articles @ sedonainformation.com

Positive Signs for our Real Estate Market

Any time you go through a market like the one we’ve been through the last 15 months, you start to look for any signs that things may be turning around. Locally, three Real Estate companies either shut their doors this week or announced they were shutting their doors. They obviously weren’t nearly as optimistic as I am about the market beginning to turn around, but let me share with you my reasons.

First of all housing traditionally is directly effected by the rate of Unemployment. Nationally and locally unemployment numbers are below 5%, which means most people who can are working for a living and everyone needs a place to call home. Here in Sedona the unemployment numbers will always remain pretty constant, but what I’m really looking at here is what the Phoenix unemployment is like? That picture is still pretty positive although if you read the Arizona Republic you would think that the housing market will single handedly ruin the economy. Since the economy in the Valley appears relatively healthy you can bet that people with money will start looking for bargains.

Which leads me to my second positive sign. In the last month I have had multiple conversations with people who say things like “Man, if I had some money I would snap up four to five properties and just sit on them for a few years.” Now granted, these conversations have been with Realtors who have no money, so at this point it’s just idle chatter. But I have seen this type of talk before and it usually occurs right before people who actually have money see the same thing and start to purchase some of these bargains. When people who have worked in the industry for a long time are seeing some bargains, you can bet they will be able to convince some buyers of that as well. It’s almost like having insider stock tips (not that I have ever done that). Don’t get me wrong, I am not predicting a quick return to a sellers market but I am betting that despite all the negative news in the press about the credit industry, we will see a stronger fall for sales this year than last year. It may just be a hunch but at least it’s an educated hunch. By the way, I almost did this newsletter on the Credit Industry shake up but frankly it won’t really affect the Sedona market real significantly so I just couldn’t see spending a lot of time explaining to you why, once again, the media has magnified a problem beyond belief. I’ll just share this with you, sub prime loans account for less than 10% of the entire amount of loans out there. Of those, about 50% are in trouble and much of that is due to scheduled interest rate adjustments on ARM’s which the industry is already beginning to address to help ease the pain for some consumers. Bottom line; don’t lose any sleep over this one.

Once again, if you need to sell in this market, trust the company who understands and can spot the trends. If you want to buy right now, it may be the best time to purchase Real Estate in Sedona for a long time to come. Either way, the experienced agents at Coldwell Banker First Affiliate armed with the best resources in the industry will be happy to help you make the right decision.

Tod Christensen
Designated Broker
Coldwell Banker First Affiliate

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 Flagstaff.

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

Pricing your Home to Sell

One of the most under appreciated skills a Realtor has to offer is assisting a seller in selecting the correct price to market their home. The reason this skill is so under appreciated is that all to often the news is not what the seller THINKS they want to hear. I say THINKS because I want to show you the difference between marketing a home with the right price immediately as opposed to listing it to high and then going through multiple price reductions.

The process to selecting the price to market your home usually begins with the seller determining in their mind how much they want for the property. The problem is that how much you have invested into a property, or how much you need to get out of it has absolutely no bearing on how much a buyer will be willing to pay for it. If you hold or have ever held stock then you know that the seller doesn’t establish the price, the buyer does. If you want to sell your stock you check to see what it is currently being traded for and then decide if you want to sell at that price. Real Estate is not that much different, especially in a market like ours now where there is a very high amount of inventory in every price range.

A good Realtor will do a thorough CMA (Competitive Market Analysis) and determine how much homes like yours are currently SELLING for and base their price recommendation on that information. A good Realtor will use comparable sales as close to your home and as recent as possible. Three comparable is good, five or six are even better. The big difference here is that the Realtor will look for homes that SOLD while a seller, who can’t access this information themselves, will usually look at what other sellers are ASKING for their home. That’s a big difference. A home right next you might have been listed for $500,000 so when it sells you think they got $500,000 but in reality the agreed upon price was $460,000. The average consumer would not know that but a Realtor would.

Many sellers think something like “Well, let’s try it at this price and if it doesn’t sell we can always reduce it later.” The problems with this theory are numerous. First of all the best time for marketing a property is the first thirty days. Why? Because there are a number of buyers anxiously watching for new properties in their price range because they have been unable to find anything that suited them thus far. This pent up demand will focus on the new properties as soon as they come out. If their first reaction is “Nice house but I would never pay this much”, then that first 30 days ends with all the buyers currently in that price range having left disappointed and now the real waiting begins. Second, once a house sits on the market two factors can come into play. Buyers will start to wonder what is wrong with a property that sits on the market too long. If a property has had a series of price reductions then they buyer will think either “they must be getting desperate to sell” or “I’ll bet if I wait a little while longer they will lower the price again.” Either way the property now begins to sit on the market for far longer than it should have. When that happens you must consider all of the money you have tied up into this property that you will never get back. Property taxes, insurance, and interest on your mortgage are all expenses you will never recoup. If a property sits on the market for longer than six months this can really begin to add up to some real money. Had the property sold quickly you would have saved all of that money and you would have been able to move on with your life that much sooner.

A good Realtor’s job, just like a good doctor, is to give you the information you NEED to know. All to often Realtors will tell you what you want to hear just to get a listing. How would you like to go to a doctor and have him tell you that you’re in great shape all the while knowing that you had two or three serious issues that should be treated immediately. I’ll bet you wouldn’t think to highly of that doctor for long. So the moral of the story is this: If you truly want to sell your home then listen to the information your Realtor provides and base your asking price on that. You may THINK you are getting less money than you wanted but in reality if you sell that home quickly the savings in holding costs and the value of your time can easily off set your disappointment. Talk to someone who has had their home on the market for a year, constantly trying to keep it ready to show, and unable to move on with their life and you will get a picture of what can happen when you overprice your property.

SOME GREAT NEWS FOR COLDWELL BANKER FIRST AFFILIATE SELLERS!

It’s not often we blow our own horn in this newsletter but the year to date statistics I just looked up are too good not to mention. So far in 2007 Coldwell Banker has successfully marketed and sold 31% of all the residential properties in Sedona. Of all the residential properties currently under contract CBFA has a 38% market share. You would have to combine the results of our next THREE competitors in order to duplicate these types of numbers. So if you are thinking of selling your home talk to one of our agents if you want to use the company that is truly producing results for their customers. Also, if you have used us recently, Thank you for your part in helping us achieve these results!

Tod Christensen
Designated Broker/Vice President
Coldwell Banker First Affiliate

January Real Estate Update

Joel Gilgoff, associate broker, president - RE/MAX Sedona

Real Estate News:

The Sedona market has slowed from its peak in 2004 – 2005 but the market is far from dead (and there is no bubble in sight). Sales of higher priced homes (over $1 million) remain strong here in Sedona as well as most other areas of Arizona. The best buys continue to be homes priced under $500,000. There is far more inventory of home and vacant lots available than this time last year. Most prices have not dropped, but there are some great buys – and sellers are more negotiable in many cases. Sedona tourism remains strong – with people now booking up to a year ahead (a great sign of recovery). Fall & winter bookings were about the same as last year. Tourism drives everything in Sedona and an increase in tourism may be the precursor to another run-up in home sales – so if you plan on a purchase in the Sedona area this may be your best buying opportunity.

As I said in my last couple of newsletters – there are still a few new and resale Verde Santa Fe units available to be purchased now starting at under $250,000 (we just sold one for $239,000). The new community of Mountain Gate, located about 20 miles south of Sedona in Clarkdale (30 minutes) has both town homes and regular estate homes available with prices starting under $200,000. These are the two most affordable areas at the current time. There are many new condo projects coming on the market in Sedona & Cottonwood with prices starting at under $200,000 to over $800,000.

A brand new subdivsion is being marketed by our office. The Highlands, located in Clarkdale (about 25 minutes south of Sedona) has homesites starting at only about $110,000. Come enjoy a sanctuary of 240 residential parcels resting in the foothills above the Verde Valley. The Highlands will be a planned community, which will include: 3 parks, a community center, shopping, and scenic trails in an unspoiled environment. Call us for more information and directions.

We have three Bed and Breakfasts for sale:

The Lodge at Sedona (www.lodgeatsedona.com), Saddle Rock Ranch (www.saddlerockranch.com) and Cozy Cactus Bed & Breakfast (www.cozycactus.com). If you have interest in a Sedona B & B – these are 3 great properties – priced from about $1.3 million to $3.99 million. Please just give us a call for an information package or see our web-site listings page for virtual tours of both inns (www.sedona-real-estate.com/property1.htm). The Lodge at Sedona just had a significant price reduction and can now be purchased with an adjoining .8 acre lot.

For those of you who like statistics and numbers, here are the final numbers for the year of 2006 (1/1/06 to 12/28/06):

Number of listed homes & condos in all of the Sedona market:

477 (was 483 - 60 days ago).
Number of homes & condos listed below $400,000:

63 (was 69 - 60 days ago)
Number of homes listed over $1 million:

105 (was 92, 60 days ago).
Median listed price:

$649,000 (was $629,000 60 days ago).
Number of homes & condos sold year to date:

462 (62 home sales in the past 60 days) (55 sold for over $1 million – 7 in the past 60 days)
Median sales price of all homes and condos sold:

$551,900 (was $530,000 through May 10, 2006)
Number of listed home-sites in all areas of the Sedona market:

359 (was 360 – 60 days ago)
Number of lots listed below $300,000:

61 (was 62 - 60 days ago)
Number of lots listed above $1,000,000:

32 (was 31 – 60 days ago)
Median listed price:

$475,000 (was $449,900 – 60 days ago)
Number of home-sites sold year to date in 2006:

114 (average of 10 per month over last 12 months).
Median sales price for 2006:

$519,500 (was $520,000 120 days ago – median holding)

Real Estate Listings:

Click on the links below to see our listings or our office listings as they appear in Realtor.com or all of the Northern Arizona listings as they appear in the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing System (NAMLS) (including photos). You can also see virtual tours of the B & B’s we have listed on our web-site listings page. Please call or email (ljestewart@commspeed.net) if you would like additional information on any of our listings.

Lori, Skip & My Listings:

http://realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListings.asp?frm=byagt&rid=19978163&rid=19978163&lnksrc=00038&poe=realtor

To Search our full MLS (this includes all listings in the Verde Valley & Sedona (includes Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Clarkdale, Cornville & Lake Montezuma):

http://www.sedona-real-estate.com/property1.htm

Click where it says: “Click here to search the current Sedona Verde Valley MLS (Multiple listing system) database to see active homes and land”. You can also sign up to be notified when new listings meeting your search criteria come on the market.

Southwest Inn at Sedona:

We have some rooms left for most dates this month and next –with mid-week rates starting at only $99 per night through 2/7/07. We feel that our inn represents a great value to our guests – and our guests rave about us! You can check rates and availability – and book your room at: http://www.webervations.com/magicscripts/resbook.asp?memberid=swinn
or check out our property at: http://www.swinn.com

Hello again – December is here and 2006 is almost over. December and January are great months to be in Sedona with usually good weather and far fewer people. Sedona is decked out for the holidays – with our traditional “Red Rock Fantasy” at Los Abrigados Resort with over 1 million lights. This year uptown Sedona is also ablaze with holiday lighting.

The uptown “enhancement project” is almost complete and it really is worth seeing the new pedestrian friendly areas as well as the new “street art.”

Saturday December 9th marks the 33rd anniversary of the lighting of the luminarias at Tlaquepaque known as “Festival of Lights.” Over 6000 luminarias will be placed thought the grounds of the arts and crafts village and the 47 stores and galleries.

Also a sight to be seen is John Soderberg’s “Merlin”, a 12’ sculpture of the wizard which has a new home at the Old Marketplace Center in West Sedona.

The Southwest Inn has great rates for December and January with mid-week rates stating at only $99 (except for the Christmas holiday period). For more information see www.swinn.com.

Two items of local news that will affect Sedona’s future have occurred this week. The City Council has approved a community plan amendment to allow the new owners of the Sedona Cultural Park to live on. The developers were given the changes necessary to create a small commercial village surrounding the amphitheater area and also provide land for an indoor performing arts center.

ILX Corporation had their request approved to build The Village at Heritage Park, a mixed use time-share, retail and public facilities. Both developers still have a long road ahead of them to get approval to construct their specific site-plans.

Here is a link to my “December Real Estate Update”:

http://realtytimes.com/97/JoelGilgoff

This Newsletter is full of interesting and useful information that I think you will enjoy whether you are a buyer, seller, homeowner, or renter. I hope you enjoy this monthly newsletter. If you have any comments, please e-mail them to me. Or, if you would like to see a certain topic covered in future months, let me know that too!

We wish you and your family a great holiday - and a sucessful, happpy and healthy new year!

From: Joel Gilgoff Associate Broker/President, jg@sedona.net
Lori Stewart, Associate, ljestewart@commspeed.net
Skip Stewart, Associate, skipstewart@commspeed.net
RE/MAX Sedona 800-282-4166
Web-site: www.sedona-real-estate.com

Joel Gilgoff’s Real Estate Newsletter - November/December 2006
Joel Gilgoff, associate broker, president - RE/MAX Sedona

Real Estate News: The Sedona market has slowed considerably. Sales of higher priced homes (over $1 million) remain strong here in Sedona as well as most other areas of Arizona. Sales of vacant lots and homes under $600,000 remain very slow. The best buys now are homes priced under $500,000. There is far more inventory of home and vacant lots available than this time last year. Most prices have not dropped, but there are some great buys – and sellers are open to offers in many cases. Sedona tourism remains strong – but people are booking much closer in than in previous years. Fall bookings were about the same as last year. Tourism drives everything in Sedona and an increase in tourism may be the precursor to another run-up in home sales – so if you plan on a purchase in the Sedona area this may be your best buying opportunity.

As I said in my last newsletter – there are still some new and resale Verde Santa Fe units available to be purchased now starting at under $250,000 (we just sold one for $239,000). The new community of Mountain Gate, located about 20 miles south of Sedona in Clarkdale (30 minutes) has both town homes and regular estate homes available with prices starting under $200,000. These are the two most affordable areas at the current time. There are many new condo projects coming on the market in Sedona with prices starting at under $200,000 to over $800,000.

We now have three Bed and Breakfasts for sale:
The Lodge at Sedona (www.lodgeatsedona.com), Saddle Rock Ranch (www.saddlerockranch.com), and Cozy Cactus Bed & Breakfast (www.cozycactus.com). If you have interest in a Sedona B & B – these are 3 great properties – priced from about $1.3 million to $3.99 million. Please just give us a call for an information package or see our web-site listings page for virtual tours of both inns (www.sedona-real-estate.com/property1.htm). The Lodge at Sedona just had a significant price reduction and can now be purchased with an adjoining .8 acre lot.

For those of you who like statistics and numbers,
here are some numbers as of November 10, 2006 (1/1/06 to 11/10/06):

Number of listed homes & condos in the entire Sedona market:
483 (was 482 - 60 days ago).

Number of homes & condos listed below $400,000:
69 (was 53 - 60 days ago)

Number of homes listed over $1 million:
92 (was 87, 60 days ago).

Median listed price:
$629,000 (was $629,900 60 days ago).

Number of homes & condos sold year to date:
400 (55 home sales in the past 60 days) (48 sold for over $1 million)

Median sales price of all homes and condos sold:
$552,250 (was $530,000 through May 10, 2006)

Number of listed home-sites in all areas of the Sedona market:
360 (was 313 – 60 days ago)

Number of lots listed below $300,000:
62 (was 50 - 60 days ago)

Number of lots listed above $1,000,000:

31 (was 30 – 60 days ago)

Median listed price:
$449,900 (was $469,000 – 60 days ago)

Number of home-sites sold year to date:
107 (10 per month over last 10 months).

Median sales price:
$520,000 (was $510,000 120 days ago – median keeps increasing)

Real Estate Listings: Click on the links below to see our listings or our office listings as they appear in Realtor.com or all of the Northern Arizona listings as they appear in the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing System (NAMLS) (including photos). You can also see virtual tours of the B & B’s we have listed on our web-site listings page. Please call or email (ljestewart@commspeed.net) if you would like additional information on any of our listings.

Lori, Skip & My Listings:
http://www.realtor.com/FindReal/ViewInventory.asp?mls=sedonaverde&aid=50088891

To Search our full MLS (this includes all listings in the Verde Valley & Sedona (includes Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Clarkdale, Cornville & Lake Montezuma):
http://www.sedona-real-estate.com/property1.htm

Click where it says: “Click here to search the current Sedona Verde Valley MLS (Multiple listing system) database to see active homes and land”. You can also sign up to be notified when new listings meeting your search criteria come on the market.

Southwest Inn at Sedona: As I mentioned above this has been the busiest tourism year ever in Sedona. We suggest booking early for your choice of dates and rooms. The Southwest Inn has not raised its rates! We have some rooms left for most dates this month and next –with rates starting at $119 per night through 11/22 & $99 per night 11/26 – 12/21 . We feel that our inn represents a great value to our guests – and our guests rave about us!
You can check rates and availability – and book your room at:
http://www.webervations.com/magic-scripts/resbook.asp?memberid=swinn
or check out our property at: http://www.swinn.com

Joel Gilgoff’s Real Estate Newsletter
September/October 2006
Joel Gilgoff, associate broker, president - RE/MAX Sedona

Real Estate News: The overall Sedona real estate market remains strong. The best buys now are homes priced under $500,000. There is far more inventory of home and vacant lots available than this time last year. Prices have not dropped – but the slowing of the sales pace has brought more inventory to the market and a more orderly sales process. There are far fewer instances of multiple bids for the same property. Sedona tourism was booming in 2006 (through June)! The two recent fires slowed tourism for much of the summer. Fall bookings are going back to normal. Tourism drives everything in Sedona and this increase in tourism may be the precursor to another run-up in home sales – so if you plan on a purchase in the Sedona area this may be your best buying opportunity.

In the meanwhile – there are still some new and resale Verde Santa Fe units available to be purchased now starting at under $300,000. The new community of Mountain Gate, located about 20 miles south of Sedona in Clarkdale (30 minutes) has both town-homes and regular estate homes available with prices starting under $200,000. These are the two most affordable areas at the current time.

We now have three Bed and Breakfasts for sale: The Lodge at Sedona (www.lodgeatsedona.com), Saddle Rock Ranch (www.saddlerockranch.com) and Cozy Cactus Bed & Breakfast (www.cozycactus.com). If you have interest in a Sedona B & B – these are 3 great properties – priced from about $1.3 million to $4.3 million. Please just give us a call for an information package or see our web-site listings page for virtual tours of both inns (www.sedona-real-estate.com/property1.htm).

For those of you who like statistics and numbers, here are some numbers as of September 5, 2006 (1/1/06 to 9/5/06).

Number of listed homes & condos in all of the Sedona market:

482 (was 372 - 60 days ago).
Number of homes & condos listed below $400,000:

53 (was 53.- 60 days ago)
Number of homes listed over $1 million:

87 (was 74, 60 days ago).
Median listed price:

$649,900 (was $629,900 60 days ago).
Number of homes & condos sold year to date:

345 (71 home sales in the past 60 days) (42 sold for over $1 million)
Median sales price of all homes and condos sold:

$550,000 (was $530,000 through May 10, 2006)

Number of listed home-sites in all areas of the Sedona market:

313 (was 325 – 60 days ago)
Number of lots listed below $300,000:

50 (was 36 - 60 days ago, 23 - 120 days ago)
Number of lots listed above $1,000,000:

30 (was 30 – 60 days ago)
Median listed price:

$469,000 (was $469,000 – 60 days ago)
Number of home-sites sold year to date:

99 (10 per month over last 4 months).
Median sales price:

$510,000 (was $505,000 120 days ago – median keeps increasing slightly)

Real Estate Listings: Click on the links below to see our listings or our office listings as they appear in Realtor.com or all of the Northern Arizona listings as they appear in the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing System (NAMLS) (including photos). You can alos see virtual tours of the B & B’s we have listed on our web-site listings page. Please call or email (ljestewart@commspeed.net) if you would like additional information on any of our listings..

Lori, Skip & My Listings:
http://www.realtor.com/FindReal/ViewInventory.asp?mls=sedonaverde&aid=50088891

To Search our full MLS (this includes properties all listings in the Verde Valley & Sedona (includes Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Clarkdale, Cornville & Lake Montezuma):
http://www.sedona-real-estate.com/property1.htm

Click where it says: “Click here to search the current Sedona Verde Valley MLS (Multiple listing system) database to see active homes and land”. You can also sign up to be notified when new listings meeting your search criteria come on the market.

Southwest Inn at Sedona: As I mentioned above this has been the busiest tourism year ever in Sedona. We suggest booking early for your choice of dates and rooms. The Southwest Inn has not raised its rates! We have some rooms left for most dates this month and next –with rates starting at $119 per night through 9/21. We feel that our Inn represents a great value to our guests – and our guests rave about us!
You can check rates and availability – and book your room at:
http://www.webervations.com/magic-scripts/resbook.asp?memberid=swinn
or check out our property at: http://www.swinn.com