RealtyTrac is a California based online company that compiles foreclosure statistics on a national basis.  Some of the information is free, some you must pay for.  A portion of Sedona lies in both Coconino County (north to Flagstaff) and Yavapai County (west to Prescott).  The larger portion of Sedona lies in Yavapai County.

Nationally, the foreclosure rate for March 2009 was 0.27%.  Arizona’s foreclosure rate was 0.71% — one of the highest in the nation driven by its largest market of Phoenix.

The foreclosue rate for Coconino County was 0.17% primarily do to the stable real estate market found in the principal city of Flagstaff.  The foreclosure rate for Yavapai County was 0.49%. 

The foreclosure rate for Sedona was 0.45%.  This means that 1 in 222 Sedona housing units are in some state of foreclosure having received a publicly-recorded notice of default or foreclosure action or subject to a bank repossession.  For the cities tracked by RealtyTrac, Sedona is ranked 1433rd.  A ranking of #1 meanings the highest rate of foreclosures.

The Sedona real estate market still has significant foreclosure activity.  This represents an opportunity to purchase Sedona Real Estate at a favorable price.  The Sedona Arizona Lifestyle is more affordable than ever.

First-quarter January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2009 closed sales statistics are available.  My discussions cover Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek excluding outlying communities.  The trends continue to show a buyer’s market for the most part.

Forty-nine single family houses sold in the first-quarter of 2009 compared with 45-houses — an increase of 8.9%!  The average sales price for the first-quarter of 2009 was $521,512 compared with $647,990 in 2008 — a decline of 19.5%.  The median sales price for the first-quarter of 2009 was $423,900 compared with $537,000 in 2008 — a decline of 21.1%.  The average number of days on the market for closed sales for the first-quarter of 2009 was 229-days compared with 157-days in 2008 — an increase of 45.9%.  This means it took longer to sell a house in 2009 compared with 2008.  Reviewing these statistics as a whole, sales volume is up as more foreclosed properties are being sold.  The decrease in average and median sales prices reflect this trend as well.  The average number of days on the market also is reflective of the longer marketing and escrow times of foreclosed properties.

In the first-quarter of 2009, 9-condos were sold compared with 13-condos in 2008 — a decline of 30.8%.  The average first-quarter sales price in 2009 was $425,444 compared with 342,538 in 2008 — an increase of 24.2%.  The median sales price of Sedona condos and townhomes was $500,000 in 2009 compared with $303,000 in 2008 — an increase of 65.0%.  The average number of days on the market for closed sales of condos was 267-days in the first-quarter of 2009 compared with 160-days in 2008 — an increase of 66.9%.  The sharp increase in both the average and median sales prices reflects the change in the mix of Sedona condo sales to include several high-dollar condos.  The overall volume of condo sales declined and the average time to market condos increased substantially.

Sedona remains a buyer’s market.  Opportunities abound for desirable Sedona real estate purchases.  The Sedona Lifestyle remains attractive to many people. 

Statistics are a snapshot of information in a defined moment of time.  The longer the timeframe, arguably the more representative the information.  Still, people want to know what the current trend is which requires looking at shorter-term statistics.

For those seeking this information, I offer the following statistics for Sedona including the Village of Oak Creek, but excluding outlying areas and communities.  The statistics are for combined single-family housing and condos excluding manufactured housing.

For the last two months of 2008, 42-properties were sold compared to 30-properties sold in the first two-months of 2009 — a decrease of 28.6%.  Of these sales, 11-properties were either foreclosed or subject to a short-sale for the last two months of 2008 compared with 11-properties for the first two-months of 2009.  While the absolute number of foreclosed/short-sale properties remained unchanged, the proportion of foreclosed/short-sale properties as a percentage of total sales increased from 26.2% in 2008 to 36.7% for 2009.

We will continue to monitor and report these statistics as 2009 unfolds.

For more about Sedona AZ real estate homes and condos for sale visit Beautiful Sedona Homes.com.  Visit Live The Red Rocks! for Sedona lifestyle information. 

The condition of the Sedona AZ real estate market is a matter of fact not fiction.  The direction that the Sedona real estate market is going is subjective and a matter of opinion.

The statistic below are for the 12-months ended December 31, 2008 compared with the same period in 2007.  The data source is the Rapatonni MLS database utilized by the Sedona Verde Valley Association of Realtors.  The data is focused on Sedona including the Village of Oak Creek.  Excluded are outlying areas such as Rimrock, Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Jerome, etc..  The data also excludes manufactured housing.

The volume of residential sales has remained relatively stable between years.  The number of single-family homes sold in Sedona in 2008 was 229 compared with 254 in 2007 — a decrease of 9.8%.  The number of condos sold in Sedona in 2008 was 56 compared with 59 in 2007 — a decrease of 5.1%.

The average sales price of single-family homes sold in 2008 was $592,570 compared with $691,551 in 2007 — a decrease of 14.3%.  The average sales price of condos sold in 2008 was $340,288 compared with $385,276 in 2007 — a decrease of 11.7%.

The median sales price of single-family homes sold in 2008 was $480,000 compared with $557,500 in 2007 — a decrease of 13.9%.  The median sales price of condos lofts townhomes sold in 2008 was $295,000 compared with $350,000 in 2007 — a decrease of 15.7%.

A measure of a real estate market’s health is the average number of days to contract (ADTC).  For single-family homes, ADTC lengthened slightly from 151-days in 2007 to 155-days in 2008.  For condos, ADTC lengthened from 131-days to 203-days in 2008 — an increase of 55%.  The Sedona condo market has worsened between years.

Another measure of a real estate market’s health is the average discount between the list price and the sold price.  For single-family home sales in 2008, that discount was 8.3%.  By example, this means that a house listed for $500,000 sold for $458,500 or a discount of 8.3%.  This statistic is based on the list price at the time of sale.  It does not take into account price reductions that the seller may have made during the time the property was on the market.  By illustration, the $500,000 house in the above example may have been originally listed for $550,000.  In this case, the full discount to the original list price of $550,000 would be 16.7%.  It is more often than not, that such price reductions have taken place before the actual sale.  For condos lofts and townhomes sales in 2008, the discount was 5.0%.  

“How many of the properties sold were in trouble?” is a question often asked.  Troubled properties are generally one of two-types.  The first step in the troubled-property cycle is that of filing an action of foreclosure by a lender for payment default of the underlying mortgage.  If the property is sold before the property is foreclosed and ownership transferred to the lender or another party, the property is said to be subject to a short-sale.  This means that the lender(s) must approve the sale if the sales price offered is less than the debt against the property.  If the foreclosure is completed, then the property is commonly referred to as “bank-owned”.

In 2008, of the 229 single-family homes sold, 23 were troubled properties or 10.0%.  In 2008, of the 56 condos sold, one was a troubled property or 1.8%.  It seems that the greatest financial distress is among single-family homeowners.

For more about Sedona AZ real estate, homes, lots and condos for sale visit Beautiful Sedona Homes.com. 

For more about Sedona’s neighborhoods visit Sedona Neighborhood Profiles. 

For Sedona community information visit Sedona Community Profile. 

For a map of Sedona’s neighborhoods visit Sedona Neighborhoods Map. 

For Personal Service in locating a Boulder home visit Sedona Real Estate For Sale. 

To search the MLS for Boulder homes for sale visit Sedona Property Search. 

For more about the Sedona lifestyle visit the Live The Red Rock! blog.

Interested in Colorado ski real estate?  If so visit  Aspen Condos  Aspen Homes Photos  Beaver Creek Condos  Beaver Creek Homes  Photos  Breckenridge Condos  Breckenridge Homes Photos  Copper Mountain Condos  Copper Mountain Homes Photos  Crested Butte Condos  Crested Butte Homes Photos Keystone Condos  Keystone Homes Photos  Snowmass Village Condos  Snowmass Village Homes Photos  Steamboat Springs Condos  Steamboat Springs Homes Photos  Telluride Condos  Telluride Homes  Telluride Real Estate Photos  Vail Condos  Vail Homes Photos  Winter Park Condos  Winter Park Homes Photos  Beautiful Colorado Ski Homes.com  Just Colorado Ski Condos.com Ski Resort Map  Beautiful Telluride Homes.com  Live The Rockies!  Boulder Homes For Sale  Boulder Condos For Sale  Photos Neighborhood Map  Boulder Colorado Real Estate Blog

Uptown Sedona enjoys 3-4 million visitors annually, second only to the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  The Sedona scenery is world-class as well as world-famous.  Sitting on a cafe patio on a sunny day soaking-in the views is hard to beat.

Sedona’s uptown (sounds better than downtown) is focused on the pedestrian experience.  Public art is abundant and the sidewalks wide and dotted with flower planters.

Shopping is a popular pleasure for visitors.  Art galleries, western shops, metaphysical bazaars are attractive venues to visit.  Restaurants, espresso cafes, ice cream shops await you as well.

Aside from the business corridor directly fronting the highway, there are many residential subdivisions behind the store fronts.  The prices range from modest to multi-million dollar homes.  Properties that abut U.S. Forest Service land with unrestricted views are the most desirable and expensive.

If you are interested in learning more about Sedona real estate and homes for sale, please phone me at 888-803-0201 or email me.