Memorial Day..

In my recent trip to DC I was able to take some shots like these. At the time I wasn't even thinking of Memorial Day. Today I am though. This weekend is not just three days off from work. With many brave and honorable soldiers serving our country all over the world today we must not forget the sacrifice they make for us.

A big thank you to all that have served us and who are continuing to serve this great country.

I've been to DC a couple of times to see these monuments and the Korean War Monument is my favorite. Those soldiers in the field in all of their gear... something about it stir's me when I am there. However, each time I started the walk along the Wall at the Vietnam War Memorial I can't help to get choked up a bit as I walk along. The wall becomes larger vertically and when you start to see the names multiply in front of you... it's moving.

This is my simple tribute to all the brave men and women in the armed forces. It simply won't ever be enough.

Thank you.

Average Price Chart

Look at the chart above closley. Notice that the average price went up from 2004 to 2005 30%. Then you'll see a 15% rise from 2005 through the first four months of 2006. I'm guessing the 2006 average will come down more by the end of the year.

Why? Because there is plenty of homes on the market right now that aren't selling. I think the key for you if you are planning to sell is to place your property on the market for less than the current average price for a similar home to yours. No not down to the 2005 level, but you should expect less than maybe what your neighbors got last year at the peak. Still, if you bought your home in 2004 or before, you've done pretty well.

It is always my stance that your residence should not be considered an investment, I believe it acts more as a liability. Many so called experts are saying the end is near in the real estate market. I do think we are in for some tougher times, but if you had to sell your home today and you purchased it in before 2004 you will still come away with a nice proceed at closing.

While the pressure from investors is leaving the market, there will still be pressure from people who will be relocating to this area. I am not a market guru and don't pretend to be, but I still see a positive market for sellers just not at the same rate we've seen over the last couple of years.

please note that the figures for 2006 are based only on the first four months of this year, the average could be less by the end of the year with softening prices due to an abundance of SFR's on the market currently.

These numbers reflect sales of SFR's in the city limits of Kingman but include north Kingman and Valle Vista which are outside the city limits.

Pity

While I was away in DC the local elections in Kingman for mayor and council took place. During the primaries only 3800 or so folks bothered to show up to vote (there are about 13,000 registered voters). I thought for sure that we'd see a dramatic increase in turnout for the general election. Didn't happen. Only 4200 folks managed to take the 15 minutes out of their day. Sad really.

My candidates did not win, but this isn't the problem. The apathy shown by the voters who bothered to register in the first place is the problem. I'll use the rest of my time as president of my local realtor association to promote voting. We simply cannot leave the future of this city in the hands of a small minority of people any longer.

Fellow residents of Kingman should be embarrassed about the turnout to vote. We are still a very small community and actually can make a difference with our voting power.

Been in DC for the past week

Blogging was slow last week because I was in Washington DC for the REALTOR Midyear Legislative Mettings & Trade Expo. Had a nice walk from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial then back to catch a Metro train to my hotel. My feet hurt by the end and I got rained on. Living in Arizona I am not equipped with an umbrella and did not even wear my Phillies cap.

Saw the WWII Memorial for the first time and snapped the photo on top.

More blogging this week. I promise.

Perception, Sometimes

My sister in Hawaii sent me an email with the following photo's and I wanted to share them with you.

Your House

As seen through your eyes...






As seen through the buyers eyes...







As seen through your lenders eyes...







As seen through your appraisers eyes...






And finally as seen through your tax assessors eyes...





Yeah, it does feel like this doesn't it at times??

The State of the Bubble in Kingman

I've been reading a ton of sites with good and alarming information. There is plenty of stuff online that anyone can find about the real estate bubble and the panic that surrounds it.

I can't control the market, no one can. My hope is that all of you who have bought homes in the recent past (for living in) did so on locked rate mortgages. I've never sold a home to a family for a residence on anything other than a locked rate mortgage. I have had investors use creative financing on their property that they intended for rentals, but I also trust that those investors know what they are doing to a larger degree.

Interest rates are rising again and I read that folks who used a lending program such as an adjustable rate mortgage are now feeling the squeeze as their monthly payments are rising much faster and sooner than they thought they might. Key here is that this is what I'm reading, this is not something that any clients have told me about. Feel free to add your comments if you are experiencing this kind increase in your monthly payment.

On another note, I recently figured out how to do charts on Excel spreadsheets and have put together a chart to share with you. The chart below is a look at single family residence (SFR's) sales monthly going back to January of 2004.



For clarification, the data comes from SFR's that were sold only within the city limits of Kingman with the exeption of the north Kingman area (that includes a popular subdivision called Chaparel Mesa) and Valle Vista that are not within the city limits. These exceptions were included because these area's have many SFR sales each month. The data does not include mobil homes, multi-family homes, commercial property, or land purchases. I run this data set each month and have been doing so since the year 2004.

2004 and 2005 were considered barnburner years in this community. As you can see the number of units seller per month is declining so far this year and now we are below the level of sales compared to the previous two years. It will be interesting to see if in May the numbers start to go back up or not like the trend was in 04 and 05.

I'll update this chart again, and post other charts showing the trends of prices as well in upcoming posts.

What Did Les Have To Say?

I love politics and discussing them, however I'm not trying to make this blog poltical. However, last night there was a candidates forum at the Mohave County Community College and both council candidates and one mayoral candidate showed up. Where was the other candidate?

I've already made up my mind who I'm going to vote for in the mayor's election, but I think it would have been nice to hear from Les Byram (the candidate that no showed). I seriously don't know what platform he is running on. My perception is no growth for the city. It would have been nice to hear from him and his plans going forward for this growing city.

It's also my understanding that Les won't be showing up at another event where the candidates were invited to participate in. Makes me wonder if his heart is really in this race, or better yet, is his heart in the right place for the city of Kingman.

I wish all the candidates the best of luck for the May 16th elections.

April Numbers

Here is an update on the real estate market in the Kingman area for April of 2006. All numbers are for single family residences within the Kingman city limits and taken from the local MLS.

There are currently 604 listings on the market, average listing price is $253,039, median price is $227,950.

There are 187 homes that are currently under contract. The average price for a home that went under contract in April was $215,585, and the median price was $184,900.

62 homes were sold in April, average sales price was $192,107, median price was $182,450.

Of the number of active listings, 226 of them are brand new homes. This trend is steady. Of the new homes sold most are in the $165,000 to $190,000 range.

I'm telling my selling clients that they shouldn't expect to sell their home this year at 2005 price levels, or at least not to expect the continuation of the metoric rise in values to continue. This market is due to adjust similar to the way the Las Vegas and Phoenix markets started to towards the end of last year. There are still plenty of buyers coming into this market, but now there are many more options for those buyers. Options include getting a better price. Sellers will have to be more competitive than they had to be last year.

Looking ahead I still see this market gaining value in the coming years, however it will be a slower rise in values and it may dip somewhat this year. Kingman will continue to grow as there will be more job opportunites coming to the area and the climate is ideal for new retiree's. New home developments are still on schedule to begin with those ideas in mind.