Sedona Property Roundup – October 22, 2012

Even though the day is perfect 80 degrees, the skies are clear and fall is in the air – I’m sitting here in front of my computer.  Shame on me.  Office time has been at a premium lately due to the busy market conditions and unreal weather for running, hiking, mountain biking and exploring the red rocks of Sedona.  Overall our market condtions are good – with 10% more sales YTD over last year.

Inventory of available homes continues to fall – we’re currently at a 7 year low for available homes in Sedona.  There are only 433 residential units on the market in our area (324 of these are Single Family Homes – the rest are condos/patio homes/manufactured homes) and 87 of these are already tied up with other buyers – leaving only 346 residential units (and only 269 homes truly available!)

We’re seeing more and more multiple offers on homes – primarily on homes under $400k.  This segment of the market has the most number of sales and the least amount of inventory.  Currently there are only 77 homes in town that are priced under $400k and are still available… So I believe we’re seeing a textbook example of Economics 101 – decrease in supply and increase in demand.  What we’re not seeing yet is any market increase in pricing.  Im sure that’s due to come as inventory continutes to tighten.  In this price range we’re averaging about $165 per square foot – but we still see multiple offers on homes priced at $230 per square foot!  This shows that price per square foot is just one way to see if you’re getting a good value – but by no means should this be the sole determining factor in buying a home.  Buyers that say – “I won’t pay more than $180 per square foot for any home” (or whatever the current town average) are only going to see average quality homes without views.  Factors like neighborhood, age of the home, condition, proximity to National Forest, etc – can all have a dramatic effect on the $/sq ft.

We’re still getting questions about foreclosed homes, but for the most part, these have dried up.  We’ve currently have 12 available homes that are bank-owned and 6 short sales.  At one time, the distressed property market made up 17% of inventory – it’s now dipped to 5% of the marketplace.  These same distressed homes accounted for 40% of sales 2-3 years ago, but now only account for 23% YTD.

Regardless of the statistics, there are still great homes on the market at affordable prices…. so if you’re looking, be sure to get in touch with me soon!  If you’re ready to buy and the right home isn’t on the market for a reasonable price – I can keep you in mind when new homes hit the market.