All posts by azrealtycom

Metro Phoenix Top Nationwide Overall Performance – December 2012

With the shining performance of Employment (6th), Unemployment (26th), Output (GDP) (3rd) and House Prices (1st), metro Phoenix proudly stands on the 3rd position among nation’s top 100 metro areas.

Phoenix led the West region and much of the nation with swift job growth of 0.8 percent over the quarter. Phoenix also has rebounded steadily with cumulative job growth of 4.5 percent.

The unemployment rate declines 0.4 percentage points in Phoenix and stood below 7.0 percent. Over the course of recovery, unemployment rate has fallen from the peak most swiftly in Arizona.

Output continued to recover in the metro Phoenix during the third quarter and the rate of expansion increased. Arizona metros led the region’s output growth with surges of 1.3 percent in Phoenix and 1.8 percent in Tucson over the quarter.

Increases in the House Price Index over the quarter a heady 4.6 percent in Phoenix – the largest increase in the country. Phoenix leads the West region in terms of overall house price recovery as well.

For more information, please click here.

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Arizona Ranks 3rd Among State-To-State Moves in 2011

The Most Common State-to-State Moves

Census Bureau just released state-to-state migration flow tables with 2011 American Community Survey estimates. The American Community Survey provides demographic, social, economic and housing statistics, including geographical mobility for every community across the nation every year.

U.S. Migration Map 2010 - 2011

The most common state-to-state moves in 2011 were:

  • New York to Florida: 59,288 movers
  • California to Texas: 58,992
  • California to Arizona: 49,635
  • Florida to Georgia: 42,666
  • New Jersey to New York: 41,450
  • New York to New Jersey: 40,815
  • California to Nevada: 40,114
  • Georgia to Florida: 38,658
  • California to Washington: 38,421
  • Texas to California: 37,087
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More Real Estate Pros Optimistic About Home Values

More real estate professionals are optimistic about the direction of home prices, according to a fourth-quarter survey by HomeGain of more than 200 practitioners and brokers nationwide.

Sixty-five percent of real estate professionals say they expect home values to rise in the next six months, up from 51 percent in the previous quarter.  In the fourth quarter of 2011, only 15 percent of practitioners said they expected home prices to rise.

“We are seeing a continued increase in optimism about the direction of home prices,” says Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain. “Real estate agents expect the recent pick up in the real estate market to continue in the coming two years.”

Indeed, the optimism in home values increases even more the further the outlook: Seventy-nine percent of real estate professionals and 62 percent of home owners say home values will likely increase in the next two years, according to the survey. Eleven percent of real estate practitioners say they expect home values to fall in the next six months.

Here are the 10 states where real estate professionals are most confident about rising home prices over the next six months:

  1. Idaho
  2. Michigan
  3. Arizona
  4. Texas
  5. Indiana
  6. California
  7. Florida
  8. Virginia
  9. North Carolina
  10. Colorado

The following are the top states where homeowner confidence about home values over the next six months is highest:

  1. Arizona
  2. Nevada
  3. Texas
  4. Colorado
  5. Wisconsin
  6. Washington
  7. Michigan
  8. Virginia
  9. Massachusetts
  10. Tennessee
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Landlord Quick Tip – Are You Liable If Tenant’s Friend Injured?

The answer is YES.

Most landlords are careful who they rent to, but it’s harder to manage a tenant’s guests. If those guests cause problems, like damaging the property or disturbing — even harming — other tenants, or if that guest is injured, the landlord often is the first to be blamed.

Give your guest policy a one-two punch:

First, make sure you have a provision in your lease that makes it clear the tenant — not the landlord — is liable for the actions of unruly guests.  This provision is often placed in the termination clause, allowing the landlord to evict a tenant who befriends the wrong people.  The guest must be required to follow all of the same house rules that tenants must follow.

Next, consider asking your tenants to carry renters insurance.  A special liability rider can be purchased which may pay if a tenant’s actions cause a guest’s injury.  With such a policy in place, the landlord becomes an unlikely target for a lawsuit.

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ARMLS RENT Check™ – Dec 17, 2012

Metro Phoenix Rental Market Snapshot

Median Lease $:  $1,095 vs $1,075 of Dec 2011
Average Lease $:  $1,237 vs $1,239 of Dec 2011
Avg. Days on Market:  44 vs 46 of Dec 2011
Rent Check Quotient™: 46% vs 40% of Dec 2011

Over the last 12 months, the rental market is very stable. However, there was some flucturation month-over-month yet the year-end numbers are lined up quite steady comparing to that of Dec 2011.

Looking forward, the rent will increase at the pace of 3-5% year-over-year depending on the area and condition of the properties.

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Pulte’s Waters @ Ocotillo Grand Opening

Pulte’s latest new home site in Chandler – Waters @ Ocotillo opened this Saturday 12/15. Although it was one of those very rare raining days here in the Sun Valley, people were all over the 4 brand new model homes.

I myself alone registered 6 clients in the first day, let alone there are many other agents who brought in their clients for this long waited community in the desired Ocotillo neighborhood. With the introduction of Waters @ Ocotillo by Pulte Homes, the Ocotillo master plan will be built out by the end of 2013.

Waters @ Ocotillo has 2 series priced from $359,990 – $510,990. These are just the base prices and Pulte is asking for $39,750 – $82,000 lot premium for those waterfront lots. These prices are for the 12 lots released this weekend. The new prices will be higher in the next release which is expected in the middle of Jan 2013.

The prices for Water @ Ocotillo are already high comparing to Maracay’s Stonefield just one mile North. Maracay just closed its sale office as I helped my client purchased the very last lot 2 months ago. With the waterfront lot and average 7,200 sf lot for the Cactus series and 10,000 sf lot for the Majesty series, these homes will for sure pump up the home prices in the Ocotillo neighborhood.

Now, a very special way Pulte has implemented to manage the high demand of this community is to award lots to the “highest and best” offer. It’s like those REO homes and Pulte will collect all offers to any released lots over the weekend and cut off at 12:00 PM Wednesday. So that’s about 4 days and half leave the lots on the market to solicitae all possible offers. Then Pulte will review all offers till Friday to inform the winners. There is no lottery nor first come first serve. All will be depended on Highest the offer and Best the terms such as full cash without contingent.

It will be very interesting to see how it plays out this “highest and best” practice. I will be monitoring this implementation very closely and so will many other builders.

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December 15, 2012

Metro Phoenix Housing¹ Market Snapshot
December 15, 2012
City Active Pending Sales DOM² Avg   $/SF
Anthem 158 61 55 69 $109.97
Chandler 731 428 326 54 $118.84
Fountain Hills 215 52 33 117 $165.71
Gilbert 825 539 393 50 $106.41
Glendale 692 481 287 49 $86.39
Laveen 163 136 79 57 $69.23
Maricopa 611 192 133 66 $63.38
Mesa 1,212 755 535 56 $99.63
Phoenix 3,522 2,005 1,345 56 $102.37
Queen Creek 967 443 284 57 $76.83
Scottsdale 1,768 438 424 79 $198.44
Tempe 254 142 110 52 $117.01
Note¹ – Housing = Single Family Homes, Note² – DOM = Days On Market
Data Source: Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS)
For other cities or area, please call (480)292-8281 or email gchen@az-realty.com
Above data was compiled by Gary Chen, Associate Broker, ABR, CIAS, CNE, SFR
Original data complied by The Cromford Report
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Landlord Quick Tip – Branching Out

When was the last time you had the trees around your rental property inspected?

Do any of your trees have branches that sprout no leaves? Cracks and holes and lean to one side strangely?

It may not always be so easy to spot a sick tree. The tree may appear to be healthy but harbor an unseen danger. A large number of tree- related injuries are from dead or hanging branches that fall at random. Be particularly careful with trees that have branches overhanging heavy pedestrian areas.  If there’s damage or an injury, the law will most likely hold you accountable. If you spot a tree you find suspect, have it evaluated in light of the tenant activity nearby.

Often the tree in question is worth keeping around, but sometimes removal is a safer bet.

Arborists generally recommend having a tree inspected every 1-3 years, but more often in times of extreme weather — like major windstorms, drought, or floods. Be aware that a big storm or monsoon may have cracked or broken some branches prematurely.

The difference between a sick and healthy tree is the same as adding value to your rental or creating a hazard and a lawsuit.

Although expensive, hiring a qualified arborist to look for all those cracks and dead limbs is a good safeguard against tree disasters. Doing your own tree work, or claiming to be a tree expert will likely increase your exposure in a legal battle.

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Fed Plans to Keep Interest Rates Low

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it plans to keep interest rates low as long as the unemployment rate is above 6.5 percent. This was the first time that the Fed has ever identified an exact unemployment rate to be reached before it plans to raise interest rates.

To push rates lower, the Fed will continue to buy $85 billion in Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities each month until the unemployment rate improves.

Since December 2008, the Fed has held short-term interest rates near zero. The move has helped reduce borrowing costs and helped mortgage rates reach all-time lows.

As of October 2012, the unemployment rate for Maricopa county is only 6.8% while the nationwide unemployment is still at 7.9% level. Thank you Fed!

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Phoenix Among Top 10 Seller’s Markets

Zillow looked at three factors to come up with the list: actual sales prices compared to asking prices, the number of days listings spent on Zillow and the percentage of homes on the market with a price cut.

  1. San Jose, CA
  2. San Francisco, CA
  3. Sacramento, CA
  4. Las Vegas, NV
  5. Phoenix, AZ
  6. Riverside, CA
  7. Los Angeles, CA
  8. San Diego, CA
  9. Seattle, WA
  10. Washington, DC

To read more – http://www.zillow.com/blog/2012-12-11/west-southwest-metros-offer-sellers-strong-opportunities-buyers-best-bets-are-in-midwest-mid-atlantic/

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