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Here is a beautiful condo in desirable Anasazi Village that we have just listed for sale. The upgraded finishes make it really shine, and it won't be available for long.

32 Tanager Lane
Sedona, AZ

MLS# 509098 - Residential

Centrally located in the heart of West Sedona, within walking distance of hiking trails, Sunset Park, grocery shopping, & restaurants is the perfect lock-&-leave condo. This lower level end unit has no stairs & it's large private patio, bordered by native trees, shrubs & arroyo, provides a front row seat to watch birds & wildlife. Unit has been updated with high-end kitchen appliances, alder cabinetry, & interior combo laundry/storage area. Bedrooms & garage ha...

The real estate market in the Verde Valley is off to a slow start in January 2016. The number of homes that closed in January was actually up 4%, but the number under contract declined by 13%. Part of the problem is that the inventory of active listings is 14% lower (769 last year compared to 657 this year) than it was a year ago, and it was low then. The good news is that more new listings came on this January than last January. The jury is still out on how strong our market will be in 2016. As one analyst said, he is slightly more cautious in his optimism than he was at the beginning of the month.

The answer to this question is "Maybe." Obviously, if you want to sell a home quickly, it should not look like a "project" to a potential buyer. That's especially true in Sedona where the median sales price for a single family home is around $440,000. For that amount of money, most buyers expect that the home will be basically move in ready. Also, the average return on money invested in remodeling is 50 - 80%, so the reason to do it is not to net more cash at closing, but to actually have a closing. Think about it from the perspective of the buyer, and invest wisely.

I know! I know! When the Federal Reserve finally raised interest rates, mortgage rates were supposed to follow. But they've actually gone down for the last four weeks in a row, and are under 4%. How is that possible, you say! Well, blame it on the stock market woes. When stocks tumble, as they certainly have, investors rush to the safety of federal bonds, which of course, lowers the yield. So it's still a great time to finance or refinance your home. Go figure.

If you're thinking about building a home in Sedona, whether it be this year or five years from now, this is a great time to buy the land. It's a buyer's market, and there are some amazing deals to be had. After an uptick in prices and sales in 2013 and 2014, this past year showed a nearly 20% drop in the number of sales, and a drop in the median sales price of 12%. However, because demand for homes is high and inventory is low, you can expect that to turn around.

After a slow holiday season and beginning of the year, we are really ramping up again. Look for six new listings that we will be bringing to market in the next couple of weeks. They will range from $350,000 to $1,400,000, so we will have something for nearly everyone!

Why should you work with a Realtor, rather than an app that will do all of the paperwork for you? Well, if you consider your home to be a commodity, the same as every other home in every other neighborhood, and human beings are not involved in the selling or buying, then an app should work just fine. But in the real world, that's never the case. So be sure to work with a Realtor who is more than just a facilitator. Here's the bottom line: Realtors who can only facilitate a normal transaction are replaceable cogs in a process. Counselors with education and knowledge who are experts in exception — unique problems, irregular negotiations and last-second emergencies — cannot be replaced by an...

It was another great year for Jan. Not only was she named Best Real Estate Agent in the Kudos Peoples Choice Awards, but she also finished again in the top 20 for home sales of all Sedona Verde Valley Agents. At number 14, that puts her in the top 2%. The bottom line is that Jan is great at matching the right buyer with the right home, and it shows in the results. Way to go Jan! 

In a nutshell, the real estate market is Sedona was unremarkable in any way. Home sales were up 4% from the prior year, the median sales price rose 2% to $437,000, and the average price per square foot increased 1% to $217. Inventory remains very low, with only 233 active listings as we enter the new year. For for more information as well as the scoop on luxury homes and vacant land, click here.

Following up on the information I posted last week, the following charts show the breakdown on the number of Sedona homes sold by size and age. As you can see, very few homes under 10 years old were sold. The demand is there, but not many homes were built from 2007 until the last couple of years. To see the whole report for 17 Arizona cities, click on this link.

Below is price information for homes in Sedona. This shows that in the second half of 2015, the number of new listings decreased while the median list price increased substantially. If you are looking for a home over $600,000, you have a lot of good choices. As you can also see, the number of homes sold for $400,000 - $550,000 was lower that homes priced above or below. The demand is there, but not the inventory. I will post more 2015 statistics in the next few days.

A few days ago I posted the standards that members of the Sedona Luxury Real Estate Professional adhere to with regard to buyers that they represent. Jan Bigelow has been a member of this exclusive group for five years, and embodies these standards. Below are the commitments that members make to Sellers that they represent.

We have posted information before on the benefits to buyers of working with a member of the Sedona Luxury Real Estate Professionals Group. This Association is comprised of 26 of the top real estate agents in Sedona. Jan has been a member for the past five years and exemplifies the standards stated below in the recent update.

Here are four very good reasons to buy a home in 2016:

1. The rate of price increases is expected to slow to about 3.5% next year
2. Inventory of homes on the market is expected to increase. One of the major factors that has limited home sales in Sedona is a shortage of good inventory. When a home that is priced well, is in good shape and has great views comes on the market, it doesn't last very long.
3. Mortgage rates are likely to increase as the year goes along, creating a new sense of urgency.
4. Rents will continue to rise, making home ownership more attractive.

Yes, it's true. On Friday, December 4, there is be a tree lighting event in Uptown, and the city has made arrangements to a special visit by Santa Claus. And then on December 12 we will kick off the Festival of Lights at Tlaquepaque. The holiday season is a great time to visit Sedona.

Google has announced that they are now in the business of helping to find you a mortgage. As a license mortgage broker, they will not actually fund the mortgages, but will aggregate quotes from local and national partners. Right now this service is only available in California, but they plan to expand to other markets. To read the full article click on this CNN Money Article link.

As you know, the market for new homes continues to get stronger, and in fact,new starts are now at their highest level since 2008. But according to a recent article in CNN Money, the homes that are being built now are different than those built in 2008. For example, they are larger and have more bathrooms. In order to see the whole article click this CNN Money Article.

The real estate market in Sedona has been very stable. The number of single family homes sold in the first ten months of the year is up 3% from prior year, and the median price is up 2%. While the demand for Sedona homes is high, there is a shortage of good inventory. Homes that are well priced are selling quickly, and those that are priced over market are not moving. Nothing new about that! For more detail refer o the Market Statistics page on our website.

Sedona's claim to fame is based on the natural beauty that we all enjoy. And, of course, it's very important to us to protect and preserve that beauty. In that spirit, the group Keep Sedona Beautiful proposed that much of the Verde Valley seek Monument status from the federal government. They felt that this would provide strong protections from unwanted and uncontrolled development. The Sedona Verde Valley Realtors Association took a position that there are better ways to protect Sedona, and after spirited debate, the City Council voted not to support the effort.

The new guidelines mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act are good protections for consumers, but they do add quite a bit of time to a residential transaction, if it is to be financed. The days of the thirty day close are history, and you should now count on 45 days from date of acceptance until close of escrow.