2017 Draws to a Close
Is it just us, or has 2017 seemed to fly by? As 2017 heads to a close, inevitably we reflect and compare this year to the previous year. Although the final tallies are not in, we still can draw some solid comparisons. PRICING Most homeowners and would-be homeowners (buyers) find pricing statistics the most interesting…
Struggling to Recognize a Normal Market?
For those who prefer an article in a Twitter-like format – supply is still constrained, demand appears to be slowing (is this seasonal or an actual decrease?) and we are in the midst of a very “normal†market. For those who prefer details, continue on. The problem with a “normal†market is that the Valley…
How To Get Less Money When You Sell Your House
Every day we field calls from sellers checking on what they can do to their home to increase the home’s value prior to sale. These questions center around improvements such as solar (we don’t recommend) painting (yes!) flooring and so on. Yet one of the biggest forfeitures of value is “to whom†and “how†we…
Mid-Year Market Update
As 2017 reaches the halfway mark – the trends have solidified. Not surprisingly, supply continues to be constrained under 300K. Most severely constrained is supply under 200K – in Maricopa & Pinal counties it is down a whopping 34% from this time last year. Appreciation is remaining strong. Demand has only recently showed a slight…
How to give up Equity (or what not to do as a Seller)
The market is remarkably stable at this time despite some headlines in the past few months implying otherwise. The “Most Improved†award goes to the luxury market – with Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Carefree all posting great improvements thanks to higher demand and lower supply (quite a reversal from the 2nd quarter). No matter how…
September Market Update
As we enter the last quarter of the year, we begin reflecting on how 2016 has compared to 2015. It has been a remarkably similar year to 2015 – with only some minor variations. The biggest challenge of the 2016 market has been the intensely low inventory in the $175,000 and under market. The situation…
Market at a Glance
The trends that were forming in the first quarter of 2016, now are affirmed. As usual, the two most important laws of economics – the laws of supply and demand – are the driving force behind the trends.  Demand – the more fluid and fickle of the two- is up. In fact demand has returned…
Supply Shifts
February showed some signs of life for homes going under contract after surprisingly lackluster activity levels in January. But as we warned, trends take time to form, and so a good or bad month does not make a year. 2016 had been heralded by most to be a likely breakout year. Demand was expected to…
Happy 2016!
We hope your holiday season was wonderful. With the season now behind us, we can see what Santa brought the real estate market. A cooling trend that began in August of 2015 quieted by November and by the end of December stabilized. Neither supply nor demand showed up in any great strength in December, so…
Market Notes
As we approach the last quarter, we have a few benchmarks that reveal market trends this year. Rather than trying to sweep this in to one cohesive thought – we simply offer you some observations in no particular order of importance. Much like our weather, the real estate market has “seasonal patterns’. Keep this in…