In today’s economic climate, many homeowners are finding that they owe more on their home than what it is worth.  Due to loss of income, unemployment, bankruptcy, divorce or other extenuating circumstances they can no longer pay their mortgage.  If this describes you current financial situation,  you are likely facing foreclosure, which is something you would rather avoid if at all possible.  As Certified Distress Property Experts in Scottsdale, Arizona, we can help you negotiate the short sale process with your lender, so that you can sell your home for less than you owe to a willing buyer.

Scottsdale, Arizona is a very desirable city where home prices may be considered  out of reach, but Short Sales and Bank owned properties have lower prices and this could be a great time to get into the Scottsdale housing market.  The short sale process allows buyers to purchase their dream home for considerably less money, which is idea for today’s home buyer.  We specialize in Scottsdale real estate and know the values of the homes in this area, and can easily find a property that fits within the price range of the buyers requirements.

If you are a homeowner trying to get out from under your mortgage, you may wonder why a lender would take an amount less than what you owe on your home.  Lenders would generally rather have some money on the property, as they are not in the business of owning or managing property.  While foreclosure may drop your credit score by as much as 250 points, the short sale process generally drops it by only 100 points.  You can also purchase another home of your own quicker, while foreclosure usually results in a wait of 5 to 7 years or longer.

Buyers looking for a home in the Scottsdale area will find that short sales allow them to purchase a beautiful home for a price they can afford.  For example, a home may be worth $500,000.00 or more, but the lender may be willing to settle for $375,000. 00.  This saves you a substantial amount of money, and you get a lot more home for your money. 

Either way, the process is an involved one that most people do not want to enter without the advantage of a Scottsdale real estate professional on their team.  As Certified Distressed Property Experts, we can negotiate and handle the bulk of the work, making the process both easier and less time consuming.  If you are looking to buy or sell in Scottsdale, Arizona contact a reputable Certified Distressed Property Expert like us to make the entire process quick and seamless.

Stephen & Alice Proski

866-620-2164

office@az-homes4u.com

Stephen and Alice Proski have lived and worked in Scottsdale, Arizona for more than 20 years.  They are experienced negotiators for both buyers and sellers and work with a sizable amount of real estate investors.  If you are looking to work with a great Scottsdale, Arizona real estate team, look no further than Stephen & Alice Proski with RE/MAX Achievers

· minimize environmental impacts

· reduce energy consumption

· incorporate renewable energy

· conserve water

• improve indoor environmental quality 
The new code provides flexibility to adapt to Scottsdale’s geographic conditions and environmental quality of life.

Established in 1998, Scottsdale’s residential Green Building Program was the first in the state and the fifth in the nation.  Since then, the city has issued nearly 1,300 green building permits.  The city established a commercial component in 2001, but only 40 permits have been issued to date. 

Scottsdale’s Green Building Program Manager Anthony Floyd says, “The new code promotes uniformity and consistency from city to city.”   He adds that it also offers an alternative way for buildings to become green certified, thus propelling commercial green efforts.  By integrating the new voluntary code into the city’s plan review and inspection process, green certification is streamlined.  A Green Certificate of Occupancy is immediately issued following the final building inspection.

In 2005, the city adopted the nation’s first LEED Gold policy for newly constructed and renovated public facilities.  LEED is a national multi-level green building rating program administered by the Green Building Certification Institute.  Scottsdale has committed to the LEED certification process to ensure the objectivity of a third-party verification process for public facilities and considers LEED Silver, Gold and Platinum level certified buildings as meeting or exceeding the provisions of the new International Green Construction Code.  As a market-based rating program, LEED provides an avenue for higher performance thresholds, whereas the city’s newly-adopted code establishes baseline performance measures administered by local jurisdictions.

In the second half of 2005, supply rose dramatically but no-one seemed to take any notice. There was a widely believed myth that prices could never go down. Between March 31, 2005 and June 30, 2006, active listings rose from 8,394 to 45,729 (up 445%) creating a huge glut of homes for sale. Yet average sales prices continued to rise throughout this period, up 28.6% from $146.98 to $189.05 per sq. ft. Meanwhile demand fell 16.5%, with sales per month dropping from 8,490 to 7,093. It was as if everyone believed the laws of supply and demand no longer applied. Of course we found out by 2007 that supply and demand really did matter and the bubble burst explosively in 2008 causing untold damage to the economy and family finances.

It’s a question of timing. Supply and demand do control pricing, but in real estate there is a very long time delay between cause and effect. That timing can be extended even further by sentiment. In 2005 sentiment was off-the-charts positive – “irrational exuberance” ruled the roost and caused people to make decisions that in hindsight look crazy. Not just homeowners and developers, but especially lenders and the investors who fueled the credit surplus. Those few of us who tried to warn people in early 2006 that prices would fall dramatically were treated a bit like Harold Camping predicting the end times.

The opposite seems to be happening now. Sentiment is very negative. Everyone seems convinced that prices can only fall further, yet demand is rising and supply has been falling like a rock dropped off a cliff for 6 months now. It comes down to one simple fact: people believe what they want to believe. The facts do not exert a significant influence.

So here is the market update.

Sales – We are currently recording 9,814 sales in May. This is up 3.5% over April and up 10% over May 2010. This is a very strong sales total because in May 2011 sales are not being boosted by the government bribe (sorry, tax credit) that applied in 2010 for buyers of owner-occupied homes.

Pending Sales – At 13,268 on June 1, pending sales are down 0.4% compared with May 1 but up 6.7% compared with June 1, 2010. Again an extremely strong indicator of demand. In 2010 demand fell sharply during the summer after the tax credit expired, but there is no sign so far that the same will happen in 2011

Active Listings – At 31,346 on June 1, active listings are 9.4% below May 1 and 23.3% below June 1, 2010. Supply is clearly falling fast. However this understates the situation because a large proportion of the active listings already have a contract against them. In fact there were 7,737 AWC (active with contingent contract) listings as of June 1, 2.6% higher than the very high level we saw on June 1, 2010. If we exclude these AWC listings, we have only 23,609 active listings, down 12.7% in a month and down 28.8% compared with last year. This is almost 60% down from the peak of October 2007.

Supply Versus Demand – The average months supply (active listings divided by monthly sales rate) for the period Jan 1, 2001 to June 1, 2011 is 5.9 months. Right now we have a 3.2 month supply. Yet we read everywhere that there is a “glut of foreclosed home on the market”. What we are reading may have been true in November last year. It is not true now. In fact available supply is really even tighter than this. If we only count active listings that don’t have a contract the months supply number drops to just 2.4 months. Anyone who thinks this is a “glut” is not living in the real world. They should just ask anyone who is actually trying to buy a home right now. Competition is intense, and not just for bank-owned homes and trustee sales. It is also heating up for short sales and normal listings. If you are trying to buy a home that is at all desirable and is priced at market or below, expect multiple bids. If you are a seller, then you only need to price realistically and your home well sell quickly.

Records Being Set

In Maricopa County, May saw the largest ever number of distressed homes disappear from inventory. Pending foreclosures fell by 3,394 homes while REO inventory fell by 971 residential properties.

For Maricopa County, May gave us the highest ever percentage of out-of-state buyers. 29.9% of sales went to non-Arizona residents. The average between January 1999 and May 2011 was 11.9%. The absolute count was also a record – 2,648 homes sold to out-of-state buyers. The average since Jan 1999 is 1,446.

For Maricopa County, May saw the highest ever number of foreclosures selling direct to third parties at the courthouse steps. The record set was 1,476, 33% of all the trustee sales.

Paradise Valley

Exceptionally strong market activity is occurring in Paradise Valley where sales are now averaging 52 per month compared with 31 last year at this time. Inventory is down to 319 from a peak of 581 in April 2009 when sales were averaging only 9 per month.

Prices

After a bump upwards between mid April and mid May, average sales price per sq. ft. is back down a little at the beginning of June. Although we are still some 2% to 3% above the market bottom in January and February this year, in most places prices have not yet responded to the huge changes in supply and demand. Why not? Please refer to what happened in 2005, but with everything upside down. The rules of supply and demand have not been lifted. Of course, you don’t have to believe me, but please don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So if your thinking about buying our selling a home now maybe a great time to give us a call at 602-620-2164 or email us at office@myhomeinscottsdale.com

Life is Good!

Stephen and Alice Proski