12 minute read
BUSINESS
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Coldwell Banker exec sees home sales staying strong
BY PAUL MARYNIAK
Progress Executive Editor
Looking back at 2021, Realtors might be tempted to paraphrase Charles Dickens: It was the best of times and the craziest of times.
Just ask Greg Hollman, the Scottsdalebased president of Coldwell Banker Realty Arizona, a position he has held the last seven of his 25 years in home sales for one of the nation’s largest and oldest full-service residential and commercial real estate brokerage services.
As he looks back not just at this year but the Age of COVID, he marvels at how the economic uncertainty of the first couple months gave way to one of the hottest housing markets ever – and one that defies most conventional real estate wisdom by showing no end in sight. “It definitely has been an interesting year,” Hollman said.
“When you go back to COVID originally coming on to the news media and not knowing the effects that it would have and how it actually ended up in many ways outliving predictions of doom and gloom and has actually excelled ever since, I think that is a very interesting fact.”
And surprising, he added.
“I think it took most of us by surprise – not knowing how people would react to a situation during a pandemic,” Hollman said. “But if you think about it in hindsight, it makes sense.
“I mean, we’ve had an historically low interest rate. And you had a situation where people were seeking homes that worked better in their current situation – homes where they could work from home. And there were those who wanted to make sure that they weren’t waiting longer to achieve their dreams and just decided to pull the trigger and get it done. So, I think it's surprised most everybody.”
“I haven’t seen a market like this, certainly, at this kind of sustained clip that we have seen… Just when we think it might be cooling a little bit, the market picks up again.”
Fueled by high demand, a historically low inventory and a huge migration of people to Arizona, “it’s just been a very, very strong market this past year,” Hollman said.
“A lot of people are looking to move up, a lot of people are looking to move into areas that they desired for a long time but couldn’t do so because of their job location and now they’re able to. And cer-
Greg Hollman
Increased crowds and sales noted at Fashion Square
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
Scottsdale Fashion Square is rounding out its holiday season with increased foot traffic and by providing a whimsical holiday experience for shoppers.
After scaling back much of last year’s holiday activity and witnessing the bulk of retail shift to online shopping, this year has seen busier stores and high spirits than even before the pandemic. “It’s definitely more festive and busier this year than last year,” said Scottsdale Fashion Square’s marketing manager Melanie Sutton. “In comparison to 2019, we are even exceeding those numbers foot traffic wise.”
Sutton believes that this is because families are celebrating being able to safely congregate in addition to celebrating the holidays
“I think that people are realizing that life is valuable and that it is important to spend as much time as you can with your family and friends,” she said. “People are definitely making the extra step seeFASHIONSQUARE page 25
to bring in the holiday spirit.”
While shoppers have been spreading holiday cheer, Scottsdale Fashion Square has tried to match the spirit by decorating the mall with poinsettias, offering a Santa experience with fewer guidelines than last year, providing live music and story time Fridays and bringing back the Salvation Army for its annual “Angel Tree” toy drive.
“We were able to roll with the punches and spread holiday cheer last year while limiting a lot of our activities,” said Sutton. “This year we are very excited to have the chance to add more festivities.”
In addition to shoppers enjoying the increase in activities, Sutton has seen shoppers make the most out of the mall’s decorations.
“Our customers are appreciating the environment and the holiday decor,” she said. “We have seen several family photos taken in front of the Christmas trees and we have seen families walking around with their lists out.”
However, the thing that has warmed Sutton’s heart the most has been seeing shoppers taking a tag off the Salvation Army’s “Angel Tree” and shopping for the child whose name is on it.
“It’s great to see that families are generous enough to come by and pick up angel tags while doing holiday shopping for themselves,” Sutton said. “There is a sense of generosity still happening here.”
With all the generosity and high spirits throughout the Scottsdale Fashion Square, Sutton admits there have been some trials and tribulations this holiday season.
“It’s been a challenge not only here but at our sister centers – finding staffing. But what is nice is that people are putting in the extra time to help each other out,” she said.
Because of this, Sutton has made sure to extend her appreciation to the staffers who have shown up to work this holiday season.
“We want to extend our great appreciation and thanks to the dedication of those who have worked through this holiday season to create the best experience for all of our shoppers,” she said. “We are grateful for our team members, retail associates, managers and every-
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one as a whole.” To accommodate the influx of shoppers, Scottsdale Fashion Square has extended its closing hours until 10 p.m. until Dec. 23 and will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Sutton is also proud to report that amid supply chain disruptions, most stores in the Scottsdale Fashion Square were able to secure items ahead of time.
“As for inventory, some of our retailers prepared for inventory concerns and have had the ability to adapt inventory to fulfill customers’ wish lists,” she said.
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However, as the calendar grows closer to Christmas Day, Sutton expects there will be longer lines at the checkout and more items flying off the shelves, especially at toy stores.
“Toys have been one of the top items this season, which is why Macy’s partnered with Toys R Us to have a toy department,” she said. “Go! Calendars Go! Games Go! Toys also has a great selection of various toys, Legos and playsets.”
Because of this, Sutton has one tip for shoppers looking to get a last-minute gift.
“I recommend that shoppers make a list of who they need to shop for and of the stores that they need to hit,” she said.
Overall, Sutton has been pleased with how the season has gone at Scottsdale Fashion Square and hopes that shoppers are staying safe while shopping.
“I believe that shoppers are ready to venture out,” she said. “We also have seen a lot of shoppers that have masks on and are taking their precautionary steps. We also have the plethora of health and wellness with our sanitization stations around the shopping center, which creates a safe environment that makes our shoppers feel positive.”
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Scottsdale | 101 & McKellips | CasinoArizona.com | 480.850.7777 tainly, it’s been a more difficult market for first-time buyers and people trying to get into the market because they’ve been worried about the increasing prices.”
The market also has put new demands on Realtors, Hollman said.
“It’s caused us to concentrate on making sure that we were representing” their clients in “the best possible way,” he said, explaining that “the hot market has increased the need for agent expertise as an advisor and that’s something that we have worked hard and definitely fulfilled.”
He noted that the market has “been particularly more difficult for buyers because of the number of offers that are out there. We’ve made sure that we have the proper …continuing education for agents to make sure that they were able to get the best possible situation for their buyers.” Even so, “it’s been difficult for entry level buyers,” Hollman said. “And of course, you have situations where people need to sell in order to move up and buy a house, which can cause some difficulties. So, you have to navigate around that process and we’ve worked very diligently to make sure that that is the best possible scenario for everybody involved.”
He said Coldwell Banker during much of the pandemic “also brought tech to the forefront to help with what was going on during that time period, such as remote closings and things that we had to do in order to help the transaction close and the safety of those involved in the transaction.”
Turning to next year, Hollman said, “They are predicting price increases on a national basis for markets across the country and I believe that we’re going to have a lot of buyers out there.”
You still have people who were sitting on the sidelines waiting in their perception for the market to slow little bit because some of them had put in multiple offers multiple times and had not won the property.”
In addition, the new-home market can barely keep pace, partly because of demand and a worker shortage and also because supply chain disruptions are “delaying getting homes from breaking ground all the way to the marketplace.”
And while he wouldn’t call the state recession-proof, he noted, “Arizona has had a lot of people desiring to move here from other states. And even in relation to many places, while the prices have been increased significantly, when you compare them to some other metro areas, we’re still a good value.
“I think long term with the companies that are moving here, the jobs that come with that, and the level of livability you have here in Arizona, I think it bodes well, for the future.”
“I think it could continue to be a tight market for the foreseeable future here,”
he added. “You have people moving in from other areas, you have people who want to retire here. And the good news is that more jobs bring increased buying power for consumers. So that’s an absolute positive in this whole scenario.”
But one possible not-so-positive scenario confronts first-time buyers, he suggested – at least for those who don’t want a long commute.
Given rising prices in the markets close to Phoenix, they might have to look farther for an affordable home.
“I tell people within my own family who are first-time buyers: start where you can,” Hollwell explained, calling it a “stepping stone process.”
“I think that you need to be prepared as a first-time buyer and working with a very, very strong agent and know that you might not get the first home you want,” he said. “You’ve been on even the second or third, but be tenacious about it don’t give up and have faith in the process.”
He also expects Realtors will be busy next year.
“Our Coldwell Banker stats show us the first time buyers are putting other milestone situations on hold – like weddings and other things – in order to buy a home and homeownership is being prioritized with millennial buyers. So they’re kind of working on what’s important to them.”
