The Phoenix Real Estate Advisor

I don’t usually blog about personal stuff but thought you might like to see how I spend my days off (when I get them). Lynn (my wife) and I took up hiking a few months ago and have been making trips to the Prescott, Arizona area to hike because of the heat here in the valley.

Last week we decided to change things up a little and go to the Payson area, specifically above the Mogollon Rim. The hike we decided to take is called the ”Pivot Rock Canyon Trail” hike and was at an elevation of 6900′ with a comfortable 75 degrees instead of the 103 we had back in Peoria.

One thing we learned is when we’re in the middle of the monsoon season and it looks like rain, maybe we should find a different place to hike. The weather looked rough heading up I-17 but we thought it would be gone by the time we get there. The good news is it was gone…the bad news is there was more coming.

You can check out all the pictures we took while up there by clicking this link. We didn’t get many pictures of when the lightening was hitting all around us or how the hail got to be marble size on our way back. We do have a couple of pictures of the hail after it was over so check them out.

Here’s the site we used to find this hike. Without the information on this site we would not have found the trail because it made a right down a stone staircase while a trail continued ahead. I’ve learned it’s smart to research these hikes ahead of time and make sure you know what your getting yourself into.

If you want any recommendations on day hikes please feel free to email or call me. We’ve like the trails that are out of the way and love to discover new things and I’d be happy to send you a couple links to hikes we really like.

If you’re looking for a high-level answer to the question- when will the market rebound - then you might find this video interesting. You’ll watch Lawrence Yun speak at the recent leadership summit and talk about the current and future of the real estate market. It’s a long video but there’s a lot of good information that you may find interested.

Lawrence Yun, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, NAR
An overview of the economic environment and its implications for real estate.

Ok, have we reached the bottom yet? The last couple of months have reminded me on trips in the car with my kids asking “Are we there yet?”. Well I keep asking the same question, I go to the statistics for reassurance and things were looking good this year. Then came August!

Now August numbers aren’t a “Oh my gosh” moment but they did show me we are not there yet. This market (West Valley of Phoenix in general) has not totally bottomed out yet. I still think we’re close and my comments over the last couple months of “We’re bouncing on the bottom waiting for the upward movemenrts” is still right on. Here’s a couple of things I cover in this weeks podcast-

• August ‘08. The average list price in the West Valley dropped another $3,081 from July
• Months of inventory crept up a little to 9.68 from 9.18 in July
• Average days on market dropped 23 days in August-homes are selling faster
• 29 additional new listings, 193 less pendings and 30 less closings then in August.

So the bottom line-listen to the podcast! When you do let me know what you think of it. Do I need to change up how I deliver the content? Is there something you would like me to cover that I’m not? If you need information about your city or maybe the value of your home feel free to email or call me.

The latest national numbers are out and the news is good if you’re selling a home. More people are searching for homes this July then last year in July. In some cases the numbers are UP considerably!

Here’s a few interesting facts-

-California took 6 of the top 10 MSA’s (Market Statistical Area)

-Florida had 7 of the top 25 MSA’s

-Phoenix-Mesa MSA was 21st and Tucson MSA was 48th

Now for a few details-

#1 Stockton-Lodi had a 140% increase in searches for homes

#2 Las Vegas had a 93% increase in searches for homes

#3 Riverside-San Bernadino had a 96% increase.

#11 Detroit had a 51% increase

#21 Phoenix had a 39% increase

If you would like all the results from this report please email me and I’ll send it to you!

I would take this to mean that more people are looking for homes this summer then last year which is good for all of us. Once we clean up some of the inventory we have we should see the home prices stabilize and possible start to rebound. In fact in some areas the prices have already made the switch.

Watch for my Phoenix market update podcast for information on specific markets here in Arizona or just give me a call. I would be happy to talk to you about specific area market changes here in Arizona.