Pinetop White Mountain Blog

Good Morning Everyone,

Wow, what a busy weekend.  Yes, things are definitely looking up.  We were busy all weekend with client showings and contract writing. 

What does that mean to you? It means Spring is coming to the White Mountains and with it an influx of potential buyers from the lower altitudes who are anticipating the hot weather to come.  They are here and they are looking for their summer getaways. 

There has been a market increase in traffic, both coming to our offices looking for an agent and web traffic for people who are looking at property from the comfort of their homes.  They are serious and they are ready to buy.  They are snatching up those properties that have been languishing on the market all winter and whose prices have come down a lot since last year. 

I took a class last week from a very well known owner/teacher from Arizona School of Real Estate in Phoenix.  The class was on how to deal with Foreclosure Properties and Short Sales.  Things are changing in that market and if all goes as anticipated, that massive segment of the market is going to disappear soon.  Many people are going to be able to either sell their homes at some loss or are going to recapture them from the auction lists.  Why, because the lenders are starting to get things organized and systems in place to handle them. 

In the class we were also told that the investors are back.  They are buying up these REO and Short Sales like nobody's business.  They know this market isn't going to last forever and they are buying in anticipation of great returns in a few years.  They aren't buying and flipping like they were a few years ago, those days are long gone.  But they are buying knowing that bad markets are temporary and that in the end, they will make a great deal of money on these low priced homes. 

If you have been sitting on the fence waiting for things to bottom out, that time is already gone.  Prices are stabilizing in most markets and properties are moving again.  Just in the last week in our area alone, there have been at least 20 properties that have gone from For Sale to Pending.  That means those properties you may have had your eye on for the past several months might already be gone.  

So, get down to your local lending institution, find out how much home you can afford, and get back in the market.  Otherwise you could find that what you thought you could wait to buy may already belong to someone else.  

So get off the couch and call us to arrange your showings before that dream of owning a property in the White Mountains fades away by the simple fact that those low prices aren't going to be around too much longer. We are here and we are ready to help. 

Sandra & Bruce Paulow, GRI's, REALTORS® (928) 242-0300