Here is a quick overview of buying a buying a foreclosed home in Flagstaff: Arizona law requires buyers at the foreclosure sale (also known as a trustee sale) to pay cash on the barrelhead. Since there is no time to go through the mortgage process after identifying the property, most foreclosure sales end with the bank whose lien is the largest being the buyer on the courthouse steps – their competitor in the bidding will be the bank with the second biggest lien. The second owner may be wiped out of this home investment if the first bank bids higher.   The new bank-owner then hires a Flagstaff real estate agent to sell it (there are two-three agents in Flagstaff who carry those listings). These properties get listed on the Northern Arizona MLS like other homes and any buyers’ agent will be paid by the bank to sell them. We can represent the buyer at either stage. At the foreclosure sale itself, the buyer takes the house as is and it's often in rotten shape. If the property is bank-owned, the bank may have done repairs to make all systems at least functional so that the property can compete on the market.

A better strategy in this market is to find a seller who is still living in the house but has a strong motivation to move -- that seller is competing against the banks' ability to push prices down but has a house in better condition. These sellers must sell because they have to move for job, family or health reasons. It doesn’t matter what the reason is, the question is:  Are they motivated? Some of these “motivated” sellers will be in “short-sale” condition – meaning they have no equity in the home after the anticipated payoff of the mortgage. In these situations, buyers will need to be patient with the closing process because, unless the seller has cash to pay for the deficiency owed the mortgage holders, those entities will need to be involved in approving the transaction. The sellers’ motivation to go this route rather than simply abandoning the property to foreclosure is to salvage some of their credit standing.

In other words, it doesn't much matter who owns the house -- it's all about price and condition. There are not enough foreclosures in Flagstaff to have a significant impact on the market. The impact we're getting is from the foreclosure effect in Phoenix. Because the values there are down, no one from there is buying a second home. So, the second home market (a substantial portion of our typical sales volume in Flagstaff) is practically dead. Also, there are fewer buyers because of the mortgage crunch. All of this has brought prices down.

For a buying strategy that works best for you, consult with Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

Naysayers are nothing new when it comes to real estate. Now a Scottsdale, AZ RE/MAX agent has compiled some of the best of the worst real estate market predictions.  I offer them here for your mid-week entertainment.

These comments mirror the frequent "fear factor" news we hear almost daily in Flagstaff and elsewhere. The good news is that each and every short-term decline in real estate has been temporary and has been followed by long-term price appreciation. Here we go:

"The prices of houses seem to have reached a plateau, and there is reasonable expectancy that prices will decline."
- Time magazine, 1947

"Houses cost too much for the mass market. Today's average price is around $8,000 - out of the reach for two-thirds of all buyers."
- Science Digest, 1948 (National real estate values have appreciated 2,650 percent since 1948.)

"The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans. The typical new house today costs about $28,000."
- Business Week, 1969 (National real estate values have appreciated 685 percent since 1969.)

"You might well be suspicious of 'common wisdom' that tells you, 'Don't wait, buy now - continuing inflation will force home prices and rents higher and higher.'"
- NEA Journal, 1970

"The median price of a home today is approaching $50,000. Housing experts predict price rises in the future won't be that great."
- Nations Business, 1977 (National real estate values have appreciated 340 percent since 1977)

"The era of easy profits in real estate may be drawing to a close."
- Money magazine, 1981

"The golden-age of risk-free run-ups in home prices is gone."
- Money magazine, 1985

"Most economists agree ... [a home] will become little more than a roof and a tax deduction, certainly not the lucrative investment it was through much of the 1980s."
- Money magazine, 1986

"Financial planners agree that houses will continue to be a poor investment."
- Kiplinger's Personal Financial magazine, 1993 (my Flagstaff land investment of 1993 has tripled in value)

"A home is where the bad investment is."
- San Francisco Examiner, 1996 (National real estate values have appreciated 88 percent since 1996)

"Home prices experience historic drop."
- CNNMoney.com, 2007 .....

Thanks to Terry Forsberg, RE/MAX Fine Properties, Scottsdale, AZ.
 
Source: RE/MAX Times Online 4/28/08 – available only to RE/MAX affiliates.

Living room of 1460 Fox Hill Road

There were 54 new home listings added to the Flagstaff real estate market in the week April 28 through May 4. These Flagstaff homes ranged in price from $143,900 for a one bedroom, one-bath, 600-square-foot condo to a nearly 7000 square foot home listed at $2,350,000.  All of this is according to data provided by the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing Service, which does not contain all homes for sale, but does contain most of the Flagstaff real estate market.

Our featured Flagstaff area listing of this past week is in Continental Country Club neighborhood. The deck and back yard of this home are exactly would you would dream of if your were imagining a Flagstaff home: tall pines, open space, natural landscaping, native rock formations. Inside, you’ll find real wood floors and vaulted ceilings and a malpais-rock fireplace that soars to the top of the living room. There are three bedrooms and a large laundry room. The home is filled with natural light. The home is at 1460 Fox Hill Road in the heart of the Country Club area where you will have access to the best of Flagstaff recreation. For details, visit the featured listing for this home on our website.

Seventeen homes went under contract for sale in the Flagstaff real estate market last week. Twenty-three Flagstaff homes closed sales last week.  

If you’re in the market to buy a Flagstaff home, contact us or visit our website – put Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties to work for you!

Search all Flagstaff MLS listings with our MLS Guide as your assistant!

Flagstaff’s real estate market is making some moves!  For months, home prices were stuck with median home prices in the mid-three-hundred-thousand dollar range. All of that changed in April, with the median price dropping to $322,000 for a single family home and to $290,000 for all home types (including manufactured, townhomes and condos as well as single family homes). Like magic, sales jumped from 33 single family homes sold in March to 42 in April. More significantly, there are 77 single-family-residences under contract waiting to close as of May 4, 2008. The over-supply of homes dropped from 19-months’ supply at the end of March to 16-months’ supply at the end of April. It’s still a buyers’ market, but a shift has occurred.

How long the downward price trend will continue is anyone’s guess, but it’s not likely to go as far as it has in other parts of the country because of our land shortage and because new home construction has essentially shut down in Flagstaff since 2006. The drop in over-supply from 19-months in March to 16-months in April reflects this supply crunch.

Are Flagstaff homes affordable? As of May 4, 2008, there were 322 Flagstaff homes for sale on the Flagstaff MLS at a list price of $250,000 or less. Your first home does not need to be your dream home. In fact, it should not be. The idea of owning a home is to build equity and move up. I’m on my fourth home. Once I was established in the dream home, I could move to investment properties. The foundation for all of this is that first home. I bought mine in 1978. Interest rates were over 8% and the economy was in the doldrums with gas prices at all time highs and the President on TV in a sweater to encourage conservation. Now, with interest rates under 6%, it is a great time for people who want to live out their lives in this beautiful mountain town to get into the market and buy their first home.

All of these numbers are based upon statistics complied from reported listings and sales on the Northern Arizona Multiple-Listing-Service, which may not include all homes on the market, but includes a significant number of them. The homes included in this sample are all those with Flagstaff mailing addresses, whether they are within the Flagstaff city limits or not, and therefore represents what is generally thought of as the Flagstaff area of Northern Arizona.

For Flagstaff real estate market analysis keyed to your special financial situation and housing needs, contact Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

665 Kwa Ovi in Kachina Village

There were 158 new home listings added to the Flagstaff real estate market in the week April 21-April 28, ranging in price from $120,000 for a one bedroom, one-bath, 528-square-foot condo to a 2200 acre ranch with 3600 sq. ft. home listed for $9,650,000 (a rare property, indeed).  Of those 158 new Flagstaff listings, eighty-four of them are single family residences (including that ranch). All of this is according to data provided by the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing Service, which does not contain all homes for sale, but does contain most of the Flagstaff real estate market.

Our featured Flagstaff area listing of this past week is in Kachina Village. As the temperatures heated up this week, it was a heavily trafficked new listing, but so far it’s still ready, willing and able to become your next home or vacation home. Decks on three sides of this home and off of its upstairs master bedroom provide views and outdoor living that you want and expect in Flagstaff and Kachina Village. The home boasts vaulted ceilings, clerestory windows, wood tongue and groove ceilings in the living room and master bedroom and a wood-beamed ceiling in the kitchen. The living room features an attractive, efficient natural gas stove. Master suite has skylights, wooden shutters and that private deck. You’ll find upgraded window coverings throughout. New roof this year and many other valuable features.  If you’re looking for an affordable Flagstaff home that has some great character, you’ve found it!

Fourteen homes went under contract for sale in the Flagstaff real estate market last week. Forty-four Flagstaff homes have closed sales so far in April, surpassing the March total already.

If you’re in the market to buy a Flagstaff home, contact us or visit our website – put Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties to work for you!

Search all Flagstaff MLS listings with our MLS Guide as your assistant!

Good News

Bad News

Flagstaff’s daily paper, the Arizona Daily Sun, kept up its pattern of reporting the real estate market three weeks late with yesterday’s front page story:  March Home Sales Lowest Since 1999. More significantly, they missed the point.

According to the Daily Sun, “the good news in the Flagstaff real estate market is the homes that are selling are keeping their value.”  Actually, that’s the bad news because that is what’s keeping homes from not selling – the prices are too high. I’m not saying we have to lose 20% of market value to get the volume of sales up, but I am saying that prices need to come down from where they are and have been.

So, the really good news will be when the late news is that home prices are down and volume is up.

In the same way that no one knew when we had hit the top in prices, we’ll not know when we’ve hit the bottom until it starts back up. When it does, would be buyers will have “missed” the bottom. Meanwhile, would be sellers are missing sales by being inflexible about pricing – but then, I guess that means they are not really “sellers.”

P.S. Sales so far in April, as of noon, today, exceed the March sales. There have been 44 Flagstaff home sales.

Watching national home sales data is kind of like watching global warming temperature trends – it does not tell you a lot about what the local temperature is. Today (a lovely Spring day in Flagstaff, by the way) the National Association of Realtors^® reported that existing-home sales edged down in March, but down no more than expected by the financial markets. Home sales since September 2007 have been bouncing in a very narrow range of a 4.9 million to 5.1 million unit sales pace (seasonally adjusted figures).  The March sales of 4.93 million fit into that pattern.

The March existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – were down 2.0 percent from a level of 5.03 million in February, and remain 19.3 percent below the 6.11 million-unit pace in March 2007.  A rise in condo sales in March was offset by a drop in single-family sales.  Regionally, sales rose in the Northeast and West but fell in the Midwest and South.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $200,700 in March, down 7.7 percent from a year ago when the median was $217,400.  Because the slowdown in sales from a year ago is greater in high-cost areas, there is a downward pull to the national median with relatively higher sales activity in low-cost markets.

A mix of market conditions continues around the country, but areas showing healthy price gains include Des Moines, Iowa; Austin, Texas; and Durham, N.C.  Total housing inventory rose 1.0 percent at the end of March percent to 4.06 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.9-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 9.6-month supply in February.  Existing-home sales in the West rose 2.2 percent in March to a level of 940,000 but are 22.3 percent below a year ago.  The median price in the West was $285,100, which is 14.7 percent lower than March 2007. 

Nationally, single-family home sales fell 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.35 million in March from 4.47 million in February, and are 18.4 percent below the pace of March 2007.  The median existing single-family home price was $198,200 in March, down 8.3 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 3.6 percent in March from February, but are 25.5 percent below the sales unit level of a year ago.  The median existing condo price was $219,400 in March, which is 2.8 percent lower than March 2007.

The meaning of this news for future home sales and prices is murky. The Wall Street Journal Economics Blog contains a collection of comments from numerous economists who note that there are many buyers circling the large inventories wondering whether now is the time to buy. NAR Economist Lawrence Yun, of course, has a full column on the new data.

For notes and more details on the National Association of Realtors^® Existing Home Sales data, click here.

3481 S. Gillenwater Drive in Flagstaff, AZ

Fifty-eight new home listings came onto the Flagstaff real estate market in this past week, ranging in price from $99,000 for a one bedroom, one-bath, 450-square-foot condo to a $3,400,000 Pine Canyon property.  Of those 58 new Flagstaff listings, forty-two of them are single family residences. All of this is according to data provided by the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing Service, which may not contain all homes for sale, but does contain most of the Flagstaff real estate market.

This week we feature one very special new listing on our website, Flagstaff Real Estate. The home at 3481 S. Gillenwater Drive is in University Highlands near DeMiguel School. This home was built in 1991 and has been meticulously updated and maintained. The home has four bedrooms, including a large, first-floor master suite. There are three decks and gorgeous landscaping. The living room has a fabulous fireplace with hearth seating area and a vaulted, wood-lined ceiling. The family room and kitchen share a vaulted, beamed ceiling. Your will love this home! Check out all the details of this Flagstaff listing and a virtual tour of the Flagstaff home.

In the Flagstaff real estate market this week, 25 homes went under contract – that’s great news indicating that April sales are likely to far surpass March. In addition, 9 homes that have been under contract worked their way through the inspection and loan approval process and are simply awaiting final closing efforts. Meanwhile, 14 happy sellers popped the champagne bottle to celebrate sales of their Flagstaff homes in the past week.

Flagstaff real estate had a very busy weekend, with potential buyers taking advantage of good weather, great interest rates and sellers who are softening on their asking prices. As a result, this real estate agent had three offers sitting in her box on Monday morning. The negotiations continue and meanwhile more appointments are rolling in.

Over the last week, forty-six homes with Flagstaff mailing addresses became newly for sale on the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing Service. Meanwhile, sixteen became pending or went under contract and closed sales were reported for twelve homes in the last 7 days. At this rate, the market will do some “catching-up” this month. Stay tuned for next month’s market report!

555 N. Apollo Way in Flagstaff AZ

Thirty-six new home listings came onto the Flagstaff real estate market in this past week, ranging in price from $220,000 for a three bedroom, one-bath home built in 1947 to a Forest Highlands property listed at $1,395,000.  From this crowd, two homes stand out as featured listings on our website, Flagstaff Real Estate.

• Situated on the hill between Flagstaff Medical Center and downtown Flagstaff, a beautiful Flagstaff home at 555 N. Apollo. This home has a gorgeous wooden tongue and grove vaulted ceiling in the living and dining rooms, a modern kitchen, four bedrooms, 3.75 baths and so much more that you will want to see. Listed at $615,000, this home is priced in the middle of the pack of this week’s new Flagstaff listings. Check out the virtual tour by clicking here.
• A Classic Country Club home became available as a new listing at $360,000. This home boasts a huge, xeriscaped lot in the Flagstaff neighborhood with the most recreational amenities in town. With this home, you have access to two swimming pools (one especially for the kids), a rec center, fitness room, tennis courts and reduced fee golf. Miniature golf and banquet facilities are also part of the HOA package – for only $300 per year! Drive-by 1460 N. Fox Hill Road to get a closer look. Check out the virtual tour by clicking here.

While not a new listing, a very special home in Ponderosa Trails may as well be new because it has moved into a whole new price category. You’ll find features you would expect in a home priced twice this level at 3766 Hideout Trail. Check out the virtual tour by clicking here.

To see all of our Flagstaff featured home listings, visit Featured Homes! To search all Flagstaff and Northern Arizona Real Estate listings: visit our website, save your own searches in the MLS system using our MLS Guide to Flagstaff neighborhoods, or ask one of our highly qualified Accredited Buyer Representatives to help you find your next Flagstaff home!

Most people I know have a little basket or key rack near their home’s door. When they come home at night they toss the car and house keys there. It’s great because the keys don’t get misplaced in the house and they are handy when you are rushing out for an appointment. I’ve been uneasy about this little homeowner habit ever since my neighbor across the street (when I lived in a Chicago suburb years ago) had a car stolen while the household slept upstairs. It’s just too easy to break a door lock, grab the keys from their handy spot, and take off with the car!
 
So here’s an alternative that also adds a home security feature without spending thousands on a home security system. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.  If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get into your house, just press the panic button for your car.  The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound. It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and which requires no installation.  The car horn will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your car battery runs down or until you reset the button on the key fob.   It works if you park in your driveway or garage.  If you alarm does go off when someone is trying to break into your house the odds are the burglar will not stick around - after a few seconds neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there.

This, of course, assumes that you have neighbors.  Where I live, outside of Flagstaff, my neighbors might not hear my car alarm. Also, it assumes you are home and can hear the break-in as it happens. With my hearing loss, and as a sound sleeper, I wouldn’t. Also, in my situation, I want a direct connection to an alarm monitor for house fires when I'm not home. So, I have paid for a full house, monitored security system. If you live in town with neighbors, you can use your car alarm!

Another good use for car keys (other than driving!) is also something I learned in The Windy City prior to moving to beautiful Flagstaff – defensive walking.  As you are walking in a parking lot or down the street (to or from your car) keep your keys in your hand...placing each key between different fingers. If someone tries to attack you then you have a weapon literally at hand - just put your hand with the keys in it toward the persons face and start gouging his/her face. Meanwhile, press the key fob and set off the car alarm – but only if you’re close enough to the car that you and your attacker will be within the line of sight of those attracted to the sound and lights. I've done this little defensive tactic for years and thankfully have had no need for it! I wish you the same luck.

I'm happy to provide these little security tips. Please keep me in mind when you think of homes in Flagstaff.  Visit my website if you're in the market for good Flagstaff real estate advice.