We are following the advice of the CDC and scientists and have opted not to create a super spreader event in the heart of downtown Phoenix.
In light of all that, we are highlighting all our vendors on line for the entire month of December, with the help of Local First’s Shop Local platform, coming soon.
We are taking applications at the Phoestivus website for vendors. You need to be locally-owned, you need to create your own goods for sale and you need to fill out the application. We prefer if you are also a member of Local First, as they will ask you to be one if you want to sell through their website.
Unlike in past years when the Phoestivus Market has been a fundraiser for the Downtown Phoenix Farmer’s Market, this year we are devoting all of our energy to just help those amazing local vendors to survive and thrive.
We’ve always found that adverse circumstances often lead to new and creative ideas. We expect many to come out of this experience.
So, please follow Phoestivus on Instagram, where you will soon see announcements for the many amazing vendors that we have lined up for you.
In the end, we know that Phoestivus is unique. You could buy something from Amazon, and just make its CEO even more absurdly wealthy than he already is. Or, you could be part of an experience, a community and a feeling of unity.
You’ve always been amazing in how you support our community while you have fun doing it.
We never have nothing. We are working with a couple sellers who will have their properties ready for sale in the next couple months.
We also sold that efficiency condo at the Embassy Condominiums, the one with the great views. We also helped our other clients sell their townhome and find the right new home, which they will begin major work on soon. They will be expanding it to make their dream home.
But, between nervousness over the election and the extreme shortage of listings, we are taking a little breath in the November update.
I want to take this pause to re-assure you that the market stable, if priced high. This is not the market of 2006, when people were getting zero-down liar loans. Certainly we don’t know what is coming around the corner, but with all the election drang and sturm, it can feel like nothing will ever be normal again.
But the thing to remember about the real estate market is that it changes course more like an aircraft carrier, than like a schooner. If you are out looking for a home, every indication we have is that prices will continue to climb. This is due to the fact that so many homes have been taken out of circulation by companies and individuals buying them up as rental and as AirBnB, plus the lack of new in-fill developments where people want to live.
That dynamic is not going to change any time soon. The number of interested buyers would have to drop by over 50% in order to see any change in prices. And, if the pandemic didn’t do that, there is not much else that would.
If you are thinking of buying a property, you can feel comfortable moving forward. If you need to sell, don’t be afraid. You will definitely do well.
If you are thinking of renovating and selling your property, call us at 602-456-9388. We can help you plan to stand out in this market.
Donna Reiner, a local historian and a good friend of Get Your PHX, has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials. This month, she tells us about the Avery House, a distinct bungalow that has its origins in citrus.
We use her services when we list properties of historic significance to help us tell the stories behind the homes.
We are happy that Donna is allowing us to re-publish some of her articles on a monthly basis. If you or your business ever needs a historian, let Donna know at laydeescholar “at” hotmail.com.
Photos are courtesy of Rafterhouse, LLC, the current owner of the house
On 44th Street just north of Indian School Road stands a Craftsman Bungalow amidst much younger mid-century modern homes. Newcomers might think that it’s a new build in the style of; but while it looks rather spiffy with its new paint and landscaping, the house will actually be 100 years old next year!
How that house came to be at that location is a bit of early Phoenix history with citrus overtones.
Back in January of 1910, Frank and Emma Avery arrived in Phoenix. They came in part to visit friends from Spearfish, North Dakota, and in part to determine if this would be a good environment for Emma and her respiratory issues. Frank had been ranching in Wyoming, but his interested was peaked by the acres and acres of citrus growing in the east Phoenix Orange Belt especially near the Arizona Canal.
Avery’s good friend Henry Leppla must have sold Frank on trying his hand at raising citrus since the Averys quickly became the proud owners of 10 acres complete with a small wood-frame house. Frank and Emma headed back to Wyoming in June and it did not take them long to decide that a permanent move to Phoenix was going to happen by October 1st.
Citrus can have its ups and downs depending on the weather and rain, but this property was ideal. Avery even discovered a “new” orange variety on his property and propagated it. That orange ripened early and was quite sweet. Thus, it became called the Early Avery.
But Avery was not merely content with raising citrus. No, he became involved with the Arizona Citrus Growers Association and eventually served as president of the association for 9 years. During that time, this co-operative rapidly expanded as the amount of citrus grown in the greater Phoenix area increased and the demand for Arizona “sweets” in other parts of the country exponentially grew.
Curious about the house? His first home on the property burned and the Averys rebuilt. Avery had the current house built in 1920. One story, it has a full basement with a fireplace connecting to the living room fireplace and a cistern. It was a comfortable place for the Averys who had no children, but did have live-in help.
Today when you drive by you will not see any citrus. What happened? By 1949, the 10 acres were bare. By 1963, the house was surrounded by subdivisions of new homes. An office now, the Avery House stands as a testament to times gone by.
In this November Market Update, we are continuing to monitor a dramatically lower number of listing as compared to this time in 2019. This data comes to you from The Cromford Report and covers all areas and all types of homes.
Active Listings (excluding UCB & CCBS): 8,682 versus 14,525 last year – down 40.2% – but up 7.4% from 8,101 last month
Active Listings (including UCB & CCBS): 13,901 versus 18,322 last year – down 24.1% – but up 4.5% compared with 13,305 last month
Pending Listings: 7,862 versus 5,919 last year – up 32.8% – but down 1.7% from 7,999 last month
Under Contract Listings (including Pending, CCBS & UCB): 13,081 versus 9,716 last year – up 34.6% – but down 0.9% from 13,203 last month
Monthly Sales: 9,992 versus 8,037 last year – up 20.5% – and up 3.6% from 9,641 last month
Monthly Average Sales Price per Sq. Ft.: $207.37 versus $174.14 last year – up 19.1% – and up 4.3% from $198.84 last month
Monthly Median Sales Price: $332,000 versus $285,000 last year – up 16.5% – and up 1.6% from $326,800 last month
The flow of new listings remained strong until late October but has started to fade noticeably over the last weeks. Since we are already very short of supply, this does not bode well for buyers who are likely to be fighting each other over a dwindling list of homes for sale during the last 2 months of the year. With demand at a very high level, especially for the normally quiet fourth quarter, the market is even more out of balance than it was last month.
Closed sales were over 20% higher than in 2019 during October. This is even more remarkable given that in 2019 October had 23 working days, 1 more than in 2020. With the average price per square foot up over 19% from last year, the dollar volume is exceptionally high at $4,272 million, up from $2,786 million last year. And last year we thought we had a strong market. We are running out of superlatives to describe the state of the current market.
Average and median prices are running away skywards, but some of this is fueled by a sales mix which increasingly favors upscale properties. During October we saw 37 closed listings over $3 million. This is not only the highest total for any October in history, it is the highest total for any month in history. The average for all months since 2001 is 9 and in October 2019 we counted 10.
The size of the market below $300,000 is shrinking fast, constrained by lack of supply and by the fact that last year’s home at $270,000 is now priced well over $300,000. However any home priced under $300,000 is likely to see hordes of buyers.
Is there any sign of the upward surge in pricing losing pace as we enter the November market? In a word – No.
At this time last year we had no idea of the impending pandemic, but unless something similarly surprising happens in the next few months, the housing market in Greater Phoenix is unlikely to stop rising.
We can help you build a strategy to buy or sell a home, even in this crazy market. We have the experience to help guide you. Call us at 602-456-9388.
