, so you can bet it will be considerably lower when they close escrow.  Never the less, 13 sellers moved closer to their goals. 

What does great June sales mean to annual sales?  It is too early to say, but it can’t hurt!

Happy Canada to our friends in the Northland!!

 

Here are the June 2011 Terravita Real Estate Market’s Statistics:

8
Closings for an Average of $167 per foot
107
Average days on the market 
13
Homes under contract *
 7
Price Changes
42
Active Listings

 

NEXT

Scott Gaertner