• Seller concessions – no longer standard.
• Getting a house for 5% or more off list price – thing of the past, baby.
• Houses languishing for months – not this market.

What are we seeing in many areas of the Phoenix metro housing market?

• Multiple offers
• Seller concessions limited to those who really need them (and listing agents will ask and verify it with your lender)
• Restrictions to who can purchase homes and when they can do it (no investors for 15 days, etc)
• Sellers not reviewing offers until the home has been on the market for X number of days.
• Homes selling for more than list price.
• I also heard of a buyer out there waiving appraisal contingencies.  I refuse to compare this market to 2005.
• Cash is no longer king.  In some areas and price ranges we have a flood of cash buyers so unfortunately cash is not necessarily the deciding factor, as sometimes multiple offers are from cash buyers.

Why would a house look like it’s available but then you or my Realtor tells me its not?

Because of the way our MLS works and when the state of Arizona considers a home legally under contract.  Our MLS has a status field that is supposed to reflect the availability of a home – Active, Active With Contingencies (AWC), Pending, Closed, Expired, Cancelled and Temporarily Off the Market (TOM).  For simplicity’s sake let’s assume that usually Closed, Expired, Cancelled and Temporarily Off the Market mean that you can’t see the house or make an offer to purchase it.  Let’s examine the rest:

Active: This home is available for showings and would like an offer.  Usually.

Active With Contingencies (AWC):  This home has an accepted offer but they would like a back up offer.  Usually.

Pending:  This home has an accepted offer, they feel it will close and really aren’t looking for back up offers.  Usually.

So if everyone follows the rules, why would it show as available or active but not want my offer?

Depending on the website you are using, the status may not be updated or accurate.  Trulia, Zillow, etc. get their information from our local MLS.  We grant them access.  Then they choose to simplify, distort it or not include some pertinent information.  So sometimes feeder websites consider AWC as simply active.

Or because sometimes they have multiple offers but the seller hasn’t officially accepted one yet.  Those details are often included in the REALTOR comments section but not the public comments section.  That has to do with how our MLS works, when an offer is considered a contract and our duties to our clients.  And that’s the short answer.  As always, if you would like the long answer, call me and we can get coffee.

Phoenix Area

For my Wordless Wednesday, today I bring you a chart of active foreclosures in the Phoenix area.  Looks promising… your thoughts?

1.  Every time they want a new HUD, I have to very nicely ask the title company to take time out of their day to do yet. another. HUD. again.

2.  Buyers don’t care what the banks are losing or what the investor thinks they have to net.  Same as regular old, with equity sellers, Buyers don’t care what you have to make.  They care what the market is like and what other comparable homes are selling for.  If they can get a better house for less money, they will buy that house instead.  Do-do-head banks.

3.  The BPO system is inherently flawed.  I could write at least three blogs about that one.  Maybe later.

3.  Buyers need time to process their loans.  Giving us an approval letter for less than 30 days is just stupid.  And creates more work for everyone, which is apparently your main goal.  See also #1.

4.  It takes more than a high school degree and a 19 year old to understand the complex process of a short sale.  So pay more than a dollar more than minimum wage and put better people in the jobs titled “Short Sale Negotiator.”  Keep the good ones (’cause there are a few) and appreciate them with higher pay so they don’t burn out, leave, and then we only have the stupid ones to deal with.

Okay, I’m going to end now since I’m getting very ranty-pants, which is why I have avoided the topic thus far, and am just going to go kick some a$$ on my short sales!  Have you bought or sold a short sale?  If so, you must have “war stories,” share ‘em in the comments below.

Here is an article in the ArizonaRepublic about foreclosure and possession:  http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/03/07/20100307evictions0307.html

Let’s say a person decides to stop or can’t keep making their mortgage payments.  We would all agree that it’s a safe assumption that eventually, if no other action is taken, that this person should expect to move sometime in the future.  A good estimate of timing is that the foreclosure date will be about 6 months after the first missed payment.  I understand that the first month or two might be entirely spent in denial, but that still leaves about 4 months to make other plans.  After the third month passes, the foreclosure date is usually set.  Your first clue will be the millions of postcards and “handwritten” letters from Realtors offering to help.  You’ll probably get those before the trustee’s sale notice from the trustee themselves.  Then the foreclosure notice will come, with a date.

If you have recently missed a mortgage payment and would like to talk about timing your move, what the process is, and the time needed to find a rental home, feel free to call or email me.  We can get coffee, I’ll answer questions and give you info you need to make the right decision for you and your family.

Homestead in South Tempe, AZ in January 2012

Thank you all for your time and energies.  I can definitely understand any and all frustration that you and your buyers are going through.  What does it take to get a home?  I have been there too.

We had approximately 35 Realtors come through with their buyers and probably another 5-8 buyers come through without a Realtor.  (This was 14 days after the house was listed on the MLS.) We currently have 9 offers on the table.  One of which was written by me for a buyer without a Realtor.  I have been told that 2 more are on the way.

It was a crazy world in 2005.  Definitely different from our current real estate market here in the Phoenix area.  We are seeing multiple offers again, but not like we did then.  Buyers and sellers have different attitudes, they are being presented differently, handled with less frenzy…most of the time.

Step 1 – This is the worst part because it involves going through everything in the house and determining what goes.  I can make this process take years.  As I was moving this week, I had barely packed anything.  So it felt like an episode of Hoarders as my family asked, “Liz, what do you want to do with this?  Stay? Or go?”  Oy.

Step 2 – Sort things into sell, donate and trash.  (I know, it’s not original, they do it on the tv shows but it works.)

Step 3 – By Friday call your local bulk trash pick up and schedule a pick up for the following week.  Schedule a pick up with Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters or Goodwill (oh awesome awesomeness, they have online scheduling now!!!).

Step 4 – Hold your garage sale Saturday and/or Sunday of that weekend.  At the end of the garage sale, add the things that didn’t sell to the trash and donate piles.  It’s best if those two piles are at the front of the garage.

Step 5 – On the scheduled pick up day, push the trash pile and/or donate pile out of the garage, label it (especially if they are on the same day!).

By the time you get home from work, the pile will have magically disappeared and your house will be less cluttered.

Usually I get to hand home buyers their keys, which up to today was my absolute favorite part of my job.  Waaaay back in the day, when MySpace (remember that?!) was the “thing,” they asked “Who would you like to meet?” as one of the profile questions.  I got so much grief from a friend when I answered that I wanted to meet more home buyers because I love giving buyers the keys to their new home (he said it was a lame answer).  More than a few of my buyer clients have run back and forth across the house saying, “this is my closet!”  ”This is my kitchen sink!”  ”I’m going to put ____ over here!”  It is really fun to watch.   Buyers kind of need us to give them their keys.  Otherwise, how would they get into their new house?  Leaving a key under the doormat is so anti-climactic.

But Sellers can have their proceeds wired to another title company for the purchase of another home, wired to their bank account, or they can pick up the check from the title company themselves.  Yesterday I offered to bring my seller client her check.  I just thought it would be more convenient for her and I wanted to see her again to say thank you.  I’ve seen sellers on their moving day, at signings, helped them close on their next home, etc. but not yet handed someone their check.  Today, I got that privilege.  I just have to say, it’s totally awesome.  It is so nice to share in the moment when someone gets to look forward to the next stage in their life and be a part of making it happen.