Tempe Town Lake

A real estate website is only as good as the content it provides, right?  Over the course of the next week we’ll be adding statistics for the cities we primarily do business in - Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert.

For the first installment we’ll focus on Tempe real estate single-family homes over the past two years (August 2006 through July 2008).  Our stats will, at first, only focus on Tempe as a whole and we’ll eventually add real estate pricing information for zip codes as well as condos.

So here goes!  Below is the past two years’ pricing information for single-family homes within Tempe:

Pricing trends for Tempe single-family real estate and homes. Click to enlarge.

You can access the raw data from this graph here.

There are three important lines on the graph:

• the blue line indicates the average price of active listings in Tempe
• the green line indicates the average list price for single-family homes before being sold.  In other words, this is the average price for all listings that went under contract before the final sales price was agreed upon by the buyer and seller through contract negotiations
• the yellow line indicates what the average sales price was for single-family homes in Tempe.

It should come to no surprise that prices are lower than they were two years ago.  In fact, since the beginning of 2008 prices have dropped pretty dramatically especially when compared to just a year ago:

Year-Over-Year SOLD Pricing Changes for Single-Family Homes in Tempe. Click to enlarge.

The above chart details how prices have changed in single-family real estate in Tempe.  For example, prices in July 2008 were 18% less than they were in July 2007.  This year-over-year price change indicates the average sold price for Tempe single-family real estate.

A few more charts can help us to round out a good picture of Tempe single-family real estate.  The chart below shows how long homes that sold sat on the Tempe real estate market:

The average days on market (ADOM) for single-family homes sold in Tempe. Click to enlarge.

From a height of 118 days in February 2008, the average days on the market for sold listings in Tempe is slowly declining from that peak.  Sellers that price their home right should expect to sell their property within that time frame.  The key, of course, is pricing the property correctly.

One last very important piece of information:

Single-family real estate inventory levels in Tempe. Click to enlarge.

This last graph that shows the current inventory levels of single-family homes in Tempe and is the most exciting!  Why?  Because most real estate experts agree that a “balanced market” is right around six-months of inventory:

• Less than six months of inventory indicates a “seller’s market.” In a seller’s market there are more buyers than there are homes to purchase.  As a result, real estate prices may increase during a seller’s market because there is less inventory than there are buyers.  This is what happened during the 2004 - 2006 real estate boom in Phoenix.
• More than six months of inventory indicates a “buyer’s market.” In a buyer’s market, real estate will often sell below the listing price because there are more buyers than inventory.  Much of the country has experienced an extreme buyer’s market over the past year or two.
• Six months of inventory indicates a “balanced market.” This is the most desirable market for buyers and sellers alike.  Homes will typically sell near listing price because there is a balanced amount of inventory when compared to buyers.  Sellers who market their property correctly and at the current market price will often receive an offer near that list price.  Buyers are more confident in purchasing because prices are stable or appreciating.

As you can see the exciting part is that overall, Tempe is and has been in a balanced market since May of 2008 for single-family homes.  This, of course, can’t be said for every single neighborhood and sub-market of Tempe.  Some areas may be selling quickly and others may have lingering inventory and declining prices.

So what kind of conclusions can we make in regards to the single-family real estate market in Tempe?

• Tempe has been through a major correction and transition over the past year.  As a result, prices have fallen dramatically as inventory levels became historically high.
• Prices are showing signs of stabilizing.  In fact, during May, June and July the average sales price in Tempe has increased - $281,226, $285,443 and $290,430 respectively.
• The price stabilization and small increase coincides with the balanced inventory levels of those same three months of May, June and July 2008.

Tempe is a great place to live - good schools, a developing downtown urban core, a central location to other valley cities and attractions, and it’s those reasons that translate into a real estate market that may be first to bounce back.

Has the Tempe real estate market hit bottom?  As you’ve most likely heard before, “you never know until months later that the bottom has passed.”  However, the current market snapshot shows that the worst may be over in Tempe.  Prices are stabilizing and inventory is at a comfortable level.

If you’re interested in purchasing a home in Tempe, you can search our site casually or set up a fusionpower search - giving you a powerful personal and secure webpage with homes that meet your search criteria!

I’ve decided to start a new series at Arizona Fusion - ‘Southeast Valley Spotlight.’  Every so often I’ll showcase something great about the Southeast Phoenix Valley - a special attraction, restaurant, real estate development or quite frankly, whatever I please.  So, drum roll please …

Cosmo Dog Park - The Ultimate Dog Park

Rated as the Best Dog Park in America in 2007 by Dog Channel, Cosmo Dog Park is located just east of San Tan Village/Greenfield Road on Ray Road in Gilbert, Arizona.  I chose Cosmo Dog Park as my first Southeast Valley Spotlight because I just happened to go there this morning with our dog, Hoosier (yes, we are from Indiana).  In fact, why don’t I share a picture of my dog who has no cajones to actually swim in the water …

Hoosier - Scared To Take The Plunge at Cosmo Dog Park in Gilbert, Arizona

Cosmo Dog Park is dog heaven.  Here, you’ll find other dog lovers from all across the Phoenix Valley congregate to let their dogs be dogs.  There’s actually three fenced in areas for dogs:

• a large grassy yard with obstacles
• a small grassy yard for smaller dogs
• a dog beach complete with a man-made lake and dock for dogs to launch off.

Every one of the fenced in areas has a shaded patio and seating for humans to escape the hot sun as well as a station to hose your dog down after getting dirty.  There’s also restrooms, a human drinking fountain and even a fire hydrant dog drinking fountain (which some dogs choose to wade in).  The City of Gilbert website says there are four fenced in areas but I can only recall three - and their website only shows three.  We usually only frequent the dog beach area.

Cosmo Dog Park is located within a growing area of Gilbert.  Bordering the east side of the park is Agritopia, a unique mini-master planned community.  I call it “mini” because this development is unlike most suburban subdivisions and actually reinforces a theme of Arizona’s agricultural past very, very well.  But, that may be another Southeast Valley Spotlight.

Other real estate developments near Cosmo Dog Park include the large community of Lyon’s Gate which is located just across the street on Ray from Cosmo Dog Park.  Lyon’s Gate is probably about 35 - 40% developed and includes homes from the $180’s for a new build with William Lyon Homes.  Also, Hacienda Builders is building new homes from $210’s in Lyon’s Gate.  Lyon’s Gate features quite a few grassy areas, tot lots and a community pool.

Also nearby Cosmo Dog Park is the new San Tan Village Mall, which is a regional mall that features fantastic shopping options and great dining options.  Next to San Tan Village is a power center with Wal-Mart, Kohls, Old Navy and more dining and shopping options.

If you’re interested in living in a growing area of Gilbert with all these conveniences, set up a fusionpower search today.  You’ll get a personal website with listings that meet your search criteria, automatic email notifications of new or changed property listings, you can ask questions about listings online, save your favorites and throw out the ones you dislike and schedule showings with Arizona Fusion Real Estate online.

I recently stumbled upon a listing in the Tempe area (see previous post) that at first made me half laugh at the stupidity of the agent selling the condo and half empathetically cry for the sellers of the condo.  

“The property, which is listed near downtown Tempe for just under $400,000 is incorrectly listed as being within the Cave Creek Unified District.  That’s one hell of a bus ride for kids to Cave Creek which is roughly a 36 mile drive to the northern-most suburb city of the Phoenix metro area.”

Worse yet is the description used in the listing - or lack of description for that matter.  It gives no detail of the property or the amenities located within this development or the convenience of future light rail and the proximity to downtown Tempe.  The pictures (there are only three and the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service now allows unlimited photos) posted for the listing look like they were taken with the first cell phone camera ever created as they are grainy and extremely small.  Worse yet, the agent “stole” a stock photo of a Tempe Town Lake sunset and the Mill Avenue Bridge - and used it as one of the three photos to market the property.  

Now, for the icing on the cake - the property is listed as “Owner/Agent” which means the agent selling the property is also the owner.  My empathetic cry for the seller quickly went away.  Can you imagine what this agent does for his/her clients if this is all he/she does for his/her own property!?!  It’s no wonder the real estate industry has a bad image - who sees the value in paying an agent upwards of $24,000 to market a property in that way?  I sure as hell wouldn’t.

Sellers:  Check and recheck your complete MLS listing for accuracies!  Don’t ever assume, no matter who your agent is, that they’ve listed your home with 100% accuracy.  Better yet, don’t assume they’ve posted it in it’s best light.  There are a few way to check your MLS listing.  The easiest is to simply ask your agent for the complete listing printout.  Ask for the “Agent Report” so that you see everything another REALTOR would see.  Verify that all the information in the listing is correct and that nothing has been left out.

Better yet, go to websites that reciprocate MLS data - perhaps ours - and check your listing’s photos and (hopefully you have one) virtual tour.  On our site, you can view the pictures in full-screen - but only if your agent has loaded photos that are of full-screen quality.  If they haven’t, they’ll be small photos or even grainy if they are of super-low quality.  Not only that, verify that your photos actually present your property in it’s best light.  That means either your agent is a great photographer with a great camera or your agent hired a professional photographer.  

With well over 80% of home buyers using the internet to start their search it’s very easy for them to move on to the next listing if the pictures for your property don’t stir their interest.  Most of us are visual people and will first look at the pictures and then decide if we actually want to read about the property.  Make sure your pictures and virtual tour engage buyers rather than disengage.  And make sure the information on your property is 100% accurate to ensure it comes up on searches as it should.

If you’re looking into downtown Tempe as a place to live and/or are into the arts, take a look at this article in the Arizona Republic.  It talks about the possibility of bringing a global attraction to Tempe Town Lake just west of Priest Drive on Rio Salado Drive taking up the vacant space next to the Tempe Center for the Arts.

“Elements offers an opportunity to redevelop an empty strip of the Rio Salado bank between the Tempe Center for the Arts and Priest Drive into a global arts attraction.” - AZCentral.com

What a fantastic opportunity to not only bring a truly unique attraction to Tempe (and the entire Valley of the Sun for that matter) but to also spur more development in the Farmers Avenue District.  

At a REALTOR meeting last fall, Tempe Mayor, Hugh Hallman, discussed with us Tempe’s desire to create a district known as the ‘Farmers Avenue Arts District’ just south of the Tempe Center for the Arts.  With the open-minded approach that Tempe is taking in it’s downtown area it appears that the Farmers Avenue Arts District is starting to take shape.  

Ten years from now we may see a true urban arts neighborhood.  Currently, the Farmers Avenue area is being rejuvinated with developments like the Farmers Avenue Lofts, Millstone Townhomes, Regatta Pointe Condos and 525 Tempe Town Lake Condos complete or near completion and more planned, now is an exciting time for the downtown Tempe area - especially when you factor in that this area will be serviced by the light rail starting December 27!

If you’re interested in living and investing in the downtown Tempe area contact us and we’ll set up our exclusive fusionpower search to work for you sending you updates on property listings within the downtown Tempe area - or any area you’re in which you’re interested!

The City of Tempe, in it’s ongoing crusade to diversify and bring additional uniqueness to it’s city, has a program that rebates the entire cost of the construction permit for renovations or additions completed on homes 20 years or older.  At first, you may not think of this as a big deal because to many people it seems like a permit wouldn’t cost that much - $50 or $75, right?

The cost of a permit to improve a property can sometimes exceed $1,000!

For many people, that can make or break a renovation or improvement project.  The average permit is between $500 and $1,000.  

So far, the City of Tempe has refunded over $8,000 in permits but still believes there are $80,000 more in refunds that residents are eligible to receive.  To be eligible, the property must have been improved since July 1, 2007 (or at least the permit pulled then) and the home 20 years or older.  

I think this is a fantastic program for homeowners in Tempe.  Although neighboring cities like Chandler and Gilbert offer a smorgasbord of new home options they cannot compete with Tempe’s ever-increasingly vibrant Mill Avenue District.  And to my knowledge no city offers a great solution like the Orbit Bus Service to offer residents an easy, green and save way of getting from their suburban home to Tempe’s downtown restaurants, bars and events.  And with light-rail debuting in December - the city has a lot to offer residents including some good to great school systems.

This program is great for buyers and sellers alike.  Buyers should be aware of this program as they look for homes that may be a bargain but need repairs as this will bring down the total renovation costs.  Sellers can use this to spruce up their home, if needed, and save on costs as well.

Arizona Fusion Real Estate is excited to announce new and innovative features that give buyers excellent tools for searching for the first, next or best home ever!  We call it fusionpower search!

fusionpower search allows buyers to completely tailor their search and access it on a personal, secure website.

Have you ever wanted to search within just a specific area ?  For example, maybe you are looking for a home that is north of Broadway in Tempe, Arizona but between Mill Avenue and Rural Road but south of Tempe Town Lake - and when you’re west of Mill you’d like to the search to continue north of University but east of Hardy Drive.  fusionpower search allows you to do just that!

It's okay. Be as specific as you'd like on where and what you'd like to search.

Here is what fusionpower search can do for you if you are thinking of buying real estate in the Phoenix Valley:

•    Search Your Way - Like You’ve Always Wanted ::  Be as specific as you like - a 5 mile radius from work, between Mill Avenue and Rural Roads south of Tempe Town Lake but north of Broadway, within a mile from a light-rail station - whatever your personal search requirements are we’ll meet them!
•    HD Photos :: If the listing agent has made the photos available, you’ll be able to view photos in fullscreen, HD quality.
•    Virtual Tours :: If the listing agent has created a virtual tour you’ll have a direct link all within your fusionpower search webpage.
•    Compare :: You’ll be able to compare other homes that are on the market.  You can see what the average Days on the Market are, what the average list price is and more.
•    Sales History :: If you’d like, we can add to your fusionpower search the recent sales activity and show you what homes have sold in the past three months in your search area so that you can get an idea of what you’d like to offer.  You’ll even be able to compare what the list price was compared to the sales price.  Of course, we’ll review this information again when we’re ready to make an offer.
•    Save Your Favorites :: You’ll be able to save your favorite properties for later so that you always have access to the information.  No more re-searching or clicking through hundreds of listings to show your family and friends.  You can also throw out listings you hate.
•    Schedule Showings Online :: Have questions on a specific property or want to schedule a showing?  Do it online at anytime.
•    Tax Info :: Your fusionpower search will give you instant access to public tax information from the Assessor’s Office on properties that interest you.
•    Mortgage Calculator :: Just click on the basic mortgage calculator to see what your payments might be.  fusionpower search gives you all the search power you’ll need.

Sign up for your personal fusionpower search webpage and when you purchase a home with arizonafusion, we’ll include:
•    A Free Home Warranty :: Up to a $500 value, your Home Warranty protects you from unforeseen issues with major expense items such as the air conditioner, water heater, appliances and more.  The warranty even will rekey your home and provide you with new and unique keys.
•    10% Back :: We donate 10% of our earned commissions to the charity, non-profit or university of your choice.  You can read more here.

Sign up for your fusionpower search website now.

With President Bush signing into law a bill that aims to help over 400,000 homeowners from losing their homes into foreclosure, buyers sitting on the fence should also know that it changes how you can purchase a home through the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA.

The law also requires buyers to put a down payment of 3.5% for a FHA Loan.  Previously, buyers only required 3% as a down payment.

But what may affect buyers even more is that sellers are no longer allowed to gift the down payment to the buyer.  New Home Builders can no longer give you your down payment and sellers can no longer give you an incentive to buy their home by handing you a down payment from their proceeds.

Buyers should be aware of this.  FHA loans are becoming the most popular mortgages out there.  Right now, buyers can still accept a down payment from a new home builder or seller before October 1, 2008.

The new housing bill also gives first-time home buyers a tax credit of 10% of the sales price (up to $7500).  In the Phoenix area you’re most likely going to get the entire $7500 tax credit with current market prices.  It should be noted that although the tax credit will benefit you on next year’s taxes - it is really an interest-free loan from the government.  You’ll be paying it back over the course of the next 15 years.

Is now the right time for you?  If you have good credit and have been waiting for the right time but don’t necessarily have a significant down payment you may want to start searching now - if the time is right for you and/or your family.

You can use arizonafusion’s map-based search or our just released fusionpower search for the ultimate property search experience!

Most Phoenix area REALTORS are well-aware that this weekend is “the big weekend” where our outdated, archaic and semi-worthless MLS system switches over to a less-outdated and less-archaic MLS system from FlexMLS.  Don’t get me wrong - I am very excited about the changes.  But I guess in this age of constant change and internet data, I’d expect even more from a MLS system than what FlexMLS is providing.  A key thing I must always tell myself is that the MLS system is sometimes inhibited by the agents who make it up.  And let’s be honest, there are plenty of agents out there who post horrible photos, uninteresting descriptions and false and misleading data.

Nonetheless, the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) made a great decision by moving forward with FlexMLS.  

One of the lesser known features of FlexMLS is it’s sister site - wireless.flexmls.com.

Recently, while looking at some townhomes and condos near downtown Tempe, a client/friend asked if I could find out information on a property that didn’t come up on our original search.  Being the tech-savvy person that I think I am, I pulled up the wireless FlexMLS site on my Apple iPhone and did a simple search with the address of the property.  Most REALTORS know that when searching we often leave out the “compass direction” when searching for a property as well as the street suffix.  For example, if searching for 1234 E Sunshine Avenue, I would simply search for “1234 Sunshine” so that my search doesn’t go haywire and return zero results.

When I searched for the property I got zero results.  I tried the search a few different ways and continued to get zero results.  So, I took my search out to the ZIP code (85281) we were in and still had zero result returned.  As most might say after a few searches with zero results - WTF?

My hope is that the search function of wireless.flexmls.com is simply not working until the official launch on July 28.  The wireless version of FlexMLS could be a fantastic tool for gathering more information on a property that wasn’t on the original search (often times buyers have a change of heart in their search criteria after viewing a few properties) or to pull up info on a property in the search that wasn’t printed off.  It would be great for an agent to know they could leave their laptop at home or the office and just bring their iPhone or other wireless device and have the information they need without having to power up a laptop.

I was able to pull up the property by MLS number on wireless.flexmls.com - but that was the only way a search would give me results.  I have a few saved searches that show up on my wireless homepage that also displayed results.  Here’s what you’d expect to see if you were using an iPhone for wireless FlexMLS:

If you know of something I may be doing wrong - be sure to let me know!  Otherwise, I will hope that this Monday brings the wireless access to the ARMLS that I would’ve expected three or four years ago!

You may have seen these blue bus/vans in Tempe but not known exactly what they were.  I myself have seen these but didn’t know exactly what they were - until today I met with a friend who works with the Tempe Chamber of Commerce and explained to me what the Orbit buses are all about.

Orbit is a free service in Tempe that connects it’s residential neighborhoods with it’s growing urban core and other retail, businesses and local destinations.  There are currently five routes on Orbit.

Unlike traditional bussing systems, Orbit uses “flag stops.”  Because Orbit busses run through an area at least once every fifteen minutes from 6 AM to 10 PM seven days a week, a rider simply has to waive their arms to flag down an Orbit bus and have it stop.  Except on major streets, the Orbit bus will stop anywhere to pick up a rider.  On major streets, like Mill Avenue, University Drive and Broadway Road, Orbit will stop at designated bus stops.

Currently, Tempe is considering extending ridership hours to 1 AM or later on the weekends to coincide with the light-rail and other bus services.  I think this is a “no brainer” if the city is dedicated to creating viable mass-transit options for it’s citizens while also cutting down on drunk driving.  I’m sure Mill Avenue and Tempe Marketplace bars and restaurants would appreciate that as well considering Arizona’s recent tough (and needed) stance on DUIs.

If you live in or are considering a move to Tempe - Orbit is a great and free service that really adds value to the area.  Those living on Orbit routes now enjoy the convenience of hopping on a bus and enjoying what Tempe has to offer - the Mill Avenue District, Tempe Marketplace, the Tempe Center for the Arts, the Gammage Theater, ASU sporting events and more.  Incidentally, Orbit will run until midnight on nights of ASU Football games this upcoming season.  

Currently, Orbit only runs north of US-60 but Tempe is also considering extending the service to South Tempe as well.

Orbit Route Map

Other cities, such as Chandler and Scottsdale, may want to take a hint from Tempe.  Destination areas such as Old Town Scottsdale (which does currently have a free Trolley Service connecting parts of nearby Scottsdale to Old Town), Historic Downtown Chandler and Chandler Fashion Center would definitely benefit from a service like Orbit.  

In this era of high energy costs I think most people would consider a service like Orbit to take them out for the evening.  There would not longer be a need to worry about where to park in Historic Downtown Chandler on Friday or Saturday evenings and no need to worry about having that extra beer or martini.  If marketed correctly, a service like Orbit in other Phoenix valley cities would be a hit and enjoy ridership like Tempe has - in less than one year since Orbit began it’s enjoyed nearly 1.3 million riders.