Archive for the 'Prescott Real Estate Trends' Category
Existing Home Sales To Hold Steady In Early 2008
February 19th, 2008 categories: Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Prescott Real Estate Trends
Here is an atricle that I thought was interesting and was published in the Arizona Realtor magazine, Feb. 2008 issue.
Over the next few months, existing home sales are expected to hold fairly steady as indicated by pending sales activity, and then rise later in the year and continue to improve in 2009, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors.
Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief econimist, says there is a pull and tug exerting itself on the market. “One one hand, we have pent up demand from the four million jobs added to our economy of the past two years of sales decline”. On the other hand, consumers continue to wait for additional signs of market stabilization. There are more people with financial capacity now than in 2005, but many are trying to market time their purchase. As a result, the exact timing and the strenght of a home sales recovery is a bit uncertain. A meaningful recovery in existing homes could occur as early as this spring, or further delayed toward late 2008.
The pending homes sales index, a forwared looking indicator based on contract signed in November fell 2.6 percent to a reading of 87.6 from a strong upward revision of 89.9 inOctober, but remains above the August and September readings and indicated a broad stabilization. The index was 19.2 % below the November 2006 level of 108.4. “Although there could be some minor slippage in the first quarter, existing home sales should hold up in a narrow range before trending up”, Yun says.
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Buyer Tips
February 19th, 2008 categories: Home Buyers, Prescott Real Estate Trends
Prescott, Arizona is definitely a buyers market. There’s a lot of great properties on the market to look at, and simply put, we just need more buyers. I know some are waiting for the bell to ring that indicated the housing market has hit bottom, others may be waiting to see what’s going to happen with the economy. Be that as it may, if you’re looking for a home right now, here’s some tips to make the process easier.
1. Pre-quality with a mortgage lender. Find out exactly how much you quality for. There’s no need to look at homes you cannot afford, or on the other hand, under estimate what you do quality for. In Arizona, a LSR (loan status report) is required from a lender in order to submit an offer on a property. This is the first critical step to buying a home. It’s painless and only takes a half hour or so.
2. Choose a qualified Agent to represent you. There are a lot of buyers driving around looking at homes calling the phone number on the sign, not really working with a Buyers Agent.
An experienced Realtor is wealth of knowledge. They know market values, trends, past sales and so on. Find an Agent you work well with and make it a team effort.
Commit to one Agent, and they will commit to you.
3. Get A Home Inspection. It’s the best $300.00 to $400.00 you’ll ever spend. Uncovering major defects or potential repairs is the purpose of a home inspection. Make sure your inspector checks the roof, furnace, electrical, air conditioning and plumbing. These are items than can be very expensive to repair or replace. Interview your home inspector, ask for a sample copy of their report. A home inspector is an important member of your Real Estate purchasing team.
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The Magic of Pricing Your Home Right From the Start will ensure a timely sale in 2008
February 19th, 2008 categories: Home Sellers, Prescott Real Estate Trends
Selling your home in this market takes more than the wave of a magic wand, it takes experience. Don’t make the #1 mistake that sellers make!
Pricing your home slightly below current market value can produce great results right from the start. In a market saturated with listings, many of them over priced, an appropriately priced home is what buyers and Realtors alike are waiting for. As listing agents, we love to be the third Realtor to have listed the property, after the Seller has made all of the major mistakes.
We Want More Money When The Home Sells in this Prescott market
It’s easy to get caught up in choosing a sales price. The higher the price, the more financial opportunities we have when the home sells. We can pay off all of our credit cards, take a vacation, send the kids to college, buy a more expensive home and so on. Many times, the uninformed sellers will choose the Agent who suggests the highest listing price. This is without question the worst mistake a seller can make.
In Prescott’s Real Estate market it’s imparivite to establish an accurate market value
Many sellers choose a list price based on how much they need to net when the sale is complete, unfortunately that strategy can prove to be a costly mistake. Pricing your home involves several steps. Comparing similar properties, making adjustments for the differences, tracking market movement, and evaluating the competition. As listing agents, we consider all of the facts, and suggest the most realistic price. Some sellers are concerned about setting the price of their home too low. If a home is priced too low, it will generate more activity and chances are the seller will receive multiple offers driving the price back up to the market value. In a buyers market, the danger does not lie in pricing your home too low, it is in pricing it too high. The buyers will ultimately set the price of your home. Their opinion is really the only opinion that matters.
Keep More Money in Your Pocket
How much is it costing to keep you home every month? Sellers often feel that their home is worth more that what we recommend. They couldn’t possibly list their home for $300,000 because they feel it’s worth considerably more. They make payments for an additional year and then sell it for $250,000. Not to mention the hassle of keeping the home in spotless condition while buyers and their agents are in and out of the house. Price your home right from the start, don’t be an expired listing over and over. It will only cost you money.
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Is the bottom anywhere in sight?
February 19th, 2008 categories: Home Buyers, Prescott Homeowners, Prescott Real Estate Trends
Will the Real Estate pool ever be full again?
What the Prescott housing market needs is buyers! There are plenty of houses and land for sale, perhaps an all time high for the city.
Nationally, prices are falling, sellers are more motivated that ever, and builders are offering upgrades and all types of incentives.
Mortgage money is still at relatively inexpensive, and if you have good credit and a down payment, fairly easy to get.
But apart from those people who absolutely must move, for what ever reason, they just aren’t that many buyers out there.
One reason, of course is that buyers are afraid to dive in while housing prices are still adjusting downward. Who wants to buy a house for $300,000 today, and run the risk of it being worth $280,000 next month. And maybe less the the month after… That’s why potential buyers have taken themselves out of the market because they are waiting for the bottom.
It’s tough to know the exact moment when prices stop falling and start to stabilize. But there are indicators that buyers can look at to determine if the market is starting to turn around. Here are some vital signs that shows the buyers are back in town:
Number of homes on the market: Look for the number of “listed homes” to begin dropping
Existing home sales: Look at monthly averages for numbers of homes sold.
Mortgage defaults: This number will need to stabilize before the market turns around
Building permits: This is a leading indicator; the buyers are back when builders start pulling permits
This housing market will eventually turn around. It may be months, it may be years. But if you plan on staying in your home for a while, this is a good time to buy. Prices may continue to adjust, but if you are in the market to purchase a home today, in the long run, you’ll make money. The bottom may be today!
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