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Here is our newest listing, and it's a beauty. It feels like you can see forever from the comfort of your own living room. It could be a starter home, a second home or an investment. The market is heating up in Cottonwood, so don't wait too long to see it, or it might be gone.

1511 E Sandy Lane
Cottonwood, AZ

MLS# 512652 - Residential

This Cottonwood gem has it all. Immaculately maintained, this 3 bdrm 2 bath, 1665 sf home lives BIG featuring a modern open floor plan. Panoramic red rock views explode into your vision as you enter the home. Two patios & a deck make outdoor living plentiful & enjoyable. Large trees, wisteria bushes & the largest Lady Banks Rose bush on the planet s...

If you are looking for a great deal on a foreclosure, Sedona is probably not the place to do it. There aren't very many distressed properties available, and the banks don't seem to be willing to make the good deals that they used to when there were more of them. A couple of days ago I did a search for a client, and found that in Sedona, out of 232 active listings, there were only three foreclosures and one short sale. And one of the foreclosures had recently had a $20,000 price increase, reflecting what is going on in the is market. Inventory is low, so if you're waiting for prices to go down, it will be a very long wait.

As I have mentioned several times recently, the inventory of good Sedona homes in the $400,000 - $600,000 range is very low. When a good one in that range comes on the market now, it doesn't last very long. So if what you're looking for doesn't seem to exist, maybe you should just consider making one. How do you do that? Well, the FHA 203K loan rolls in the cost of the home as well as the cost of improvements into one loan. So you might be able to find a home that has the potential to be what you are looking for, and using the improvement dollars, create your dream home in Sedona!

As a result of a recent United States Supreme Court ruling on signage in the case of Reed vs. Town of Gilbert, the City of Sedona is reviewing its 20 year old sign code. It will try to balance the needs of local businesses with the desire to protect our natural beauty. One of the things that may change is that off premise signs for real estate and for garage sales may be prohibited. The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet again on March 30 and may approve a draft of the policy for submission to the Sedona City Council. To read the article in the Red Rock News, click here.

The land development code hasn't been updated for 22 years, so it's time. The code creates the rules for implementation of the Sedona Community Plan, which was developed in 1995. Obviously, there have been a lot of changes in Sedona since then, so this should be a welcome process. The city has hired Clarion, a consulting firm, to help with the process. To read the full article in the Sedona Red Rock News, click here.

Interest Rate have been going up since late last year, and will probably go up a little more as we work our way through 2017. According to a study done by MarketWatch, economists expect average interest rate of 4.5% this year. But what will that do to housing prices? Probably not much. Goldman Sachs economists predict that these higher rates could cause a 2-3% drop in home prices nationally. But in Sedona, this will probably be offset by the fact that demand is high and supply is low. Additionally, many home buyers in Sedona pay cash. Either way, it's not likely to have much of an impact. We expect slow, steady growth in home prices in spite of rising interest rates.

NBC News recently did a story on how it is becoming more difficult for young people to get into home ownership. I have commented before on the low inventory of affordable homes for sale in Sedona. And, of course, affordability is relative. For someone looking for a second home in a resort destination, $500,000 may qualify as affordable. But for a young family just starting out, that number may be more like $200,000. The Verde Valley offers a wide range of housing, with good values from the $100,000's up to multi-millions. Here is a link to that NBC News article.

Many of our clients either have solar power, or are considering it. Here are a couple of interesting factoids if you are thinking about it. 

1. The cost of solar panels has decreased by about 60% since 2010
2. The 30% federal Investment Tax Credit for Solar is in place through 2019
3. The average cost for electricity went up 44% from 2005 to 2015

And here is a link to a very informative website that can help you sort through all things solar

We never grow tired of the natural beauty of Sedona, and are grateful that we have been able to make it our home. As individuals and as a business, we take very seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of our natural resources. So we are proud to have earned the certification of Sustainable Business at the Bronze/Conservationist Level from the Sustainability Alliance. We encourage our friends, associates and clients to patronize other businesses that are also friendly to our environment.

I realize that even the title of this blog may be offensive to some. I remember a few years ago when I first heard the question "Do you consider your animal to be your property or a part of your family?" I hadn't had a pet in many years, as I was travelling a lot, so I really hadn't given it much thought. But even at that time, I leaned toward one of the family. Since then, we adopted Abby, and I am now firmly in the family camp. Let me introduce Abby:

I have to admit that I am smitten. So I was very interested to see an article about a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors about animals in the home, and how they affect real estate decisions. It turns out, not surp...

If you're thinking about making a low ball offer for a home in Sedona, now is not a good time to do it. Inventory is extremely low, and prices are on the rise. Additionally, the sold price as a percentage of list price is also going up. For example, last year at this time the sold price for a home in West Sedona was 92% of list. Today it's 98%. So, if you want that home, don't insult the seller with a low offer. You may not even get a response.

While mortgage rates have recently risen slightly, going from an average 3.97% a year ago to 4.16% now, they are still way below average historical mortgage interest rates. For the average home buyer putting 20% down, that translates into a monthly payment that is $21 more. This situation is described more fully in a recent article in CNN Money online. To read the whole piece, go to  http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/15/real_estate/rising-mortgage-rates/index.html?iid=SF_LN

After careful consideration, we moved to Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty in 2013. We felt that their image, programs and people were most consistent with our beliefs and the way we approach our business. We have always been pleased with the move, and now we have another reason to be proud. A study done by Lifestory Research shows that Sotheby's is the Most Trusted® Residential Real Estate Brokerage in the United States. Sure feels good to be working with such a great company!

Jan and I attended a couple of continuing education classes yesterday, and one of them was on the new new official real estate contract that will take effect on February 1. There are quite a few small changes that will serve to make the contract more clear, but there is one major change. That is that all seller warranties have been removed from the contract, which essentially means that homes are being sold "as is". However, to be more precise, the condition of the home must be the same as it was when the contract was accepted. It is now the buyer's responsibility to make sure that things are as they should be on their final pre-closing walk through. If it's not flagged at that time, too ...

One of the first acts of our new administration was to rescind the .25% reduction in the mortgage insurance rate that was to have taken effect on January 27. The current rate is .85%, and it will now stay that way. Before the last housing bust, the rate was .55%, and as losses started to mount, it increased to 1.35% to replenish the fund that is mandated to hold 2% of the potential FHA liability. According to the new administration, this proposed change was politically motivated, but that there is not enough cushion in the fund to lower the rate at this time. I don't know if that is true or not, but I do know that while we do have a healthy housing market, one thing that is holding potent...

The price on this listing was just lowered from $135,000 to $120,000. If you're looking for a lot in Sedona with a great location and incredible views, this is it!

73 Meteor
Sedona, AZ

MLS# 507862 - Land

This gently sloped, hilltop lot showcases the highly coveted, panoramic, red rock views to the North & East. Take advantage of the low maintenance, lush landscaping that nature herself provided as native Juniper trees & stunning Manzanita bushes cover the property The red rock views are jaw-dropping and you are within walking distance of restaurants, fine shopping, & access to the National Forest hiking trails. This centrally located lot has been surveyed, staked accordingly, and...

Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty has organized and supports a group of community minded individuals in order to focus our volunteer efforts for maximum effect. The group is called V-Corps, and I am proud to say that I serve on the Sedona committee. This past year we helped clean up the Oak Creek Canyon Watershed, collected food for the Yavapai Food Council, plucked invasive plants from the Verde River watershed, and rang the Christmas bells for the Salvation Army. Above is a picture of our group near the Verde River with yours truly second from the left in the back row.

The year end numbers are in, and 2016 was the best year in Sedona since 2005. To summarize, When looking at homes under $1,000,000, there were 423 sales, which is up 4% from 2015. Median sales price rose 10% to $479,000, and the average price per square foot climbed 6% to $230. For information on luxury homes over $1,000,000 and vacant land, go to our market statistics page.

Yesterday I wrote about the low inventory of available single family homes for under $1,000,000. What I didn't mention was the the segment where we are having the most trouble is in the $400,000 - $550,000 range. Jan and I have at least 10 clients who would purchase a home today if what they are looking for was available. Yesterday I also mentioned that the median price for homes sold now is $478,000. But the median price for active listings is $669,250, further demonstrating the shortage of homes in the middle price range.

I mentioned in a blog a couple of weeks ago that the market is getting stronger, and that trend is absolutely continuing. We still have over a week to go in this year, but we have been very active in December. Inventory, which has been low all year, got even lower. As of this week, there are only 203 listings for single family homes under one million dollars. To put that in perspective, we had 250 at the same time last year, and a few years ago there were times when over 400 were on the market. Anecdotally, I have a client who wants to purchase a home in Western Hills. Last week there were three available, and this week, only one is left. And, of course, the old law of supply and demand a...