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Coldwell Banker

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www.cbsedona.com

RE/MAX Sedona

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www.remaxsedona.com

Real Estate Brokerage promotes Sedona Home Sale

A local Sedona Real Estate broker has moved forward with a plan to increase activity during the last week of the August - typically a slow month in Sedona real estate.  The Sedona Home Sale will run from August 22nd to September 1st 2008 and will accomplish two goals…

1)prove to buyers that there are some great deals out there - and inspire them to buy now while we’re in a buyer’s market.

2) Assist sellers that have more motivation to sell their home quickly. 

There are over 80 homes that will be participating in the Sedona Home Sale - and they’re all offered at a price 5% or more off of the previously listing price.  With approximately 700 homes for sale in the Sedona area, this means that over 11% of all homes in Sedona will be on sale for this event.  There are two more bonuses as well - the affiliated lender Coldwell Banker Mortgage is offering free appraisals for any home purchased during the span of the sale (August 22- Sept 1, 2008).  Also, the brokerage will donate $250 to a local charity for each home sold during this period.   This means that Coldwell Banker will be helping people move into homes and helping some worthy charities within our community as well. 

Coldwell Banker First Affiliate Broker Tod Christensen has written about this sale on their website…

“This promotion started as a small brainstorming idea I had in early July and has mushroomed into the 80+ home sale you will soon see. As the dominant company in Sedona Real Estate both in Listings and Sold homes we knew we had many sellers who had already priced their homes well within market values, but we also knew that buyers like yourself were still somewhat nervous about Real Estate based on what you hear in the media. So we contacted all of our sellers and asked them if they would be willing to discount their home even further for a short time in order to convince buyers that this is the “Buy Now” sign they had been waiting for.

     Much to my surprise over 80 home owners enthusiastically responded. This represents 10% of ALL the homes currently for sale in Sedona! We also asked the home buyers to discount their prices at least 5% below the current asking price (which had already been reduced in many cases) and again to my surprise many home owners went well beyond that request. In fact one home owner has made the decision it is simply time to move on and reduced the price of that home by 25%! Some of these discounts are permanent but many will only be good for the actual days of the sale. Either way this is the first opportunity to purchase these homes at the new lower prices. You can judge for yourself but it is our opinion that the prices on these homes represents a truly exceptional buying opportunity.”

Comment now » Read more August 22nd, 2008

Solution to Sedona Foreclosures

In this current state of affairs in the Sedona, there are plenty of homes on the market in August 2008 - and buyers are starting to come back.  It’s been fairly busy for the last week or so with buyer inquiries, showing properties and dealing with offers.  However, there are still plenty of homes out there that are priced well and the sellers need to sell.  I came across a situation yesterday that’s not totally unusual.  A Sedona homeowner bought a home in Spring of 2006 (the height of the market) and is now relocating and wants to sell.  They originally put 10% down on a 350k home… and now the market’s slipped and the same home is now worth approximately 299k.  The homeowners owe 320k on the home and would love to just walk away without any penalties.  I might have the solution.  After speaking with a few lenders… they’ve counseled them to phone their mortgage lender and tell them that they’d like to give them the deed back… Deed in Lieu of Forclosure it’s called.  Depending on the goodwill of the lender they will do one of two things:

1)Mark the debt as “Paid as Agreed”   This is the best case scenario where you give the lender back the home because property values have dipped lower than the current loan…. and you’re not dinged on your credit.

2)Mark the debt as “Settled Account” - This isn’t nearly as good, because there are repercussions on your credit score(s) of about 50 points.  For reference sakes… I’m told that a foreclosure on your record can ding your score up to 250 points. 

Either way… (if you’re in this same situation) when you’re dealing with the lenders you’ll want  to get anything they tell you in writing before you do do the “Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure”  So,if you’re speaking with someone and they promise that you’ll be “Paid as Agreed” you’ll want to have them FAX you a signed statement that agrees to that before you move forward.  As always… you should check with a real estate attorney and/or tax consultant before you finalize your plans for something like this.

I hope this helps someone….

Comment now » Read more August 1st, 2008

Sedona builder won’t buy back crack house!!!

I knew I’d draw you in with a title like that.  It’s actually on the cover of the RR News today - but I’d heard about it 9 months ago on CNN.com  It was the lead story back then… but a local homeowner bought a home a few years back built by a large scale local builder.  2 years and 2 months after they bought the home, it started literally cracking apart.  It’s built on an area of the VOC that was a large drainage wash in the past.  Major settling has taken place and the home is falling apart, but because it happened after the 2 year builder warranty timeframe - they’re claiming that theres nothing they can do.  If you’re buying a home in Sedona, you’ll certainly want to make sure that your builder would stand behind his product…

Comment now » Read more July 18th, 2008

Largest Building site in Sedona

Yes, times are tough for contractors and subs these days - but there is a huge project under construction in the VOC.  It’s a $30 Million dollar project that’s already broken ground out on Verde Valley School Road - near the VV School.  The project is called Camp Soaring Eagle will be a medical facility designed to look like a camp that will show chlidren with serious illnesses the camp experience of a lifetime.  It’s been in the paper a few times, but this important project is a cooperation between private donors and Paul Newman’s ideas…  read more at Camp Soaring Eagle

At times, life can be challenging, so imagine what life is like for those struggling with cancer, AIDS and other serious illnesses. Now, imagine that the people with these illnesses are children. Seeing this firsthand, actor Paul Newman created a place where children with life-threatening conditions can “kick back, relax, raise a little hell, and just be kids.”

Comment now » Read more July 16th, 2008

Declining market effect on Sedona homeowners

As a Sedona homeowner, you’re probably well aware of what’s gone on in the market if you read the newspapers, watch TV, read news on the web, podcast, whatever.  Prices are down across the country for properties, and we’ve definitely been affected by the slowdown.  Prices have come down in Sedona, however it’s not as drastic as it is in other market like Phoenix, Vegas, Miami, etc.  However, now that banks are starting to notice the reduced valuation, some banks are starting to pull their second mortgages on homes.  So, if you have a second mortgage on your home in Sedona, expect a letter in the mail from your bank freezing your access to funds.  I’ve heard of it happening to different people around town… and thought that this notice might do somebody some good out there.    This just shows that the banks want to preserve their investment by not allowing people to over-borrow past the value of their house.  It’s smart of them to do this and it might prevent some future issues with certain borrowers.�

Comment now » Read more July 16th, 2008

Easy to search for Sedona Foreclosures

In response to the recent uptick in the number of short sales and foreclosures in Sedona, the local Sedona Verde Velley Board of Realtors has added a field to all current listings to show if the homeowner is in some sort of financial difficulty.  Now you’re able to phone or email your local agent and ask them to make a list of all available “Deals in Sedona”.

This list will only feature a small number of homes, but any buyer should be aware that there are low prices on most homes in Sedona due to the high level of inventory and long term potential gains.  Indeed, investors and second home buyers are purchasing properties to take advantage of the low prices (some are up to 25% off from prices 2 years ago).  It’s a great time to be a buyer in Sedona, so if you thought you were priced out of the market a few years ago… it’s time to come back and take another look!

Comment now » Read more July 9th, 2008

Sedona Buyers market won’t last forever

1 Comment » Read more June 13th, 2008

Sedona Selling prices coming down for Summer ‘08

I just saw something interesting happen in local real estate sales.  Just this AM, there was a closing for a piece of vacant land in the VOC… but that’s not the unusual part.  This lot is in a newly developed subdivision that was a great bargain in 03-04 when originally marketed by the developer.  Lots generally sold in the 170k range… and were soon after selling in the 200’s, then 250k range, then over 300k in a matter of a few years.  Well, as you probably know, vacant land has been relatively stagnant and prices have come down.  I sold one of these lots a few months back for a GREAT price of 210k.  That reflected the sellers desire to offload this piece of vacant land.  Well… today a similar lot was on the market for 175k… and just closed for a hair over 157k.  That means that the seller is losing 35k or so… plus his holding costs.  This shows the importance of selling at the right time… In a declining market like this, prices are falling.  As a seller it’s better to offer your home at a perceived “low price” now to get some buyer activity and to sell your lot for a fair price.  There are chances that if you price it too high, it wont sell and the market could further decline and you’ll end up having to sell at an even lower price just to meet the market.�

Comment now » Read more June 6th, 2008

Sedona May Market Update

I ran the monthly stats yesterday and found that we’re up about 10% in inventory across the board (comparing April to May)- both homes and lots… which is yet another good sign for buyers.  The market continues to move along at a decent pace - with buyers snapping up great deals in every price range.  I’ve heard that the lending industry is about to get easier for Sedona buyers… Yavapai county will be upgraded from a declining market on June 1st.  That means that the you’ll be able to pick up properties with less money down than you can right now.  Talk to your lender or read Eric’s posts on the Red Rock News Mortgage News blog to see if he has something to say about this. 

There’s as many new sales today as new listings… that hasn’t happened recently.  That shows that we’re still in our busy spring period - there were 6 new sales in town yesterday/today.  Another bit of good news (for one segment of the market at least) is that there are currently 3 homes over $2 million in escrow.  That bodes well for the health of the market… as does the high activity level in the lower price ranges (sub $400k)

Comment now » Read more May 20th, 2008

Sedona Real Estate woes finished???

Well… it may not be over yet, but I wanted to give everyone some hope to let you know that the end is near.  I’m attaching an article from yesterday’s WSJ that’s speaking about the state of the market nationwide.  I know that Sedona is it’s own market… but like the rest of the country we’ve been in a bit of a funk for the last two and a half years.  Booms and busts are cyclical and I’ve heard mentioned before that they come and go in three year spurts.  Take a look at the attached article and let me know your thoughts…  http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2008/05/07/the-housing-crisis-is-over/?mod=WSJBlog

Comment now » Read more May 7th, 2008