Tempe Agent News

July 2008 Metro Phoenix Home Sales Trend

Rod Rebello — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:02:54 +0000

There were 13,484 new listings in June, slightly up from 13,322 in June. Sold listings increased to 5,966 from 5,748 in June, a new 2008 high.

With higher sales, single family home inventory in Maricopa County continued to drop, running about 8.7 months, down from 9.3 in June.

Despite a new 2008 high in number of sales, median sales price dipped to $190,000 from $198,900 in June. Median list price broke below June’s $200K to $198,000.

Sales were at 96% of list, down from 99%, and are at 92% for the last 12 months.

Average list price also dropped a bit from 314,081 in June to July’s $311,586. Average sales price dropped to $249,228 from $264,500.

Data Source: Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS)
2001 - 2008 New Listing Chart
2001 - 2008 Sold Charts

New Arizona MLS map search

Rod Rebello — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:03:50 +0000

As mentioned before, the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) has recently switched to a new software system called flexmls. This system provides many more capabilities than the previous system called Tempo. I want to expand on one of the new mapping features.

Flexmls has a cool mapping function that lets me outline areas using polygonal boundaries. For example, now I can almost exactly define neighborhood search boundaries such as Alta Mira in Tempe as shown below. The old Tempo system allowed only rectangular boundaries, or that I anticipate all the ways agents might decide to name the neighborhood in the MLS. Both options are not very exact, and may leave some homes out of the search.

Once I have the area defined and other search criteria set up, I can send you a link to a “Portal” web page. Here, you login and can view the defined area and homes that have been found within it. It’s always up to date with the latest MLS information. In the example above, there are 5 active listings in Tempe Alta Mira. You would be able to click on each one for more information, zoom in, or turn on satellite view just like google maps.

Let me know if you have a particular area you want to look at, and I can get you set up with your own portal.

July 2008 Tempe Condo Sales

Rod Rebello — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:29:28 +0000

Forty-eight Tempe condos (classified as “Townhouse” and “Apartment Style” in the MLS), closed in July, 7 more than June. Active listings as of 8/16/08 are at 393, up from June’s reported actives of 387. Inventory dipped to about 8 months from 9 last month.

As predicted in my last report, average Tempe condo sales price fell to $216,929 from June’s $235,809, and will probably drop again in August based on pending sales.

Median sale price also dropped to $187,000 from $210,000.

As of 8/16/08, 20 condos have closed in August and 38 sales are pending.

Data Source: Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Previous Report: June 2008 Tempe Condo Sales

Tempe Homes: $150K to $250K

Rod Rebello — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:01:00 +0000

It seems that Tempe homes priced in the $150,000 to $250,000 price range are currently in the “sweet spot” of pricing for many buyers, at least for most people contacting me. In Tempe, as of 8/14/08, there are 173 single family homes out of about 500+ active listings that fit in this range. Of those, 12 are bank owned, and at least 32 are short sales. However, there are probably several more short sales since many agents don’t clearly indicate that a listing is a short sale.

You can view the Tempe listings in this range by clicking here.

You can search on my website for all listings in the Tempe/Phoenix area MLS by clicking here. Be sure to sign up to have listings automatically sent to you. Or you can send me your requirements and I’ll customize a search for you directly in the MLS system.

Tempe Single Family Home inventory down 57% since January

Rod Rebello — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:35:44 +0000

Tempe single family homes months of inventory has been creeping up since May when it dropped to a year low of 5.44, to July’s 6.34. Still, inventory is down 57% from the high of 14.7 in January. You can check out the chart and numbers.

All data taken from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS).

The Mortgage Rescue Bill - what’s in it for me?

Rod Rebello — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:12:16 +0000

Now that the new Mortgage Rescue Bill (HR 3221 Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 ) is in effect, you may be wandering how it may help you if you are having problems with your current loan. Shailesh Ghirmire of the Arizona Mortgage Guru has a step by step guide to help you decide if this will work for you.

Other key elements of the bill you may want to check out include the elimination of most FHA seller assisted down-payments, and a change in the calculation of capital gains tax for home sales.

Loop 101 HOV lane construction begins through Tempe

Rod Rebello — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 02:35:30 +0000

As I noted back in March, the Loop 101 HOV lane construction was slated to start in July. Well, one month late, it starts tomorrow, August 2nd with shutdown of the northbound 101 over the weekend between Baseline in Tempe and the Loop 202/Red Mountain Freeway. Next weekend, the southbound lanes are closed. For both weekends, lanes will be closed from 11pm Friday to 5am Monday.

This first phase of the 14 month project (completion in Fall 2009) is to set up a construction zone in the median. Once in place, all lanes will be kept open, although speed limits will be lowed to 45 and 55mph.

This project will link up with the section of 101 HOV lanes currently under construction through Scottsdale scheduled to be open next spring.

Change in home capital gains exclusion to hit sellers

Rod Rebello — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:39:35 +0000

In addition to the change in FHA down-payment assistance hitting buyers, many sellers also will feel the pain due to the new 2008 housing act. There’s a new formula for calculating the amount of capital gains exclusion on home sales discussed at Dan Green’s The Mortgage Report.

If you lived in your home less than 5 years and are planning to sell in the near future, you may want to consider doing so in 2008 to get maximum capital gains benefit. As noted in Dan’s article, you should consult with a professional tax adviser to review how this change may apply to your situation.

Tempe Agent News Hits 2000 Views

Rod Rebello — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:19:39 +0000

Just over two months ago, my blog hit a one month record of 1,000 views. That milestone took about 7 months to achieve. Two months later, the blog views have doubled to over 2,000 views in one month! It’s exciting to see viewership take off, and I’ll do my best to keep up the interest level. Thanks again for stopping by.

New ARMLS MLS system is online

Rod Rebello — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:32:33 +0000

I had previously wrote about a planned conversion to a new MLS system from FBS Systems called flexmls® Web. Well, it’s now live and online as of Monday, July 28th.

However, the change is not without some issues. No new transactions were allowed into the system over the weekend to allow the switch-over without losing data. Now FBS is trying to catch up with all the pending transactions. With a reported 4000 plus updates hitting all at once, the new system is getting bogged down. Add to that everyone logging in to update their client information (none of the saved searches carried over automatically). Many Realtors and their clients are getting frustrated.

This should be a temporary situation as they get caught up and Realtors start using the system on a more normal schedule. FBS has also said they are working to improve performance. I really do like the new system and features which will enable me to provide better service to my clients. Like all new systems, it usually takes awhile to get used to and become proficient again.

If any of my clients are reading this and have concerns, please contact me and I’ll do my best to work out your particular issues. I may need to tweak your searches from how they were configured in the old system. So far, my client feedback has been positive about the new system.