Mike’s Year in Review –

Plus A 2006 Look Ahead.

First of all, my prayer for you in 2006 is that your body, soul, mind and spirit will be richly and abundantly blessed in the most profound sense.

For current charts and information on the Scottsdale area, please visit our new site at:  http://www.northscottsdale.com

2005 A Market Wrap-Up. Between 2004 and 2005, the Phoenix metropolitan area sustained it’s most dramatic rise in property values ever recorded. The one year percentage of appreciation grew anywhere from 37% to 50% depending on the city or community. Most of my buyers were able to make exceptional home purchases. For many homebuyers however, it was a stressful, frustrating and disappointing year. Some of you were not able to buy and eventually threw in the towel, not wanting to compete with investors, multiple offers, bidding wars and the like. For those buyer clients who were not able to buy, hang in there, your time is ripe in the next few months. Be ready. I’ve included a city by city spread sheet for your review.

2005 ended however with a rising inventory of homes for sale and significant buyer caution. So much so that it will take awhile to determine exactly where this market is heading. Most of you remember that back in April of last year, there were 5800 homes for sale in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service which services the Phoenix metro communities – mostly in Maricopa County. Today there are just over 20,000 homes for sale. This number is close to our five year average of homes for sale in the valley. In other words we are more than likely just returning to our normal Phoenix/Scottsdale market conditions.

2006 – A Look Ahead. For the year, buyer demand will continue strong. Recent demographics showed a 199,000 gain in metro population during the past year. With Arizona thus far escaping national catastrophes, major corporations such as Intel, Google, E-Bay, Countrywide Financial, and the medical industry are coming to or expanding operations seeing this as a safe and desirable place to do business and live. Even though the price of housing skyrocketed, it’s still much more affordable compared with California.

As mentioned previously, there should be good buyer opportunities coming up in a more normalized and balanced market. Sellers will need to be realistic setting home values using actual closed sales (hey, that’s a novel thought) instead of betting on the come.

Interest rates, which are currently in the lower 6% range for a 30 year fixed, will play a part in the 2006 market. But how much is unknown. There is too much world upheaval to predict what will happen with rates. As of this writing for example, Russia just cut off natural gas supplies to the Ukraine. This could affect the UK. This could in turn affect mid east interests, of which we are tied to. The world is now in our backyard. If rates remain under 7%, it’ll be a vibrant year. If they head towards 8%, the market could be dramatically impacted. We’ll see.

For me personally, I’ll be heading to Realty Executives newest office just being completed in Desert Ridge right off the freeway at the NW corner of Tatum Blvd and the #101. The grand opening is set for some time in February. This will be Realty Executives’ flagship office which will be complete with a regional training center and located adjacent to First American Title, Arizona’s largest title insurer. This will bring much more of one stop shopping for my clients.

2005 saw the hiring of two individuals to assist me in my business. My wife Karen now handles my escrow transactions working directly with title companies, lenders, inspectors and other agents. Sharon Tindell who was formerly a transaction coordinator with Realty Executives and Prudential Arizona Realty, trained Karen in that position. I then hired Sharon to oversee client marketing, advertising, and being my overall office manager. These changes help me to serve my clients and friends even more than before.

PHOENIX METRO REAL ESTATE REPORT  (DECEMBER 2005)

 All figures have been taken from the Arizona Regional MLS. It includes most, but not all sales, and the information provided is deemed accurate but not guaranteed by ARMLS or Mike Bodeen.

 PHOENIX METRO REAL ESTATE REPORT  (MAY 2005)

STATS AND TRENDS CHANGES OFTEN. PLEASE CHECK BACK PERIODICALLY TO KEEP IN TUNE WITH OUR EVER CHANGING PHOENIX MARKET.

MAY VALLEY SALES PRICES CONTINUE UPWARD

I thought there might be some relief in inventory availability, and at least some cooling - butit didn't happen in May.  There was some buildup in Scottsdale, Cave Creek and Carefree, but inventory dropped in most all other cities and communities.

All figures have been taken from the Arizona Regional MLS. It includes most, but not all sales, and the information provided is deemed accurate but not guaranteed by ARMLS or Mike Bodeen.

HOME INVENTORY REPORT (May 2005)

Single Family Detached Report

Maricopa County's resale home inventory dropped in May 21% compared to the previous month of April.  Scottsdale was one of only a few areas that saw homes for sale increase --- and that was fairly significant, increasing 41% over April.

Paradise Valley saw its home for sale inventory drop 12% and now shows a median listed price of 3.1 Million.

HOMES CURRENTLY FOR SALE (MAY 2005) VS (APRIL 2005) 

CITY	May 2005	April 2005	% Change
Carefree	43	38	+13
Cave Creek	112	94	+19
Chandler	284	508	-43
Fountain Hills	134	138	-03
Gilbert	322	480	-33
Glendale	255	449	-43
Goodyear*	104	168	-38
Mesa	471	826	-43
Paradise Valley	166	189	-12
Peoria	225	311	-28
Phoenix	1219	1898	-36
Scottsdale	911	644	+41
Sun City West	44	100	-56
Surprise	294	378	-22
Tempe	107	145	-36
Maricopa County	5687	7176	-21

HOME RESALE REPORT (MAY 2005)

Single Family Detached Report

Two Words, Up and Down!

The number of sales in the Phoenix Metro Area was all over the board in May compared to May of 2004. Overall, in Maricopa County, home sales saw a slight gain of 1% over May 2004.

Cities that posted strong gains include Gilbert, Goodyear, Paradise Valley, and (no surprise) Surprise.

Same old story: Radically low inventory compared to 2004 caused fewer sales but higher sales prices.

All figures have been taken from the Arizona Regional MLS. It includes most, but not all sales, and the information provided is deemed accurate but not guaranteed by ARMLS or Mike Bodeen.