Phoenix Arizona Waterfront Homes

The Ins and Outs of a Short Sale

Short sales have gone from being a rare and infrequent occurrence a couple of years ago to a significant number of the real estate transactions in Phoenix due to the number of homeowners with negative equity that need to sell.

Simply stated,  a short sale is when the proceeds from the sale are less than the amount owed and the sale is contingent upon an acceptable agreement between the seller and the seller’s creditor(s).

The chart above furnished by The Cromford Report shows the percentage of distressed sales for each city for August 2009.  The blue bars represent the portion of total sales that were short sales.  As banks are increasingly reluctant to foreclose, short sales are on the rise.  For example, short sales accounted for more sales than bank-owned homes during August in Anthem.  And in Fountain Hills, short sales were equal to the number of foreclosure sales.

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The Springs in north Chandler

Each lake community has it’s own personality and character.  For The Springs in Chandler, that would be the terraced lakes which create continually flowing small waterfalls that make some parts seem more like a stream.  Instead of the typical mesquite and palo verde trees so common in most communities, The Springs features tall pines trees along the streets and lakes.  At times  when you’re  looking  at the waterfront lined by large pine trees,  you momentarily forget you’re in the desert of Arizona.

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Secluded Custom Luxury Home Community in Chandler Az

It is hard to get exposure and achieve name recognition when there are only 20 homes in the entire subdivision. However, that’s probably the way the residents of Wellington Estates in Chandler want it!  This  quiet gated luxury lake community features 20 custom homes and 8 of them are on waterfront lots. The smallest lot size is over 15,000 sq.ft. (1/3 acre) and the homes range in size from 2,900 to 4,900 square feet.

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Phoenix Luxury Waterfront Homes in Lake Communities

Some of the most coveted luxury home locations are those in lake communities with  a waterfront view.  Very few waterfront or lakefront homes are being built with the slowdown of new home subdivisions.  A luxury home on a waterfront lot makes a fanastic combination that provides the owner with a unique oasis setting in the desert.   The following luxury home links list waterfront homes above $500,000 in various parts of the valley.

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Veterans Oasis Park in Chandler includes Urban Fishing Lake

If you are looking for a place for a family picnic or to just hang out, the Veterans Oasis Park that sits on 113 acres may be your answer. There are over 4 miles of biking and hiking trails,  ramadas and picnic areas, and equestrian trails.   Among the many activities,  the 5 acre urban fishing lake is stocked with trout, bluegill, catfish, large mouth bass and other types of fish,  is next to the Environmental Education Center.  Arizona’s Urban Fishing Program is nationally recognized as one of the best in the nation.  Another feature of the park is the 78 acres of wetlands, riparian, and ground water recharge basins. You’ll also feel safe because a Chandler Police Substation also shares the a portion of the 113 acre park.

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Sun Lakes Active Adult Community abounds in waterfront homes

Amazingly,  Sun Lakes has over 430 waterfront homes, and that is not counting those homes on golf courses within Sun Lakes that also have lakefront property.  This may come as a surprise since Sun Lakes is known for it’s well manicured 18 hole golf courses, and 5 club houses.  This 3,500 acre active adult community is home to approximatley 16,000 residents.

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The next time you turn on the faucet or take a shower, take time to realize that you live in a desert where the average rainfall in the Phoenix valley is less than 9 inches/year but  the average person uses 150 gallons of water PER day.  So how do we satisfy our “thirst” for water that exceeds our natural supply  in the valley? Read the rest of this entry

Are there basement homes in the Phoenix area?

As of this writing there are 635 listings for homes with basements in the Phoenix metro area, out of  a total of 25,941 listings for single family homes.  Less than 2.5% of the total homes available for sale have basements.  Those that have moved here from other states, which is about everyone,  always ask why the scarcity of basement homes.   You’ll certainly get a variety of answers.  Read on for the real reasons!

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Days On Market by Price Range and Pending Sales for Phoenix Real Estate

The media continues to publish at every chance the woes of the housing industry; mortgage meltdown, rising foreclosures, negative equity and short sales, builders declaring bankruptcy, rising unemployment, etc.  These are valid concerns and I see them taking their toll everyday.  But somedays, it doesn’t feel like it.  Especially when there multiple offers on short sale after just three days!  Or competing with 9 other offers for a lender owned property that has been on the market for a week.  It feels like 2005 again. But the typical buyer response is “But it’s a buyers market.” Or ” I just read that home prices are still going down!”  I believe that the Phoenix metropolitan area median price will continue to trend downward this year, but remember it is the median calculation for an extremely large market covering many sub-markets and price ranges.  Real estate is local and cannot be lumped into one all inclusive headline as the media loves to do. So let’s break it down by price range and cities.

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Market analysis & trends of waterfront homes

Now that we’ve finished up with the 1st quarter of 2009, it is a good opportunity to review what transpired during the first 90 days of 2009 for waterfront homes for the southeast valley, including Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Sun Lakes, and the Ahwatukee Foothills.  The data is from the Arizona Regional MLS for waterfront property.  I used waterfront information for the 1st quater 2008 , 4th quarter 2008, and 1st quarter 2009.  I only used sales of single family homes.

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