Tag Archives: Arizona

Real Estate

7 in 10 Homes Sold in Less Than a Month in September

The numbers: Existing-home sales increased for the fourth consecutive month in September, as the U.S. housing market benefitted from low interest rates.

Total existing-home sales rose 9.4% from August to a seasonally-adjusted, annual rate of 6.54 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Compared with a year ago, home sales were up nearly 21%.

“Home sales traditionally taper off toward the end of the year, but in September they surged beyond what we normally see during this season,” Lawrence Yun, the trade group’s chief economist, said in the report. “I would attribute this jump to record-low interest rates and an abundance of buyers in the marketplace, including buyers of vacation homes given the greater flexibility to work from home.”

Economists polled by MarketWatch had projected existing-home sales to rise to a median rate of 6.36 million.

What happened: The fast pace of home sales has quickly dwindled the remaining supply of homes on the market, however. More than seven in 10 homes on the market in September sold in less than a month.

As a result, by month’s end the total inventory of homes for sale dropped to a 2.7 months’ supply, the lowest on record. A 6-month supply of homes is considered to be indicative of a balanced market.

Source: Existing-Home Sales Soared in September—7 in 10 Homes Sold in Less Than a Month | realtor.com®

Here in Mohave County sales are brisk with residential sales continuing in “boom” territory, and many sales are closed over the original asking price. It’s a feeding frenzy.

Land sales have picked up, and we’re seeing real appreciation for the first time in many years. Anything with a septic, or better yet a well is hot these days. Gotta go, there’s the phone again….Ben

Arizona

ADWR Sponsors Trip Through the Grand Canyon

Editor’s Note: On July 25, 2019, the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, or GCDAMP, sponsored an eight-day Colorado River raft trip through the Grand Canyon for the organization’s stakeholders, which include members of government and science-oriented agencies whose duties include conditional analysis and research of the river.

One of those stakeholders was ADWR Water Resources Specialist Craig McGinnis, a member of the GCDAMP Technical Work Group. The work group provides technical assistance to the Adaptive Management Work Group and consults with the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center in developing criteria and standards for monitoring and research programs.

Craig put together the highly polished video linked below because of his abiding fascination with the canyon and the river and because “I had a good GoPro camera that could do the job — with eight days of charge on a power cell, of course.”

Craig reports: In our roles as public servants of the State of Arizona, we help carry the torch of ADWR’s mission – protecting and enhancing Arizona’s water supplies for current and future generations.

This mission goes hand in hand with the stewardship of our natural heritage: to best preserve the ecological wonders of our surroundings for posterity. Few would argue against the Grand Canyon as the crown jewel of these Arizona treasures – a natural wonder of the world and reflected in our nickname as the Grand Canyon State.

As documented in this clip, the 2019 trip embarked July 25 through August 2. Stated objectives for the trip included providing an opportunity for Tribal representatives and GCDAMP stakeholders to learn about current river issues, and for Tribal partners to articulate their respective concerns and perspectives in a field situation.

https://youtu.be/vev8iMdW7hA

Source: Water Resources Specialist Chronicles his Colorado River Trip Through the Grand Canyon | Arizona Department of Water Resources

Click to see the video. ADWR (Arizona Department of Water Resources) is responsible for all of the water in Arizona. Check out the article for more info on their programs.

Arizona

Spring Colorado River Runoff Low Since April

A dry April caused the expected spring-summer runoff into Lake Powell to plunge dramatically, with the water-flow forecast down the Colorado River declining as much in one month as Tucson Water customers use in 10 years.

May’s monthly runoff prediction for the April-through-July period was 65% of average, or 4.6 million acre-feet. That’s 1 million acre-feet less than the April forecast predicted. Tucson Water customers typically use close to 100,000 acre-feet a year. While low runoff this year is highly unlikely to trigger the river’s first major shortage as soon as 2021, it raises the possibility of one in 2022.

A shortage would fall particularly hard on Central Arizona farmers. Flows of water into Powell that would be low enough to cause a shortage in 2022 are likely to occur about 10% of the time, said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s most recent study of its reservoir operations, published in mid-April.

Source: Expected spring runoff into Colorado River plunges after dry April | Arizona and Regional News | tucson.com

Arizona, Wildflowers

Spring 2020 Wildflower Time

It’s springtime at the ranch, and every day is dawning earlier, the flowers are bursting forth everywhere, and it’s my favorite time of the year. (Allergies not withstanding.)

Here’s a few from past years. The Joshua trees didn’t flower this year. I’m not sure what the cycle is, but some years the flowers are fabulous, other years they are sparse to non existent.

Arizona, Odds & Ends

Besides Alcohol, Cannabis Remains Essential in Arizona

Many businesses in major metropolitan areas in Arizona have closed their doors for the foreseeable future, but medical cannabis patients don’t have to worry about dispensaries closing.

Since cannabis is a medicine, it is an essential service, and dispensaries will continue to sell products as usual, said Sam Richard, executive director of the Arizona Dispensaries Association. But “everyone’s doing things a little differently,” he said.

Several dispensaries have posted notices on their websites detailing their response to COVID-19 emphasizing patient and employee safety and following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Common precautions include limiting the number of patients inside the dispensary, only allowing people in the waiting room, and frequently wiping down surfaces. Dispensaries have encouraged employees who feel sick to use their paid time off.

Many dispensaries also have changed their hours, opening late, closing early or both.

Source: Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Stay Open, With Changes | Phoenix New Times

Equal time for the other vices, after all, the casinos are all closed.

Arizona, Real Estate

Sellers Losing Hope During Coronovirus Pandemic?

With the coronavirus pandemic bringing the U.S., and much of the world, to a screeching halt, only just over half of Americans think it’s still a good time to sell a home.

Only 52% of homeowners believe it’s still an opportune moment to put their place on the market—a steep month-over-month net decrease of 29 percentage points in March, according to Fannie Mae’s monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index. The index measures buyer and seller attitudes about the housing market.

Meanwhile, the net share of Americans who think it’s a good time to buy a home, 56%, is down 7 percentage points from February to March.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” says Javier Vivas, realtor.com®’s director of economic research. “We have yet to see the full extent of the impact of the virus on housing.”

Source: Why Home Sellers Are Losing Hope in the Housing Market | realtor.com®

We’re not seeing a huge slowdown in either pending sales, or closed sales, however anecdotally the Title Companies are seeing a slowdown, and their offices are closed to the public with many working from home. As long as the County can record deeds, we’ll probably muddle along just fine – Ben

Land, Off Grid Living, Real Estate

News – April 8, 2020

It’s been a busy time here at the ranch. Not surprisingly, everyone who has been on the fence about buying land feels more motivated. I have clients who would love to come to their property and get away from the madness of the city, but they are locked down in Socal, and can’t leave. I believe that we’ll have a big uptick once the lockdown is lifted.

Some days, I feel a little depressed about it all. The anxiety of not knowing the future is disconcerting, and I feel a bit of unease in every waking moment.

Thankfully, I have our garden. Though it probably wouldn’t be enough to keep us from being a bit leaner later on, it’s relaxing, and I always leave the phone up at the house so as to have a brief moment of calm in the flurry. Having 40 acres means I don’t have to sit in the house, and that helps I think.

I’m also thankful of my career as a land broker. I have helped many people to move to this beautiful area. The solar off grid life is not the easiest, but there are many rewards that make the lack of convenience worth it.

Real estate sales are not easy. I’m reminded of the old adage that we in real estate just work half days, you know, 12 hours a day. It’s true!

For the buyers today, my job is just to know what’s best out there for the money. Stagecoach Trails being over 130,000 acres offers a variety of terrains and locations. Zeroing in on what the needs of the buyer are long term seems to be the most important thing.

Educating buyers on costs to do a well, septic, solar etc. may have prevented some financial mishaps (and cost a few sales.) Truth is that it really does cost more than you realize to get it all set up. If I can keep folks grounded in reality as to what it takes to live off grid, I feel it’s best for all of us in the long run.

For sellers the key is pricing. What one wants is not always what the market will bear. We’d all have loved to sold any stock investments in February, ah but it’s too late.

We have an abundance of inventory, but for the first time since the market started dropping in earnest in 2009, we are seeing some slight appreciation upward. There are fewer and fewer “bargains.” Buyers take note!

To all of you reading, please leave a comment or two. Thanks for stopping by! -Ben

 

Arizona, Real Estate

Some Heading to Arizona, What States People Are Leaving

Living on a fixed income, retirees are looking for ways to make their budgets stretch—and New Jersey’s high home prices and property taxes don’t make it an attractive place to stay.

The Garden State’s median home list price of $389,050 in November was about 21% more than the national list price of $309,000. It’s also a lot more than Arizona’s median price of $350,050 and Florida’s median price of $335,050.

But the high cost of living isn’t dissuading millennials from moving in. The state offers plenty of high-paying jobs, as well as many towns within commuting distance to New York City that are attractive to those just starting out and establishing their careers. There were still more folks aged 34 and under moving into New Jersey than out of the state, according to United.

Top states folks are fleeing

  1. New Jersey

2. Illinois

3. New York

4. Connecticut

5. Kansas

6. Ohio

7. California

8. Michigan

9. North Dakota

10. Iowa

Source: The State That Americans Are Fleeing—and Where They’re Winding Up | realtor.com®

The article says that Arizona is the #3 destination overall. Anecdotally, many Californians are buying residential in Mohave County. According to the Title Company, the vast majority are from California.

Arizona, Real Estate

January Real Estate Update

This year is off to a good start. Activity has picked up after a somewhat slower fall season. Like clockwork, our sales are best in the first quarter of the year. I’m not sure if it’s end of year bonuses, New Years’ resolutions, snowbirds or what, but it’s always welcome to be busy again.

The discouraging part is the sales prices. We’re still seeing what I consider “vulture pricing.” The sales today are often at depressed prices. The hope is that these will finally sell, (and the truth is that there are less in the basement price-wise now,) and we’ll be able to see an uptick.

Meanwhile, in the cities, the prices have continued to rise in Mohave County as we experience an exodus from California. At some point, the purchase of raw land will make more and more economic sense and the prices should rise. One can always hope anyway…

Arizona, Odds & Ends

Be Careful Out There!

Officials from the Arizona Game and Fish Department say that multiple mountain lions have been killed after they ate human remains, KGUN-TV reports.

Officials say that three mountain lions were killed by the department after they reportedly ate human remains in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

The remains were found on the Pima Canyon Trail and had shown signs of being disturbed by wildlife. The mountain lions involved had also reportedly showed signs of “interacting with humans” in the area.

Officials say that the animals were killed due to their proximity to residences and an apparent lack of fear of humans

Source: Multiple Mountain Lions Killed by Game and Fish Officials After They Were Observed Eating Human Remains Near Tucson, Arizona – News Breaking LIVE