List Your Prescott Home for Sale Now:  that’s my recommendation and I’m sticking to it. 

Thinking of listing your home for sale in Prescott Arizona?  Many sellers in the Prescott Arizona area want to wait until the spring before putting their home on the market. Why?

• They don’t think there are many buyers out looking in the winter. 
• They believe that they will see more potential buyers in the spring and summer and as a result will get a higher price.
• They are concerned about buyers tracking snow or mud into their homes.

Historically, in our Prescott real estate market this line of reasoning made sense. However, our current market does not encourage waiting to list your home for sale.  There are fewer buyers, yet they are serious “ready, willing, and able” buyers.  Our inventory is so low that there are not enough well-priced homes for sale to satisfy buyer demand.

Our winter-time market is actually favoring the seller because pent-up demand is outpacing our increase in supply: the number of houses coming onto the market is not as great as the number of buyers wishing to buy. Well-priced homes are seeing  great buyer interest and some are receiving multiple offers. Typically when demand is greater than supply, prices increase, and we are seeing that in pockets throughout Prescott.

As a Realtor, I expect our Prescott area spring real estate market to shift slightly to favor the buyer again as:

•  the supply of homes listed will increase substantially, and
• the number of foreclosed homes will increase as the banks release “Shadow Inventory”, homes already foreclosed upon but held back by the banks.

The increase in inventory gives buyers more choices thereby reducing seller negotiation power.  The increase in foreclosure properties impacts prices by continuing to exert downward pressure on prices.  Both of these are obvious negative impacts for sellers.

Thinking of listing your home this spring?  Do it sooner than later to capture ready buyers and sell before the onslaught of new homes come on the market later in the season.  Conversely, thinking of buying in Prescott Arizona, wait until the spring and summer when more homes are for sale and your negotiating power returns!

List Your Prescott Home for Sale Now:

  that’s my recommendation and I’m sticking to it.

Forest Trails Prescott AZ Home Prices Moving Up!

2012 Prescott AZ Market Predictions

This recent blog from Keeping Current Matters, aka KCM, is spot on in describing our local Prescott AZ real estate market.  While I use the blog verbatim, I have inserted my observations in CAPITAL LETTERS regarding our local market at the end of each point, as real estate is local.

Predicting trends during the most volatile housing market in American real estate history is no easy task. We strongly believe these are the five real estate items we should keep an eye on in 2012:

1. Buyers Will Return

In 2011, a lack of consumer confidence in the overall economy dramatically impacted the housing market. Buyers were afraid to make a purchasing decision on any big ticket item. By the end of 2011, consumer confidence began to return and sales increased. Economic conditions will continue to improve throughout 2012 and consumer sentiment will solidify. Once that happens, home buyers will realize that now is the time to buy.

BUYERS HAVE RETURNED IN FORCE TO OUR MARKET AS SALES ARE UP 1% IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS (DUE TO SEASONAL CYCLE) AND 15.7% YEAR OVER YEAR.

2. Foreclosures Will Increase

The ‘shadow inventory’ of foreclosures which has been growing since the robo-signing challenges of late 2010 will finally be introduced to the market. Distressed properties sell at discounted prices. They will impact the housing values of the non-distressed homes in the area.

A SLEW OF BPOs HAVE BEEN ORDERED AND EVERY INDICATION POINTS TO MORE FORECLOSURES COMING ON THE MARKET SOON.

3. Prices Will Soften

As more and more foreclosures come to market, there will be greater downward pressure on the values of houses in the region. Foreclosures impact values of non-distressed properties in two ways:

§ They will eat up some of the buyer demand in the market.

§ They will impact the appraisal on ALL transactions in the area.

An increase in foreclosures will have a negative impact on values. This will cause more homes to be underwater.

DISTRESSED INVENTORY ONLY MAKES UP APPROXIMATELY 15% OF OUR PRESCOTT MARKET BUT ACCOUNTED FOR 34% OF RESIDENTIAL SALES IN 2011.

4. Short Sales Will Increase

As mentioned above, we strongly believe that home prices will soften through at least the first half of 2012. Falling prices will force more homeowners into a position of negative equity. Negative equity is one of the triggers that cause people to strategically default on their mortgage obligations. If this happens, there could be an increase in the number of foreclosures. However, we predict that banks will take preventative measures which will help many of these homes avoid foreclosure by easing the requirements in the short sale process for both homeowners and real estate professionals.

MANY BUYERS PURCHASED SECOND HOMES IN PRESCOTT DURING "THE BUBBLE" AND THEY ARE MAKING THE STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DECISION TO EITHER WALK AWAY OR PURSUE SHORT SALES.

5. Great Agents Will Be VERY Successful

Real Estate professionals who have invested the money, time and energy to truly understand what is happening and why it is happening will separate themselves from their competition and do very well this year.

Those who take that next step of learning how to simply and effectively communicate the market to their clients will be seen as industry leaders. These experts will dominate their markets.

THOUGH NOT UP TO MY 2010 5 MILLION IN SALES, THIS PAST YEAR'S 4.1 MILLION IN SALES IS PROOF POSITIVE THAT I AM SERVING MY CLIENTS WELL AND PROVIDING VALUE TO THOSE WHO WISH TO BUY OR SELL PRESCOTT AREA HOMES AND PROPERTIES.

2012 Prescott AZ Market Predictions

A Blessing to All, Always

Many Unitarian Universalists Congregations, including Granite Peaks UUC here in Prescott, Arizona, have as part of their service the Children's Connection.  It's a time when the children and young adults join together and are read or told a story or share their own stories with the congregation.  The adults then form a bridge across the aisle with arms out stretched and hands linked above the heads of the children and we sing them out with this cherished song (I apologize for not knowing the author):

GO LIFTED UP,

LOVE BLESS YOUR WAY,

MOONLIGHT, STARLIGHT

GUIDE YOUR JOURNEY INTO PEACE

AND THE BRIGHTNESS OF DAY

I can think of no better words to live by and extend this blessing to you as

A Blessing to All, Always