Does a home that has been de-cluttered, freshly painted, and sports a well manicured yard sell faster and for more than one that looks bedraggled?  You betcha!

Although this article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Set the Stage for a Faster Home Sale, sounds out of touch with the Phoenix real estate market, by calling ours a “buyer’s” market, it does share solid tips for readying your property for sale.

And while these tips are useful for effecting a faster/higher sale for any property, applying this advice becomes more important for higher priced properties.  While the market has shifted, and inventory has dropped across the pricing spectrum,  homes in the lower ranges are selling furiously, while move-up, executive, and luxury properties are not turning as quickly:

As of this morning, in ARMLS (Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service), there are approximately 12,842 active listings. Another 20,270 have contracts or are in escrow, and 8523 sold in the last month.  That says that we have about 1.5 months of inventory overall.  However, the months supply varies greatly across the price ranges:

• Just over  half of total inventory (about 6571 this morning)  is priced under $250,000 – which is where most of the sales are happening:  More than 75% of the sales/ closings in PHoenix Metro area over the last month were  under this price point, or about  6621 homes.  This adds up to less than one month’s supply – which reflects the nearly impossible landscape first time buyers with small down payments are experiencing – losing out time after time to cash buyers, often investors. (Many are turning to new builds, call if you want to hear more about this possibility).
• Between $251,000 and $500,000, there are about 3466 total active listings, with about 1420 selling/closing in the last month.  This translates to about 2.5 months of inventory, and generally a less furious market.
• And for homes priced higher than $501,000 to $1m, we have about 1643 active listings, with about 378 closing within the last month, so approximately 4.4  months of inventory.
• Above the $1m, about 1159 homes are active, with only 102 closing within the last month, or about 11 months of inventory.