Sellers Rejoice!

We’ve been waiting quite a few years to write that headline.  Is it really time for a seller party?  Well, mostly yes.  Since 2006 the market has been dropping in value.  Five years of sliding values has been demoralizing to both sellers and frankly, most agents.  Foreclosures soared, short sales have become the new “normal’ sale and most seller’s primary worry has been “can we even find a buyer for this house?” For those who prefer we bottom line this – prices are for the first time since 2005 moving stably up. There are more buyers than there are properties to satisfy those buyers, most sellers are receiving multiple offers on their homes, new supplies of listings are limited due to a severe drop in foreclosures and builders are not producing many new homes to fill the void. Welcome to March 2012.  So of all the things to worry about, sellers should not be losing sleep over whether we can find a buyer for their home – the answer is yes.  For those who enjoy more details, read on. 
 
First, where did all the builders go?  Prior to 2007 we had about 400 (yes, four HUNDRED) active home builders here in the valley.  These builders provided ample new inventory to meet any surge in demand for housing.  In fact, how much the builders could get away with charging pretty much determined the pricing for resale homes  – and fluctuations in market demand were “handled” by builders adjusting the number of homes they built. Then came the fourth quarter of 2007 and what is now referred to as the “Mortgage Meltdown” when mortgage companies began folding right and left.  The number of active builders soon plummeted to approximately 20 and even less as the market continued its decline.  What happened?  Were all builders just over-leveraged?  Were builders just not building beautiful homes?  Were all the good building sites taken?  No, the fact of the matter is that when banks became the primary seller in the marketplace and foreclosures the primary product – values dropped so dramatically that builders could not build at a competitive price.  At one time foreclosed homes were selling as low as $40 a square foot in some areas and most builders cannot build a new home for less than $100 a square foot – assuming the land they are building on is free.  At that point, most builders had to close their operations or seek other states facing less housing trauma. 
 

Currently the average price in the Greater Phoenix area is up to $85.04 a square foot (remember before you grab your calculator, this is an average of all homes at all levels of pricing and not how we price a home).  So builders are only starting to trickle back as they can charge more than a resale home – just not unreasonable amounts more.What about the “shadow inventory” that the banks are supposedly hanging on to waiting to release?  We don’t have exact numbers nationally (neither does anyone else, even when they pretend to) but in Maricopa County there is no “shadow inventory”.  Period.  Trustee sales (foreclosures) are down 40.8% from a year ago and new notices of Trustee sales (a pre-foreclosure) are also down 48.7%.  This does not mean the distress market is gone, as we won’t really eliminate the distress market until values rise along with the job market, but it does mean the pipeline of foreclosures is happily and dramatically declining.   

What does this mean for the resale market?  Most of the outlying areas hardest hit by the price collapse are the ones moving upwards most significantly over the last 12 months.  The exception seems to be the Active Adult 55+ areas lost much less value through 2005 and 2010, but are the only areas showing much price declines throughout 2011.  The luxury sector, represented by Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Cave Creek have not moved very much in price over the last 12 months.  Supply in the luxury market is increasing with demand declining – which indicates some softness in pricing there.  But in general, anyone attempting to buy a residential property in the valley for less than $500,000 is currently finding relatively little choice and very strong competition from other buyers.  This is particularly true for buyers who need financing who are often losing out to the large number of cash purchasers.  Our thanks (as usual) to Michael Orr of The Cromford Report for supplying all the research numbers. 
 
So if you are a seller waiting for the right time to sell, this may be your time.  As always, we are here to help if you should
need us! 
 
   
Russell & Wendy Shaw  

 
 
 
 

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