NorterraLiving.com is up and running

I've just launched a new Norterra area website full of useful information. The ultimate goal of the site is to be a go-to resource for anyone interestested in the Norterra area. NorterraLiving.com features pages such as: community info, home collection, shopping, dining, schools, etc. I welcome feedback on this new website and I am definitely open to any suggestions:-)

Are vacant homes selling any better than occupieds?

With almost half of the homes currently listed on Arizona Regional MLS being vacant, I'm just wondering how they are selling when compared to occupied homes. I decided to run some numbers and see if there was any correlation that suggests vacant homes are selling quicker. Typically a seller would want to get rid of a vacant home faster than if they are living there or have it occupied by a tenant but of course this isn't always the case. Let's take a look at some numbers and see if they have something to say.

I ran two sets of numbers-the entire ARMLS and then only Phoenix. I compared these vacant homes with sales from last month, October 2007. Currently we have 57,291 active listings with 27,815 being vacant, or 48%. Of those active listings, 9,942 are in Phoenix and 4,390 of those are vacant-44%.

As for sold homes in October, we had 3,467 sales out of our 57,000+ listings, only 6% of the entire MLS inventory. In Phoenix numbers were a little better, with 756 sales out of 9,942, 7.6% of the Phoenix inventory. Okay, now lets see how many of those sales were vacant homes. Of the 3,467 sales on the MLS, 2,103 were vacant, 60% of all solds. Phoenix was about the same, 441 vacant homes sold out of the 756 sales, 58%.

Now there's one more set of numbers that is interesting, what percentage of vacant homes sold out of the vacant listings? Remember that only 6% of the entire MLS sold last month, and only 7.6% sold out of the Phoenix inventory. Now let's see what that percentage is with the vacants. In Phoenix, 441 vacant homes sold out of the 4390 vacant listings, 10%. Compare that to 7.6% of Phoenix homes sold and you have a gain of 2.4%. Of the entire MLS, 2,103 vacant homes sold out of the 27,815 listings, 7.6%, an increase of 1.6% over the 6% across the board. So, there was more vacant homes sold than occupieds, but not a significant amount.

What kind of conclusions can be made from this data? To me, it suggests that vacant homes are selling better because sellers are financially "pinched" more-so than if the home is occupied by an owner or renter. The difference is small which shows that many sellers are simply not able to drastically discount these vacant homes because of lack of equity. Sales falling less than 10% of inventory is probably the most important number that we need to be concerned with. I know that everyone keeps saying it, but this really is a terrific time for buyers to find a great deal. Short sales are going to grow and maybe my next analysis will be to see how those sales are going.

Are Desert Preserves becoming Phoenix's beachfront property?

We've seen it happen in California and other coastal states. Generally, property values are significantly higher the closer you get to the beach. Arizona doesn't have the coast, but we have the desert preserves, which offers amenities, recreation, and aesthetic beauty, just like the ocean. Now obviously this can't be an "apples to apples" comparison, but with our temperate climate and year round recreation, desirability comparisons can be made.

In my opinion, living near a preserve has many benefits. Miles and miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, nature in your backyard, and the aesthetic beauty of the mountain scenery are just a few. The good news is developers in Phoenix are now required to keep 60% of the preserve's 150 miles of boundaries, or about 90 miles, open to public access. This means that they cannot put up miles of homes and block walls limiting access to the public. That is exactly what happened in Ahwatukee Foothills, where 11 miles of walls cut off access to South Mountain Park.
This is going to have a big impact on the new communities surrounding the preserves. Take Fireside at Norterra, by Del Webb for example. They are embracing the fact that their 1800 homes are located within a half mile of the new Sonoran Preserve of Phoenix. Most of the culdesacs and streets follow the new requirements, and the community center directly backs up to the preserve. The developer is landscaping the bordering areas and building a trail system that will link into the existing preserve trails. Even the promotional material says the community has "an intelligent land plan that welcomes the surrounding desert."

As our city continues to develop, there will be an increased demand for these areas...rural suburbs, so to speak. Imagine the convenience of nearby shopping, restaurants, and easy freeway access surrounded by the beauty of the Sonoran desert. The desire for these neighborhoods will continue to increase as the retail continues to fill in, turning these subdivisions into a "convenient desert oasis". With our market currently geared towards the buyer, it is a great time to purchase in these areas, both for ownership and future investment benefits.