Gilbert Sun News Real Estate Guide September 2019

REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

Valley housing supply continues to shrink GSN NEWS STAFF

T

he Valley’s September housing market is continuing an “obviously hot and remarkably unbalanced” trend, according to a leading residential real estate analytical website.

The Cromford Report last week said the market continued to heavily favor sellers – fueled largely by a low supply of available homes for sale.

“Demand is some 8 percent above normal, which is strong but not too unusual,” the report said. “What is unusu-

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al is that supply is 43 percent below normal. We have had supply below normal ever since May 2011, but the weak flow of new listings has exacerbated the situation.”

The report said no area in the Valley, nor any type of housing has gone unscathed.

Compared to 2018, September listings are down 16.1 percent according to the Cromford

see SUPPLY page 6

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SPOTLIGHT TLIGHT home

Amy Jones Group

This nearly new Meritage Homes two-story sits on a premium cul-de-sac lot Sold for $463,500! See Page 3

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Janet Rogers

See Page 7

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REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

Gilbert market is hot – and likely to remain that way

BY MINDY JONES NEVAREZ GSN Guest Writer

W

ith the Gilbert Regional Park opening next weekend and temperatures finally within just a few degrees north (but preferably south) of the 100-degree mark, you can bet calendars are getting filled up with weekend activities.

There’s the Movies in the Park with the Gilbert Community Center, the Gilbert Off the Street Festival and – before you know it – turkey carving, tree lighting and fireworks ringing in the New Year.

It’s no surprise that with all of this activity in Gilbert, the housing market has followed suit with low inventory, excited buyers and appreciating sales prices indicative of a strong market fueled by the energy we know and love in this town.

With nearly 20 percent less inventory in Gilbert than there was just a year ago, the average sales price in Gilbert has

Meritage Homes

shot up over $380,000.

Homes are selling for more than 99 percent of list price – which means you’ve got to get out there quickly and know how to write a competitive offer.

We expect demand to be less between the months of July and January – in part due to all of those amazing community events and reasons to take advantage of the weather that makes the rest of the country swoon.

But we’re hoping that even a slight increase in inventory in the third hottest market in the Valley will be a nice reprieve for buyers on the move in the fourth quarter.

With demand for housing settling somewhere around 7 percent above what is considered normal for this time of year and the expectation that we should see some more inventory on the market between now and Turkey Day, we might be able to hold off explosive price increases for a few more months.

Buyers can continue to expect difficulty in finding properties under $250,000, given the average sales price in Gilbert.

There is less than a handful currently available and most of those are townhomes under about 1,200 square feet.

That won’t work for many first-time home buyers.

Sellers, on the other hand, may be tempted by billboards and radio ads offering fast, convenient sales.

But remember: that it won’t come without a price. If you are situated in a popular neighborhood of Gilbert (did we mention we are the third hottest city IN THE VALLEY?!) and are priced and marketed appropriately, a fast sale should be a given even in the fourth quarter.

But don’t think it’s as easy as sticking a for sale by owner sign in the yard. Cancellation rates are exceptionally high between failed negotiations over inspection issues and buyer cancellations over multiple offers.

You need back-up plan – and an expert to help you navigate even the best of markets.

So, what’s on the horizon? Continued low inventory provides opportunities

SPOTLIGHT TLIGHT home

This nearly new Meritage Homes two-story sits on a premium cul-de-sac lot with no neighbors behind you and recently installed landscaping in the backyard with new grass, sprinkler system, and desert plants and trees. With 3,690sf of interior living space this home offers a downstairs guest bedroom and bath perfect for home office or in-law suite, formal dining spaces and a gourmet kitchen with butler’s pantry, and four additional bedrooms upstairs including a master with private ensuite bath and laundry pass through, a guest bedroom with ensuite bath perfect for older teens, and two additional guest bedrooms with a jack-and-jill bath around the family-sized loft with game room. With exceptional curb appeal in the front including the stone paver drive around the three car garage and interior upgrades including granite counters and staggered cabinetry in the kitchen, an extra office nook off of the greatroom, and convenient builder’s warranties on the major components of the home - why wait to build new when you can have it all on this premium homesite. Across from a grassy area, within walking distance to the neighborhood parks with splash pads, lakes, basketball courts, and recreation areas, Bridges Elementary and the coming soon Gilbert Regional Park & Strand Waterpark - you are not going to want to miss this one!

Sold for $463,500!

(480) 250-3857 www.AmyJonesGroup.com

for buyers and sellers to earn money on one of the largest purchases they’ll ever make.

Gilbert is inching towards its 100th birthday in 2020 and Mayor Jenn Daniels challenging the community to anticipate change, create solutions and help people and our businesses.

So, we don’t expect prices to decrease, the market to slow down or homes to become more readily available in 2020.

Whether you are in the camp that believes a recession is imminent or at least know that economic adjustments are inevitable, it’s important to understand that they do not always bring housing crises. In fact, five of the last six recessions didn’t.

Gilbert is on a growth trajectory and housing is going to continue to be hot.

It’s a great place to live and that’s a good “problem” to have.

Mindy Jones Nevarez, a Gilbert Realtor and owner of the Amy Jones Group at Keller Williams Integrity First, can be reached at 602-451-4975, Mindy@AmyJonesGroup.com or AmyJonesGroup.com

GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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REAL ESTATE GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE re4

| SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

Maracay opens new gated community GSN NEWS STAFF

M

aracay has unveiled a 38-home community in Gilbert called Copper Bend.

The developer has opened two model homes in the new community, northeast of the Hunt Highway and Higley Road.

And while its ZIP code may read Queen Creek, the developer is being pretty adamant about Copper Bend’s location, stating in a news release: “While these homes have a Queen Creek mailing address, they are located in the Town of Gilbert, receive Gilbert services and have access to high-performing schools in the Chandler Unified School District, including Basha High School.”

Maracay is boasting that future owners will see “stunning panoramas of San Tan Mountain Regional Park and the surrounding mountains all from the comfort of their yards or at one of nine nearby, breathtaking hiking trails.”

It’s also banking on the development’s proximity to some of the best of three worlds – Horseshoe Park and Equestrian

Centre in Queen Creek, Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center in Chandler and Gilbert’s Seville Golf & Country Club.

The gated community’s homes will be located on quarter-acre lots, which Maracay said will provide not only big backyards but “generous distances between homesites.

Priced in the mid to high $400,000, the homes are being offered in four designs with Maracay’s “flex design” floor plans, which enable the developer to tailor space to the buyers’ preferences.

Ranging from 2,963 to 3,474 square feet, the floor plans can be designed to include an extended master bedroom, a butler’s pantry, a bigger kitchen or related amenities.

A Maracay representative told the Gilbert Planning Commission last year that the community, originally called Highland Vistas, will sit on nearly 20 acres.

He said the homes will come in the three architectural styles – Rural Mediterranean, Spanish and Desert Prairie – and 12 different color schemes.

Maracay can build the homes with any-

B where between one and four garages.

At the May 2018 meeting, several planning commissioners praised the color schemes and the designs and the panel approved the plan unanimously.

The houses also will be LEED-certified

with features that reduce energy consumption by has much as 50 percent, Maracay said.

That includes features such as tankless water heaters, Energy Star appliances and other efficiency-related technology.

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FHA eases mortgage rules for condos

GSN NEWS SERVICES

The homes in Copper Bend will come in three different styles with 12 different color schemes. When the plan came before the Gilbert Planning Commission, it drew raves from members. (Maracay)

REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

uyers are about to have an easier time scoring a mortgage to purchase a condo, Realtor.com reports.

A new policy announced last month “should significantly expand the number of individual condo units as well as condo developments eligible for Federal Housing Administration financing,” it said.

The government-backed mortgages are popular with first-time buyers because they require as little as 3.5 percent as a down payment, in many cases. But the vast majority of condos have not been eligible for FHA financing, which has been heavily restricted in the wake of the housing crisis that began in 2006.

The new rules, which are expected to extend eligibility to 20,000 to 60,000 additional condo units, go into effect on Oct. 15.

Condos tend to be popular with firsttime buyers and retirees looking to downsize from single-family homes and their maintenance, as well as folks living in urban areas with limited space.

They also tend to be cheaper than sin-

gle-family homes.

Nationally, condos and co-ops cost a median $260,100 in June – 11 percent less than the median $288,900 price for single-family residences, according to the most recent National Association of Realtors data available.

The data included only existing homes and not new construction, which tends to cost more.

“Condominiums have increasingly become a source of affordable, sustainable homeownership for many families,” U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said.

Despite the significance of condos to a large portion of buyers, after the hous-

ing bust it was seen as riskier to make loans for purchases of condos than for single-family homes. So in 2009, tough restrictions were put in place.

Under the revised rules, buyers who bought a condo that didn’t receive FHA approval will now be able to get FHA mortgage insurance. Currently, only about 6.5 percent of the nation’s roughly

150,000 condo projects are approved for the insurance program.

The new rules will “put the American dream within reach for thousands of additional families,” NAR President John Smaby said. Calling condos “often the most affordable option for first-time home buyers, small families, and those in urban areas.”

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Gilbert Real Estate Snapshot Provided by the Amy Jones Group Your Local Real Estate Team (480) 250-3857 | www.amyjonesgroup.com

@AmyJonesGroup Each office is independently owned and operated

...a Tradition of Trust

• Average Days on Market: 44 days Up from 48 Days Last Month

• Active Listings: 627 Down from 685 Listings Last Month

• Monthly Sales: 452 Down from 493 Sales Last Month

• Listings Under Contract: 552 Down from 551 Listings Under Contract Last Month

• Average Sales Price: $390,231 Down from $405,290 Last Month

• Monthly Supply of Inventory: 1.4 Same as 1.4 Monthly Supply Last Month

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REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

SUPPLY from page 1

7-figure home deal

This single-story, 5,000-square-foot home in the 6500 block of S. Marin Drive, Gilbert, recently sold for $1.28 million and was the only seven-figure deal recorded in the last month or so, although another home came close after it sold for $990,000. This home has five bedrooms and five baths with an open-floor plan that includes a formal living room with a fireplace and formal dining room.The gourmet kitchen has a huge island with breakfast bar, two sinks and a butler's pantry.

Outside offers a resort-style backyard with a pool, built-in barbecue island, gas firepit and even artifical grass for kids to play on. (Special to GSN)

Report.

“Active listings widened the gap compared to last year but declined much less in August than they did in July,” Cromford said. “Normally active listings grow each year between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, so even though the decline was gentle it is not good news for buyers.”

Cromford noted the market has entered a period where demand usually subsides until after the holidays since potential buyers and sellers are too busy with other things in their lives.

But come February, it warned, buyers can “expect a mad scramble” if a sharp increase in demand occurs.

“We will probably look back on (the third quarter of 2019) and wonder how prices managed to stay so low,” it said, suggesting a sharp increase in prices is likely.

Indeed, it said, “Based on existing data, the Cromford Report expects a strong upward trend in closed pricing between Octo-

ber 2019 and June 2020.”

“The overall picture remains that of a very strong seller’s market with demand above average and supply far below normal,” it said, noting that few Valley cities were showing any sign of cooling off.

“The market is suffering a severe shortage of inventory,” according to the report, which means the housing market fell significantly in every price range, except homes priced over $1 million.

Supply was down 50 percent in the $250,000-$300,000 range, over 40 percent in the ranges of $200,000-$250,000 and $300,000-$400,000 and down 28 percent I the $400,000$600,000 range, according to Cromford.

“A normal figure for months of supply would be between four and five, so 2018 was already quite tight,” it said. “Supply remains relatively plentiful above $1 million, depending more on how picky the buyer is willing to be.”

YO U R N E I G H B O R H O O D H O M E S A L E S 4509 S BANNING Drive, Gilbert, AZ, 85297 5 BD 4.5 BA 5,300 SQFT $974,900

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Beautifully desert landscaping on huge 3/4 acre lot. Interior courtyard is complete with foliage & fountain, and features separate entrance to casita. Casita has private bath, fridge, microwave & sink.

Inside the main home, majestic 12 foot high foyer to the separate formal living room to one side & dining room with butler’s pantry on the other. High 10-foot ceilings & chandeliers throughout, with carpet, tile & real hard wood. Huge chef-pleasing kitchen features commercial 6-burner gas cooktop, & GE Monogram appliances to name a few. Beautiful master bath with rainhead shower head with shower ledge & 1/2" glass surrounding, & oversized soaking tub. Giant master bedroom features sitting room area with exit right out to the extended covered back patio. Backyard is perfect with the pebble tech heated pool, natural travertine patio deck surrounding pool. Other features include 4-car passthrough garage. Call now!

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Need space for your RV and no HOA? Check, check, check. Nicely remodeled, 3 BR/2.5 BA, featuring a separate formal living and family room, laminate wood flooring and ceramic tile throughout downstairs and upstairs hall, new carpet in bedrooms, and two-tone paint. Large kitchen with granite slab counter tops and stainless steel appliances opens to family room with fireplace. Spacious master suite, updated master bath with over sized walk-in shower and vanity. Relax in your private backyard with fenced pebble tec pool and enough space to entertain guests. Conveniently located close to shopping, dining and freeway, this one won’t last long!

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GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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Brand new tiles throughout home, new water heater, two-tone paint.

Master en-suite has his and her vanity, separate tub and walk-in shower. Two bedrooms plus teen room (can be easily converted to 4th bedroom) are tucked away for great privacy. Nicely landscaped private backyard offering a sparkling Pebble Tec pool with water feature and built-in fire pit to unwind after a long day or entertain your guests... Neighborhood amenities include a lake, park and biking/hiking trails. Conveniently located close to shopping at dining at San Tan Village and 202 freeway.

Beautiful Chandler home, located in highly sought after community of Gila Springs! Outstanding 4 bedroom, 3 bath, with a pool. One bedroom and bath downstairs!! You won’t be disappointed.

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GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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