Short Sale My Queen Creek Home: November 2008

Foreclosure Absorption Rate in Queen Creek, AZ

The economy may be suffering, but foreclosure properties that are not overpriced and not beat to hell are flying off the market here in AZ.  It simply is not all doom and gloom here. 

It is my job to educate my buyers and sellers and help them understand how the real estate market is truly working here.  It is also my job to help my buyer's negotiate the best deal and still be a successful bidder....and find a home that meets their personal and financial needs.

I have been told that the trend is that 100% of the bank owned properties that are priced right receive at least 4 (multiple) offers within the first 7 days.  Yes, 100%!  Here in Arizona, it is not the buyer's market that you may think that it is when it comes to foreclosure/REO properties.

Sometimes it helps to remove yourself from the emotions of being a buyer and the news that you hear from the media, and look at things objectively by focusing on the facts/numbers.Are you familiar with the area's absorption rate? To compute the absorption rate, you need to know 2 figures....how many listings are currently on the market, and how many listings sold last month. 

There are currently 469 properties actively listed for sale in Queen Creek, Maricopa county.  Keep in mind, even though a short sale listing may show active in the MLS, they may have offers on the property.  There are 107 homes under contract/in escrow, which makes a total of 567 unclosed properties.  60 homes have successfully closed escrow over the last 30 days.  Multiply 60x12=720. Divide 720 by 52 weeks, and you get 13.85 units per week. Divide that into the number of active, and you have over 33 weeks of inventory (over 7.5 months).  If we include the homes under contract/in escrow as "active", then we have over 40 weeks of inventory (over 9.52 months).  Sounds like tons of inventory and a buyer's market, doesn't it?

Now, let's narrow down the numbers to foreclosure properties.  82 of the 469 actives are designated as REO's in the MLS.  35 REO properties are under contract/in escrow, which makes a total of 117 unclosed REO properties.  23 of the 60 homes that have closed escrow over the last 30 days are REO's.  Multiply 23x12=276. Divide 276 by 52 weeks, and you get 5.31 per week.  Divide that into the number of active, and you have only 15 weeks of inventory, which is less than 4 months!  If we include the homes under contract/in escrow as "active", then we have 22 weeks of inventory, about 5 months of inventory. 

General rule of thumb is: Normal Market - Between 5+ and 6 months of inventory. Seller's Market - Less than 5 months of inventory. Buyer's Market - 7 months of inventory and higher.  As you can see, it is clearly a Seller's Market when it comes to bank owned/REO properties. 

Banks are generally hard enough to deal with as it is.  Now they have entered the real estate arena, and I believe in some cases they have gotten even worse.  Why? Because they can.  If you don't buy their home, someone else will, as long as they price it right. So, if you don't want to "play by their rules" or allow them to call the shots, then you may need to eliminate REO's from your home search and focus on short and regular sales.  Unfortunately, even the short sales are run by the banks and still function by the bank's terms.....not to mention the waiting game/headache. So, that leaves regular sales, which are few and far between and generally overpriced listings.  I guess that leaves us with little choice, doesn't it?

 

 

 

1 comment • Jessica Sulliman • November 22 2008 07:37PM

To Have No Regrets!

Via Coach Patti Kouri:

Older WomanOlder CowboyRecently I asked a group of people over 65, "If you could live your life over, what would you do differently?" There were three answers:

  • I’d take the time to stop and ask the big questions.
  • I’d be more courageous and take more risks in work and in love.
  • I’d try to live with purpose - to make a difference.”

What if there was no such thing as fear, what would you be doing today? How would you be living – or doing business – differently?

FearYou aren’t afraid of what you think you are afraid of.
You are afraid of what you think.

 In reality, the only thing that prevents us from succeeding is…ourselves! We are excellent at procrastinating and not asking for what we want or need. And having sabotaged ourselves, we use excuses and blame for not creating the behavior or not taking the action necessary to learn and move forward. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." By allowing ourselves to be fearful, we set ourselves up for future regrets.

What can we do? We can start by recognizing what the enemy looks like – the 10 most common fears that control people:

  1. FailureFear of failing   Some people would rather do nothing then risk looking bad, making a mistake or not completing what they start. Perfectionists fall into this category. Growth and true learning are frozen because of this fear.
  2. Fear of success  This fear is a little more subtle. To many people success means more stress, pressure, work, responsibility, attention, etc., rather than ongoing fulfillment and satisfaction.
  3. Fear of rejection For many people this is the #1 fear in their life. They don’t understand that it’s not the rejection that matters, but the understanding that there will always be differences and preferences in life between people and ideas. What does matter is how we learn from, and deal with, and respond to the rejection in a healthy positive manner.
  4. Crystal ballFear of the unknown  We have the highest rate of poverty, physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse in the history of this country. Yet we also have the lowest rate of taking positive healthy action to stop or correct these circumstances. Why? Because most people would rather live with, and deal with, what they have and know now, than to take a risk with the unknown.
  5. Fear of change  This is a sister fear of the fear of the unknown. Most people talk about changing but few do it. It is not easy to acknowledge that something is wrong or not working in their lives, and they don’t like feeling clumsy or embarrassed at not doing something new perfectly.
  6. Winds of changeFear of intimacy  Many people equate intimacy with sex. Wrong! In fact, many people use sex to avoid intimacy. True intimacy is the ability to openly express and communicate lovingly, honestly and unconditionally to those who are important in one's life, community, and work. This kind of communication is vital if one wants to learn to be a tolerant, non-judgmental person who respects the needs and wants of those people in their lives.
  7. Fear of expression  This fear prevents people from experiencing real creativity. It also prevents good, clear honest communication. Lack of expressing true feelings has ruined so many personal, professional, and business relationships. The challenge to many is to discover how one really feels and then to communicate those feelings in an effective, non-abusive manner.
  8. AloneFear of abandonment  This fear keeps people in relationships or jobs that are not nurturing, healthy and supportive. They would rather be miserable and suffer in their current situation than be alone and unwanted or unneeded. Even so, they feel no “real” connectedness socially or spiritually.
  9. Fear of emotional pain  Most people will do almost anything to avoid “feeling the pain.” We live in a society that incessantly promotes taking drugs, legal or illegal, as well as alcohol or food to avoid feeling emotional pain. Not dealing with this pain it will eventually bring on even more of life’s painful lessons, both personally and professionally.
  10. Fear of taking risk  This fear keeps 80% of our workforce in their place, even though they wake up every morning hating their jobs, bosses, careers or professions. Their work environment is negative and debilitating. Their superiors give only lip service to change and innovation. Yet these people will not take a chance on themselves for fear of being judged a failure!

That's a lot of fearfulness…but it's not permanent. Every one of us has the ability to break away from the fears that hold us back from growing and achieving. We do not have to reach a point in our lives that is shadowed by regret for what we did not do.

What are the strategies that will take you out of fear and into the future? That's the subject next time, so stay tuned….

Coach Patti

Patti Kouri, Accelerated Performance Coaching
Helping You Through Self-Made Limitations! 

Take control of your Life and Business, and create extraordinary results.
Join a select group of real estate professionals at
Coach Patti's Annual Jump Start Workshop, November 14-16, 2008
With special guest speaker, Floyd Wickman.
Reserve your seat today!


 

 

 

1 comment • Jessica Sulliman • November 06 2008 12:38AM

Pinal County bond program and down payment assistance

Did you know that if you are a first-time home buyer in Pinal County, Arizona, you may be able to obtain down payment assistance for as much as $20,000?

Sounds too good to be true? Well, it is indeed very true. However, not every Pinal County home buyer is eligible. And you need to understand the true definition of "first-time home buyer" as it applies to this program.

Firstly, first-time home buyer as it pertains to this DPA (down payment assistance) program means that you must not have owned a home within the past 3 years. How the heck would anyone be able to confirm that? Simple. The lender will require that you provide your last 3 years of federal income tax returns.

You must also satisfy additional eligibility requirements including falling within specified family household income limits, as well as not exceeding specified purchase price limits.

And did you also know that an interest rate reduction bond program is available to Pinal County, first-time home buyers? The eligibility requirements for this program are the same as for the down payment assistance program.

 

 

0 comments • Jessica Sulliman • November 06 2008 12:33AM