I will give more details on the data in these neighborhood posts.

San Tan Heights Market Statistics

Active Listings:  111

Active with Contingencies:  10

Pending Sales: 0

Sold (Sept 2008): 37

Average Sales Price Sept 2008:  $128,789

Average Days on Market for Sold Homes: 55

Homes for Sale in San Tan Heights

Average Asking Price: $143,144

Low Asking Price: $79,000

High Asking Price: $399,000

Sold Homes in San Tan Heights

Low Sold Price: $96,000 (4bd, 2 ba, 1520 sqft)

High Sold Price: $193,000 (5 bd, 2ba, 3CarG, 2290sqft)

]]> http://www.queencreekliving.com/2008/10/08/queen-creek-real-estate-san-tan-heights-market-statistics/feed/ http://www.queencreekliving.com/2008/10/05/welcome-to-the-family-nutmeg/ http://www.queencreekliving.com/2008/10/05/welcome-to-the-family-nutmeg/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:32:37 +0000 Jamie http://www.queencreekliving.com/?p=123 Anyone who knows me, knows my love of animals and that I am a foster Mom for the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue- that of course also rescues Bloodhounds- I am the Bloodhound Mom.

Nutmeg is rescued

I picked up Nutmeg, from a vet in Mesa, where she was abandoned.  I think she is about 6-7 months old, still has the soft puppy fur. She was spayed on Thursday and recovering very nicely.

What a sweet little girl she is!!!  Half the size of my Waylon and needs to gain some weight.  She thinks she is a lap dog, and loves to snuggle.

If you are looking for a wonderful pet to adopt, please visit the AZBR website.  There are many dogs looking for their forever home.

All rescues are non-profit and operate from proceeds from fundraisers and donations.  The Basset Hound Ball took place in Sept of 2008- they raised $38,000, that will help cover the $10,000/month vet bills incurred by the rescue.

Upcoming events include the Howl-a-ween and Santa Paws.

And always remember please spay or neuter your pet.

For the month of Sept 2008

New Listings: 649

Pending Sales: 359

Sold Homes: 389

Queen Creek Real Estate- Listing Status Sept 2008

The average sales price for homes in Queen Creek increased slightly in the month of Sept from $168k to $175k.

Foreclosures and Short Sales in Queen Creek

The number of homes for sale in Queen Creek continue to be dominated by foreclosures and short sales.  From a quick glance a the statistics in MLS, of the 1909 active listings, 292 are bank owned/foreclosures and 665 are short sales, however as I suspected, when looking at listings (the first 20 I checked) that were not tagged as SS or REO, I noticed several that should be classified as such.  The data is only as good as the agent that enters it in the system, so I suspect the percentage of homes for sale in Queen Creek that are foreclosures or short sales is much higher.

It is absolutely heart breaking, but the good news, these 89 dogs and puppies, now have a chance.

I am a foster Mom for the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue and our rescue is getting ready to receive a female Basset and her 5 puppies (2 male & 3 female lemon and whites) along with another puppy 3 months old and tri-color female.

All animal rescues are funded by donations and volunteers and operate on love for our animals.

So if you are looking for a new dog or cat, consider adoption of a pet from the a rescue organization.

With rising gas costs, food costs, traffic concerns- some homeowners are practicing “buy and bail” tactics.  Qualifying for a new home, claiming your existing home will be used as a rental, close on the new home and then abandon the “investment home”

This happening in already distressed neighborhoods, further driving home values down and in my opinion is  fraud-But that’s another issue.  The bottom line it leads to yet another foreclosure in the Queen Creek Area.

photo courtesy of respres

FHA Underwriting guidelines changing

Amy Swaney from Artisian Mortgage highlights some of the changing criteria:

“Effective for Case Number’s assigned on or after 9/19/2008, rental income from the property being vacated may not be considered for qualifying.
EXCEPTIONS**:
Rental income on the property being vacated may be used to offset the current mortgaged by 75% of the lease amount under the following circumstances:

• Reclocation: The homebuyer is relocating with a new employer, or being transferred by the current employer to an area not within reasonable and locally recognized commuting distance.

• Sufficient Equity in Vacated Property: The homebuyer has a LTV of 75% or less, as determined by either a current (within 6 mos) appraisal or by comparing the unpaid balance to the original sales price of the property. The appraisal may be exterior only.

• **Note:For scenarios that are eligible for an exception, a fully executed 12 mos lease agreement along with evidence of the security deposit or first month’s rent was paid will be required.”

From the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: FHA Underwriting Guidelines

It is a “case study” of the short sale process. There is also some good information if you are looking to buy a Queen Creek Foreclosure.

There is a family that is missing 3 Basset Hounds  : “2 males, 1 female.      No collars they hate wearing them when inside.  The are strictly in house dogs.  2 are tri color and one is mostly black and white.”

They have been missing since Sunday at around 2:00 pm.  They were missing for about 20 mins and the family looked for 8 hours.  They are devastated.

I am trying to get more info as to what area of QC they are missing from and their names.

If you have any information please contact me and I will pass along the information.

Thanks

For the month of Aug 2008

New Listings: 614

Pending Sales: 348

Sold Homes: 374

Queen Creek Real Estate- Listing Status Aug 2008

The average sales price for homes in Queen Creek increased slightly in the month of Aug from $167k to 168k.

Foreclosures and Short Sales in Queen Creek

The number of homes for sale in Queen Creek continue to be dominated by foreclosures and short sales.  From a quick glance a the statistics in MLS, of the 1882 active listings, 280 are bank owned/foreclosures and 621are short sales, however as I suspected, when looking at listings that were not tagged as SS or REO, I noticed several that should be classified as such.  The data is only as good as the agent that enters it in the system, so I suspect the percentage of homes for sale in Queen Creek that are foreclosures or short sales is much higher.

The East Valley Tribune reports:

“District officials are looking at a 42.5-acre site between the old Rittenhouse Road and Germann Road, west of Sossaman Road in Queen Creek, for a possible third high school.

However, there are several issues with the site, and the district doesn’t need a third high school right now. There are 4,000 high school students in the district, said Fred Stone, the district’s executive director of support services.”

The other parcel of land is located at the southwest corner of Pecos and Recker roads in Gilbert, across from Higley High.