Elite Team Tidbits
The Elite Team has been busy so far in 2019 with our Community Outreach and Service! So far this year, we have cleaned up the garbage on our “adopted road”, a mile on Lake Mary Road, we participated in the HOMCO Home Show and, looking ahead, our amazing agents Eric Davis and Tad Moore will be participating at the 5th annual ChildHelp 25 Men That Think They Can Cook event on June 22nd. Go to http://www.childhelp.org/25men2019 for more info.
As always, we will be having our quarterly Blood Drive May 14, 2019 from 8-1pm. This will be in the RE/MAX Peak Properties parking lot on Riordan. Please take a little time out to stop by and donate to save a life.
Mark your calendars for June 8th. We will once again be having our Client Appreciation Party in our downtown office parking lot. You are all so important to us, so we want to take this time to say THANKS with great food and drinks. We hope to see there.
Jessica, Sara, Kelly, Eric, Tad, Ian and Dave
Sustainable Building in Flagstaff
The push for more sustainable housing has become stronger in recent years. Our clients are constantly looking for ways to make their homes more sustainable and wondering what kind of value that could add. Whether you own a home currently or are thinking of building a home, there are many things that you can do to improve your home by using renewable resources rather than fossil fuels. The Coconino County has a sustainability building program that can help homeowners find a way to incorporate eco-friendly methods into their construction projects. There is usually a higher up-front cost to these methods but over time homeowners will save money on their utility costs and will be helping the environment. For more information about the country’s program visit http://www.coconino.az.gov/625/Sustainable-Building-Program.
According to Ian Hublitz, owner of Green Mountain Construction in Flagstaff, AZ, “It’s becoming increasingly more common for homeowners interested in pursuing a new build to ask how they can reduce their environmental impact and what types of sustainable options are available. For 2019 the majority of our projects are incorporating many of these options and features.” Another builder in town, Evan Womble with High Caliber Construction, recommends the upfront investment of hydronic in-floor heating. “It produces the most practical heat, a much cleaner heat while providing a savings on the monthly cost of operation.”
Homeowners are always asking us what kind of monetary value is added to sustainable upgrades to one’s home. Eric and Tad have been hard at work serving on a task force for the Northern Arizona Association of REALTORS® to begin the process of “Greening” the local Multiple Listing Service! What that means is that our local MLS will soon offer fields to input and search that address a home’s sustainable features. Features like photovoltaic solar systems, water catchment systems, and indoor air quality test results will soon be included in our listings to better serve current buyers and sellers that are interested in “Green” features, and hopefully encourage more and more to do so. It’s definitely a process and needs to be done correctly in order to serve its desired purpose. Experts from architects, to contractors familiar with sustainable building techniques, to lenders and appraisers have all contributed valuable insight to help us make this awesome, forward-thinking change. If you have any questions about “Green” building techniques, improving your homes energy efficiency, or anything else related to sustainable living, The Elite Team is here to help! We also recommend that you reach out to Ian at Green Mountain Construction at www.greenmtconst.com or Evan with High Caliber Construction at https://www.hcnaz.com/.
1st Quarter Sales Report For 2019
Comparing year over year sales volume for the first quarter of the year, single-family home sales in the Flagstaff area were off about 25% from 2018. There were 135 homes sold this quarter compared to 180 homes sold in the first quarter of 2018. For the second consecutive quarter, sales volume was well below the same quarter one year ago. There is no denying this demonstrates a dramatic difference in the market. We are confident there are several factors why this trend was short lived and the market conditions are reversing.
Going back to the beginning of 2018, sales nationwide were brisk due in part to a strong belief interest rates were going up quickly. The market was further fuelled at the time because inventory levels were near all-time lows. Buyers were scrambling to purchase a home before the rate increase and buying what they could find in their price range.
For the first quarter of 2019, we have seen a slight dip in mortgage rates and believe this will hold true for the remainder of the year. The low rates are giving buyers more confidence in affording a home. Inventory levels have increased slightly, although we are still seeing low levels in homes prices $400,000 and below. As of 4/23/19, there were 186 pending single family home sales in the MLS for the Flagstaff area. 44 of the pending homes are new construction. The median price for a single family home in the Flagstaff area was $415,000 for the first quarter of 2019.
Typically Q2 and Q3 are our strongest quarters in the Flagstaff market and looking at the pending home sales demonstrates the market has come back full swing. We will continue to look at the housing market numbers in our monthly blog.
(The data reported here are based on home sales in the Flagstaff metro area (the city of Flagstaff and immediately surrounding county areas) as reported in the multiple-listing-service maintained by the Northern Arizona Association of REALTORS®. The data may not reflect all sales (but it surely reflects most of them).
Featured Listings
2219 Patt Cline | $479,000 | MLS# 175826
Location, location, location! This single level cottage sits directly across the street from The Forest Highlands Canyon Course Driving Range. You will love the large open living room complete with floor to ceiling windows, skylights, and a beautiful fireplace. Fantastic kitchen open to the living room with a breakfast bar, granite countertops and tons of storage. With 2 large master suites, a big loft and 1900 sq ft you will have plenty of room. HUGE oversized deck to enjoy those starry Flagstaff nights. Convenient path close by to get you to the clubhouse within minutes. New roof was installed in October 2018 and can be sold fully furnished. This home is ready to go to its new owners!
COMING SOON! Energy Efficient Net Zero | $750,000
High Caliber Construction went all out in designing and building this home with RESNET® HERS index rated score of 0. Simply put the 18.6-kilowatt electrical solar panel system produces more energy than the home consumes. This single level home is approx. 3,000 sq ft and was designed to have two separate living areas, each with 3BR/2BA, separate kitchens and living areas. The entire home has hydronic in-floor heating, tankless water heaters, central A/C, air filtration system, and energy-saving appliances. The roof is a prototype tile roof designed by Daltile. As an added bonus the 3,000 sq ft detached shop has enough room for your car collection, RV and boat. 1,000 sq ft of the shop has been plumbed for in-floor heat and could be built out for an onsite office. This home will be listed mid-May with an asking price of $750,000.
A Message From: Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona
by Eric Wolverton, Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona is committed to building affordable homes supported by contributions from community individuals, businesses and other organizations. We all understand that affordable homeownership has always been an issue for Flagstaff. With less land each year to develop on and more folks investing in rental properties as an income source, Flagstaff’s housing is at a critical level for our working-poor families.
Things you may not know about Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership process:
Builder magazine ranked Habitat for Humanity, nation-wide as the No. 1 private homebuilder on Builder 100, its annual listing of the largest U.S. homebuilders. Habitat homes are never given away, in fact we have a committee of community members and professional lenders that volunteer their time to make sure we have a family that has a need for better housing, the ability to pay their upcoming mortgage and has lived in Flagstaff for at least a year. Once we select a family, then all adults that will live in the house must provide 200 sweat equity hours on the home or volunteering in the community. Habitat’s goal is for everyone to feel what homeownership means and the responsibility required. Also, the selected family must provide 1% down payment of the total price of the home (about $1500) and then make monthly mortgage payments back to Habitat (around $650 a month). Along with a 0% interest loan provided by Habitat, our Habitat families work hard for this hand up, not hand out from Habitat and the Flagstaff community.
The best part of this partnership is that Habitat homeowners pay 100% of the starting developing monies that were originally gifted to Habitat through their mortgage payments. Habitat then reinvests those monies into more affordable homes. This is an amazing financially sustainable approach that allows gifts made 20 years ago to continue to help Habitat build more homes, today.
If anyone has any questions or general inquiries about Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona, then we invite you to come by our ReStore location on 4th Street to learn more. Without financial contributions, donations of gently used furniture or appliances for the ReStore, and volunteers Habitat would not be able to provide the affordable homeownership options available today. With your support, let’s end Flagstaff’s mantra of “Poverty with a View” forever.
Eric Wolverton
Executive Director | Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona
Save the Date for our Client Appreciation Party!
Saturday, June 8th from 11am-2pm | 123 W. Birch Ave, Suite 105
Tres Amigos Food Truck | Bounce House | Fun for the Whole Family
This is our way of saying, “THANK YOU” for your support! We hope to see you there!