Better is still…well, better!
Happy 2015! However tardy, we had to add our best wishes for a wonderful new year. 2015 has been a year long awaited by the real estate industry – as many speculated in the last few years that real estate would boom in 2015. So will 2015 in fact be the gangbuster year dreamed of? …
Better Late than Never
2014 began with a whimper as demand from Buyers waned to historically low levels. Sellers, who seemed to be missing in 2013, showed up but buyers seemed to be unaffected by the increased selection of homes. Market watchers kept looking for signs of the buyer drought ending to no avail – until now. Finally buyers…
Will This Be a Happy New Year?
2014 is not starting off with a bang. At least not yet. The 4th quarter of 2013 was one of the lowest for pending sales in many, many years (2008 to be exact). This has contributed to a dramatic shift from what was a red hot seller’s market into a balanced market and even –…
Yes, Virginia. The Market is UP!
As 2013 approaches the halfway mark, the local market trends continue to strengthen their path. As agents, we continue to be amazed at what a strong real estate recovery is underway in the valley. But, as always, there is what the market is doing and then what people think the market is doing. Public sentiment…
Housing Bubble 2.0?
As we reported in last month’s issue, the market shifted (again) and January began with the lowest supply of listings coming on to the market. This understandably has been putting pressure on pricing as supply is not abundant. This has prompted a new rumor (I guess the persistent “shadow inventory†rumor eventually had to be…
Prices are up!
We have waited since 2006 to be able to write that headline. Yes there have been little spurts of improvement during those years (remember the tax credit of 2009?) but nothing that was headline inducing or that in hindsight really signaled much of anything other than tax breaks do work. But this market is different…
Trend Alert
Last month we examined the overall improving market in some detail as we believe a primary function of our “job†is to keep both ourselves and our clients informed on market trends and shifts. Trends are rarely formed in a month and so monthly news can often be repetitive more than informative. With that risk…
Short Sales vs. Bank Owned?
My, what a difference a year makes. In late 2008 lenders, as well as industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dominated both the active listings and sales statistics with their foreclosure inventory. Rumors abounded about an additional looming “shadow inventory†of foreclosures which would further destroy our already decimated marketplace. The oncoming “foreclosure tsunami 
A Late Christmas Gift For You
I haven’t been blogging much lately (for some months) and needed an easy one to get myself started again. The gift to me is being able to post this here now. The gift to you is a really (really really) cool book from Seth Godin you can download for free, here. I think you will…
Foreclosures Surge?
This was just now posted on AzCentral with the headline, "Foreclosures surged in July. This is what passes for "reporting" by most media about the real estate market. June foreclosures were 5,149. July’s numbers (per the article) were 5,316. A difference of 167 foreclosures or 3.24%. And that is being called a "surge". I wonder…