Whisper Rock Estates Update
As we head into the summer months, we want to share the latest update on Whisper Rock real estate, as well as what is happening in the general market in North Scottsdale. Currently, there are 13 homes on the market in Whisper Rock, and five homes are pending, but this can be a somewhat misleading number since four of those are Whisper Rock Villas in the process of being built. Only one single-family residence is pending at this time.
There are a number of new construction projects underway in Whisper Rock. There are 14 homes in some state of construction (two are just about complete) at this time and there are another 9 currently in design review, with two of them ready to start soon. Most of the homes are build-to-suit, which speaks to the interest in homes in the Whisper Rock community.
Here are the Whisper Rock market statistics as of the beginning of this month:
Whisper Rock Real Estate Update
We have endeavored to keep our blog up-to-date with market information over the past few months for Whisper Rock and the North Scottsdale area. There is no doubt that the Coronavirus had a depressing effect on the real estate market across the country. Listing activity was down, showing activity was down and sales definitely hit the pause button. The good news is that despite the fact that there is still some uncertainty it was thankfully a pause button and not a stop button.
There are two areas we have tracked that help us keep our hand on the pulse of the market in North Scottsdale and Whisper Rock. The first is showing activity. If homes are not being shown, they are certainly not going to sell. The detail for showings in the Scottsdale market is below, with the first chart being all homes above $250,000 and the second being homes above $1,000,000. During the most strict time of the shut-down, showings in our market were seriously depressed, especially at the higher end of the market.
Homes Under Contract
The second set of numbers that also tell a story about what is happening in the market is how many homes go under contract, and how many homes that are under contract fall out of contract. The chart below shows what happened in North Scottsdale since January. In mid-March, we had a week where more homes fell out of contract than went under. There are a variety of reasons for this. First, there was a knee-jerk panic reaction on the part of some buyers, who just walked away from their earnest money rather than continue in a contract in a time of such uncertainty. Secondly, the availability of Jumbo loans dried up overnight with all but a few large banks halting them completely.
Contract Rebound In North Scottsdale
It is good to see homes going under contract again both in the general area as well as in Whisper Rock. As you can see in the graph below, we have rebounded with the number of homes in North Scottsdale going under contract in the past two weeks exceeding the number for last year. We are going to watch this number closely. We expect, based on data we are seeing, that unless there is a major second wave of COVID-19 infections in Maricopa County, real estate will continue strong, picking up where it was back at the beginning of February.
Whisper Rock Listings During COVID-19
With multiple listings currently in Whisper Rock, we wanted to share the strategy we used during the height of the pandemic. As many of you know we are strong believers in market data and the story that is telling us. In March, when we started to notice a significant decrease in showing activity, especially at any price point above $1,000,000, we decided it was time to discuss a plan with our clients.
After consulting with our clients, we decided to temporarily remove our listings from the market, both in Whisper Rock and elsewhere in the market. The immediate impact of this action is that it pauses days on the market for the listing. We kept the homes off the market for approximately 45 days during the period few people were looking for luxury homes. When activity resumed, we put them back on the market. Homes returning to the market get additional attention on MLS and are shown as new listings on Zillow and some of the other online portals. The moment we relisted, showing activity resumed at a pace almost double that of the months just before the stay-at-home order going into place.
Is This A Good Time To List A Home In North Scottsdale?
There is an ongoing debate about whether the summer is a good time to have a home in Whisper Rock or North Scottsdale on the market. We spent some time looking at this issue and our report, written to help those interested in selling, answers this question. If you would like to read the report, it is available on our here. If you are considering selling and would like to discuss why this summer may be a great time, please give us a call at 602-603-0708. We would appreciate the opportunity to earn your business.
Featured Whisper Rock Homes
