Terravita Market Updates July 2011-Present

 

  January 1, 2012 Terravita Market Update

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

 

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

  

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

  

 

 

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

  

 

 

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:

A Wall of Dust Nearly a Mile High

 

 

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

 

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