Featured Home is MLS #132763

If you have never visited this street in northeast Flagstaff, you will be amazed by the wonderful location of this week’s featured listing. This gem of a home is located on a cul-de-sac across from a treed and inviting National Forest Service parcel. The City of Flagstaff has authorized purchase of this treasured open space when the NFS sells it. Although you are in the midst of paradise (the neighborhood is known in Flagstaff as Paradise Hills), you’re only a five minute drive from Flagstaff Medical Center and less than ten minutes from central downtown Flagstaff.

This Flagstaff home has been lovingly maintained by the same owner for decades and reflects the homeowner’s care. You’ll love the mature trees, the solidly established lawn, and the raised garden beds. You’ll find high-quality Berber carpet and ceramic tile throughout the home and duet blinds in the windows.

The living room and master suite have useful and attractive built-in shelving. The furnace and hot water heater both have been replaced in the last 5 years. The sale will include the washer, dryer and refrigerator – a great bonus for a first-time home-buyer.

The floor plan of this Flagstaff home includes two separate living areas. The front room has an attractive fireplace. The master bedroom is large, with a private exit to the backyard. Speaking of the backyard - it's as gorgeous as the front, is fully fenced, and also has a dog run.

The home is priced to sell in the Flagstaff market. For details and more pricing info, visit this Featured Flagstaff Home Listing by clicking here. The home is Northern Arizona MLS #132763. You can search the entire Flagstaff MLS from our website.

Come take a look - this is a rare opportunity you won't want to miss!

The National Association of Realtors^® released its existing home sales data for July on Monday. The numbers show that sales increased to the highest level in five months, accompanied by a drop in prices. Read the complete press release here: July Existing-Home Sales Show Gain.

According to the NAR data, the national median home sale price was down 7.1 percent from July 2007, proving again that lower prices bring more sales. In contrast, the Flagstaff data for July residential real estate sales show a significant drop in the number of sales from 2007, but an increase in the median home price.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home prices in some regions of the country could soon increase. “Sales have picked up significantly in several Florida and California markets. Home prices generally follow sales trends after a few months of lag time,” he said. “Still, inventory remains high in many parts of the country and will require time to fully absorb.”

Indeed, the number of homes for sale nationally rose 3.9% in July compared to June. However, the rise in supply results from a sharp increase in condo inventory; the single-family supply declined. The Flagstaff inventory very nearly matches the national supply – about eleven months’ worth of homes for sale (homes for sale/homes sold in the last month).

In Flagstaff, we need to keep a close eye on the Phoenix market. I believe that the Flagstaff market will not begin to recover until some months after the Phoenix market turns around. Right now, the Phoenix area has a lot of inventory to work through before that happens. Whether Flagstaff home prices will drop further, or whether they will just remain stagnant, is impossible to predict.

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said: “We hope the new tools in the hands of home buyers from the recently enacted housing stimulus package will spark a sustained sales uptrend in the months ahead.” Those “tools” consist of a $7500 tax credit (available to Flagstaff home buyers) and a property tax credit for those who purchase in 2008.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act, which became law at the end of July, provides many changes for homeowners and would-be homeowners. One small item is that homeowners who do not itemize their deductions will be able to deduct $500 in addition to their standard deduction in acknowledgment of the state property taxes that they pay and which would be deductible if they itemized. The additional deduction is $1000 for married couples filing jointly.

Homeowners who can take advantage of this provision of the Housing Act are likely to be people who do not have mortgages – otherwise their mortgage interest payments would put them outside the category of the standard deduction. This provision would also give an additional bonus to people who purchase so late in the year that their mortgage interest payments do not reach the level where they exceed the standard deduction available. That is, in addition to the much-touted $7500 so-called tax credit, which is a major feature of the law. 

This provision applies only to 2008 tax returns (filed in 2009).

To purchase your Flagstaff home in 2008, and tax full advantage of these tax credit provisions, contact Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties!

MLS #132508 - 1929 Deer Crossing, Flagstaff, AZ

If you’re looking for a Flagstaff home in a great neighborhood at, or below, the median price for the Flagstaff home market, you’ll want to put this home on your list of “must-sees.”

The home comes with central air-conditioning. The real wood floor in the family room is a “knock-out” and you’ll love the light that the windows on three sides of that room bring into the house. The living area has a very open floor plan and features a classy gas stove to warm up with quickly on chilly winter evenings. Solar tubes lighten up the home in other parts of this three-bedroom, 1653 sq. foot home.

Outside, you’ll find mature landscaping with real grass, shade trees, and a horseshoe pit. The back and side yards have a perimeter fence and features both a covered and an open patio. In addition, there is a storage shed on one side of the home and RV parking available.

The home is located in the Sinagua and Knoles school area.  A hop, skip and jump to the Foxglenn Regional City Park. The home is also just down the hill and around the corner from the brand-new Flagstaff Aquatics Center!

For more details, pictures, pricing and a virtual tour for this great Flagstaff home, click here. This home is listed on the Northern Arizona Multiple-Listing-Service, so contact your Realtor^® today to arrange a live showing! The home is listed with Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

You need more than magic marketing to sell your Flagstaff home

I just did a run of statistics for the first half of August in Flagstaff real estate. In many parts of the country, August is called “the dog days of summer.” Many think this term refers to the weather, or to dogs suffering in the summer heat, and it’s been used in reference to the stock market, which often goes into doldrums while traders take August vacations. In fact, the origin of the term “Dog Days of Summer” is ancient and was used by the Greeks and Romans because the “Dog Star” (known as Sirius – not the radio network) was prominent at this time of year.

What does this have to do with Flagstaff real estate? Only that the term came to my mind as I saw the results of the statistical run. We really are “in the doldrums” in the Flagstaff real estate market. As of today 1106 homes are for sale in the greater Flagstaff metro area. Ninety-six of homes have been newly listed so far in August. Meanwhile, 54 homes have sold. The good news is that 87 homes have gone under contract in the first half of the month. If these trends continue through the end of the month, we may see a slight reduction in the absorption rate from the nearly 14-months’ supply of homes that we had at the end of July. Flagstaff real estate, overall, will still be a buyers’ market at the end of August.

Other good news, unless you are one of these homeowners, is that 51 would-be home sellers threw in the towel and delisted their homes. This is good news because it reduces inventory. Some of them, however, may be part of the ninety-six new listings – old listings just listed with a new agent. Sellers who are looking for agents to sell their homes with magic marketing will be disappointed.

Excellent real estate marketing is important to selling a Flagstaff home. In this market, even more important is honest, if unpleasant, advice from a real estate professional that will allow the home to win the price war and the beauty contest that all Flagstaff homes enter when they are listed for sale. To get that advice, as well as the best real estate marketing in Flagstaff, contact Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties. We’ll make your home sale happen!

The numbers reported here are based upon information from the Multiple Listing Service maintained by the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors^® and are deemed reliable for sales reported to the association, but are not guaranteed. The sales reported do not include all sales in the market area, but do represent a substantial portion of all sales. The numbers are based upon a search performed for all residential properties with Flagstaff mailing addresses.

It’s important to prepare your home to sell by making it seem as beautiful and inviting as possible, but offering something unique and attractive like energy savings could make the home move on the market that much faster. Modifying your home to implement some key energy and water savings techniques, along with a savvy marketing strategy to explain the changes, might just do the trick. Here are some ideas:

• Replace all the light bulbs in the home’s permanent fixtures with compact florescent bulbs.
• Install low-flow showerheads.
• Install an Energy-Star programmable thermostat.
• Close the damper in your fireplace—make sure it opens and closes easily and is in good repair and as tight as it can be.
• Add insulation to an attic.
• Seal crawl space rim joints (this is along the top of the wall where the cement or block comes in contact with the wood frame.
• Insulate water heater tanks.
• Repair water leaks in tubs, showers, sinks, and outside spigots.
• Perform duct sealing—it’s usually wise to hire a heating contractor to do this work to make sure it’s done right.
• Replace old, inefficient appliances with Energy-Star appliances – start with the refrigerator.

Of course, it’s best to do this work at least a year before you plan to sell the house so that your utility bills prove the value of the features. In the current Flagstaff real estate market, if your life and financial situations allow you to postpone selling, I often recommend doing so. Sit tight, the market prices will be back up! It may take until 2011, but the real estate market will turn.

Of course, there are always reasons why people need to sell, and there are some situations – where you want to move up to a larger home, when you will gain financially by selling your current home and buying the larger, more expensive home in this market. That’s topic for another day.

Other, visible changes that may attract eco-savvy buyers are using renewable sources in any flooring that might be replaced, such as cork, bamboo, or re-cycled carpeting. Make these changes just prior to listing your home, so they look brand new!

For more advice on marketing your home using EcoBroker^® techniques, contact Ann Heitland, EcoBroker-Certified^® real estate agent in Flagstaff, AZ.

The number of Flagstaff homes sold in July dropped nearly 35% from the number of homes sold in July 2007, but the average and median prices remained essentially flat on the year-to-year comparison. Prices were down from sales in May and June of this year.

Here are the numbers as reported in the Northern Arizona Multiple-Listing-Service for Flagstaff homes that are single-family, townhomes, condos and manufactured homes:

In the category of single-family homes in the Flagstaff metro area, here are the numbers:

As compared to last July, prices for single-family homes in Flagstaff are nearly unchanged; however, the number of homes sold has dropped over 34%.  This means the buyers and sellers are not seeing eye-to-eye on price and the home sales market is “stuck.” Based on my educated guess, this is the way the market is going to be for a while. Prices are likely to begin to fall a bit as we reach late summer. The inventory of single-family homes continued to rise from the end of June to the end of July (12.91 months’ supply and 14.86 months’ supply, respectively).

Sellers are withdrawing their homes from the market, letting the listings expire, looking for another agent whose marketing they hope will bring them the price they are dreaming of, but they are not budging on price. Those few who do give a bit are finding ready, willing, and able buyers. For more on the number of sales and the amount of supply in the Flagstaff residential real estate market, see my post earlier in the week on Flagstaff home sales results for July.

Remember, all real estate is local – and that means that your neighborhood may be doing better or worse than the Flagstaff average numbers. Do not act based on this general picture of the Flagstaff metro area market. Instead, get professional advice from your own Realtor.^®

If you’d like to buy or sell Flagstaff real estate, we’re Flagstaff real estate agents who are ready, willing, and able to help you: Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

Flagstaff townhome for sale

Are you looking for a low-maintenance, conveniently located, townhome with a two-car garage? You’ve found it. This beauty has new carpet throughout and is only six years old to begin with! The townhome has a great location -- convenient to NAU, westside Flagstaff shopping and the Flagstaff Urban Trail. This Flagstaff home has four bedrooms, 2.5 baths and is nearly 1700 sq. ft.

For limited time only: The home's owner offers to buy down the buyer's interest rate and pay buyer closing costs up to 6% of the purchase price of the home. This is known as “Maximum Seller Buyer Down” because 6% is the most that a seller can offer to pay to help a buyer get into a home with a conventional home loan.
 
Ask your agent to download the financing flyer from the agent view of the Northern Arizona Multiple-Listing-Service listing for more information about this great offer! Ask for MLS #131385.

This home is on "open house" 24/7 with pictures and a virtual tour at our Flagstaff real estate website.

Incredible value -- incredible offer! Come and get it!

I've downloaded the data and started to analyze the performance of the Flagstaff real estate market during the month of July.

The good news is for Flagstaff home sellers with single-family homes priced under $350,000. Those Flagstaff homes have half as much competition compared to the overall market for single-family homes in Flagstaff. The bad news for Flagstaff home sellers is that it is still a buyers’ market in both categories. Based on July sales, relative to homes for sale, in the overall category of single-family-homes with Flagstaff mailing addresses, there is a 14-month supply of homes for sale. For homes priced under $