Why Housing Prices should not fall much further in Sedona!
Why Housing Prices should not fall much further in Sedona!
If you have been reading this newsletter for longer than a year, you may recall it was about this time that we started talking about the RAPIDLY declining real estate market in Sedona. In comparing last June to July the Real Estate market dropped by well over 50% in one month and our long nervous spell began. Well, here we are a year later and I am here to tell you that many indicators point us in an upward direction. One of the things we do at Coldwell Banker First Affiliate is watch numbers, almost with an obsession, because it gives us the first glimpse for trends that we know will affect our customers. One of the numbers we look for are the number of pending sales in a given month. The lowest point for that number was September of last year. Since then we have watched a steady, although gradual, increase in pending sales.
It is my opinion that there are a number of buyers out there that have been sitting on the fence hoping that home prices would continue to fall. I think the worst is over for housing values in the Sedona area for two reasons, the first of which I’ve already mentioned and that is the steady increase in pending sales, which indicates a rising demand. The second reason I would not expect home prices to drop much further is the fact that Sedona is a resort market, and resort markets react differently to economic pressures than do traditional markets. The reason for that is that a much lower percentage of Sedona residents require a steady income to live here than in traditional markets. Many homes in the Sedona area are second homes, and of the primary residents many of them are retired and don’t need to rush a sale. There will always be people in any market who absolutely have to sell, but that percentage will not be as high in Sedona as it would in say
Now, there are still many listings which are over-priced for this market so you may still see some of those homes reduce prices in order to come down to the market, but the market looks stronger now than it did a year ago and if I’m right about pent up buyer demand then we may very well have a very enjoyable fall selling season. The days of 25% annual appreciating home values may be gone but a strong healthy Real Estate Market may not be that far away.
Tod Christensen, Designated Broker
Coldwell Banker First Affiliate