OK, I admit it: I’ve been avoiding this website.
The last few weeks I’ve become frustrated with and exhausted by the Phoenix Real Estate Market and I’ve been taking it out on my blog. It’s become a symbol for me of the seemingly endless and futile attempts I’ve made lately to keep things together and make my deals work, so I’ve been neglecting my posting duties in a passive-aggressive attempt to get back at the craziness that has taken over my life. Ridiculous, I know.
Our market out here is in an adjustment phase. It’s a bit like a petulant teenager right now; desiring the maturity and freedom of the ‘normal market’ we’re headed toward, and still missing the free-wheeling, fast moving years we’ve just left. The sellers have been hearing from their neighbors all about the riches they can expect to get from their homes and the buyers are lashing back now with the ammunition that ‘the market is slower’ and ‘it’s a buyer’s market’. Everyone’s cranky and expecting more than he or she will eventually get.
I’ve been ‘working’ more than ever. Last week I had to triple my cell phone minutes to avoid another $330 cell phone bill. I haven’t had a weekend off in months and my recent culinary efforts have been next to nothing. Unfortunately, I haven’t seemed to be able to make anything stick. I’ve made no less than four offers in the last two weeks for three different clients and yet have nothing in escrow to show for it. Yesterday’s excursion is a prime example of why.
I met a client out at a new house I had found for him. It seemed quite promising on paper. Large and upgraded with two upstairs porches. In person, the house did not disappoint. I have to admit, if I had the income to support it, I would have considered buying it for myself. It had stunning travertine floors throughout with gorgeous detailed inlays. The kitchen was an absolute dream, with travertine counters, a large island, fabulous cabinets and updated lighting. The backyard was an entertainer’s paradise with a pool and built-in barbecue and seating for eight. My client said, “I can see this as home.” When we left, I agreed to go home and research the comparable properties in the neighborhood to see if it was appropriately priced. My client wanted this house.
When I looked into the comps, things got complicated. The house was listed at $600K, but there was another home in the neighborhood with the same floor plan also upgraded and with a pool, that had sold two weeks earlier for $489K. There was literally nothing in the subdivision to support anywhere close to the $600K price tag. I called the agent for the house (who was also the owner) and asked him to send me the comps he had used to price the house. He sent me houses several subdivisions over that were 15 years younger, custom and with twice the lot size. No appraiser would find them appropriate. I called the agent who had closed on the $489K house and he explained to me that that house had also started up above $600K and sat on the market for more than 6 months. He said the neighbors were convinced the houses were worth more and that it was all he could do to get the price on his listing down far enough to sell.
What it came down to was that the house we liked had only been on the market 4 days. The owner/agent wasn’t ready to see the light and come down at least $100K. My client certainly wasn’t willing to pay $100K over market value. We had a seller who wanted to sell and a buyer who wanted to buy, but no agreement whatsoever on what the house was worth. The potential deal was down the drain.
Welcome to the Phoenix market slow down. Exhausting and frustrating. I’m taking up yoga to cope.
