How local should your real estate agent be?

We recently closed escrow on a home in the city of Buckeye that we helped a first-time buyer secure. They kindly sent a note thanking us for helping to make the experience as smooth as possible. They also stated how glad they were to have stuck with us, even as friend and colleagues were pressuring them to use a "local" agent. (We are based in Cave Creek, AZ) It got me to thinking "Is that a valid concern?"

As with many things in life, it depends. Information is so freely available in this hi-tech era, that it is relatively easy to garner information. In a previous life, when I lived in Los Angeles, it was not unusual to sell homes as far apart as Marina Del Rey to the west and back to Pasadena or Glendale to the east. In fact, I even sold one home that belonged to a friend in Palm Springs, some hundred miles away. Although some agents choose to concentrate on one particular area, it is not unusual for denizens of large metropolitan areas, such as Phoenix, to spread their wings a little. We have sold homes in areas as far north as Cave Creek and Anthem (and a vacant lot in Black Canyon City) to the home in Buckeye to the west, and houses in Gilbert and Mesa to the East. The only difference between Phoenix and Los Angeles is the commute time. From Cave Creek to Buckeye, a 70 mile trip, takes about an hour and a quarter. A journey of similar distance in L.A. would most likely take two or more hours.

The other important aspect in selecting my wife and I, is that we are very experienced agents. Between us, we have 25 years experience and therefore have run across, and solved, most problems you are likely to encounter in a transaction. We are experienced negotiators. We have many contacts. For example, we are currently representing a buyer on a home in Tonto Hills that has a private water company. A week before closing, the lender required a lot more information on the capabilities of that company. That info can only be obtained from the Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality and would take 10 days to access. We got that information the very next business day.

So the question becomes. Are you better off with a "newbie" who lives in Buckeye, or an experienced pro who is willing to undertake a 140 mile round trip to show you properties? How about the Buckeye "pro" who was selling homes for $265K three years ago? The exact same home that you just bought today for $110K. How helpful was their advice back then? And before you ask, we deterred many of our clients who did not need to buy over the last few years, soon-to-be-retireds, for example. There is much more to life than money.

Finally, any business depends upon referrals as its lifeblood, none more than real estate. That is why we are always willing to go the extra mile, literally, to satisfy our clients.

North Phoenix Real Estate Market, Healthy or Not?

In response to various inquiries, I delved into the statistics of an anonymous Phoenix area neighborhood to check the pulse of the market.

Around this time of year, whilst attending a never-ending round of cocktail parties that being a busy Realtor entails, one question is posed time after time..."How's the real estate business?" the truth is- not bad! It could be, and has been, far worse.

So I decided to run the numbers on a neighborhood that has homes for sale from the low $200's, up to the one million dollar mark; and here is what I found.

In the last six months there have been 37 genuine sales, not change of ownership by virtue of a property being returned to the bank. Of these sales, 13 (35%) were regular person to person, arms-length transactions. A further 43% (16 homes) were either REO's or short-sales, and the remaining 8 homes (21%) were sold at a loss by their owners. Currently, in the same area, there are 83 homes active on the market. This means that this community has slightly more than a 12 months supply of homes available; or slightly less than 12 months if the 8 homes that are currently "pending", actually close. Not good news for sellers but definetly a buyers market.

Clearly, from the numbers I have cited, two thirds of sales have been a distress sale of some kind, which is not good for sellers. However, buyers are out in force, and taking advantage of lower sales prices. If this trend continues, it will represent a great stride towards the return of a normal and balanced market-place. Once all foreclosed and bank owned properties are absorbed, we will begin to see a return to single-digit annual appreciation.

Strangely enough, we hear some buyers are still being reticent, lest prices fall further. Whilst, no one really knows for sure if they will, it is a lucky man who is able to buy at the absolute bottom, or sell at the absolute top. Most of us just need to ride the general wave of the trend to do well. Interestingly, during the crazed sellers' market of 2005-2006, buyers were falling over themselves to purchase a home in case they missed out to higher prices. My suggestion would be to take advantage of this current buyers' market and remember that, in the long term, a home is still the best investment you can make.

If you were unfortunate enough to have purchased your home at the wrong time, but are able to weather the storm; then do so. It will turn around soon.