Here’s how it works:

The parade starts by London’s Dance Academy as local businesses, organizations, and residents gather with their floats and convoy up Hancock Rd, which is closed to traffic allowing spectators to take in the parade.

The floats then proceed to Gary Keith Park for the Holiday Festival at 8 pm.

Here’s how that works:

• Winter Village - floats circle around the Christmas tree.
• It wouldn’t be a holiday party without Santa arriving via helicopter to meet the Mayor, would it? Agreed.
• Local music and dance groups perform.
• Refreshments are served - hot dogs, coffee, hot cocoa, cookies, etc.
• Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

The Bullhead City Boombox Parade and Holiday Festival is fun for all ages!

The family at the Bullhead City Boombox Parade in 2007

Bundle up, grab your camera, and bring the kids out and watch them scramble for candy canes as they’re tossed from the floats!

This Bullhead City real estate report includes all residential property types (site built homes, manufactured homes, and condominiums). Unless otherwise noted, all data is from the Western Arizona REALTOR® Data Exchange.

Fewer Bullhead City homes enter the market in 2008

1799 residential listings hit the market from January through October of 2008, 21% fewer than the 2253 listings for the same period in 2007 - a much needed correction to the supply side.

Bullhead City Homes Entering Market 2007 - 2008

Foreclosures represent a greater percentage of new listings

Homes that hit the Bullhead City market 2007 - 2008

15% of the homes that went on the market so far this year were foreclosures, compared to a mere 2% for the same period in 2007.

Increased competition puts pressure on prices

We’ve established there are fewer homes coming on the market this year than last year, but also that a greater percentage of those homes are foreclosures. We know from looking at closed sales this year that foreclosures consistently sell faster and for less than other homes. We don’t have to look much further to understand that the foreclosures are driving the overall prices down, creating some great opportunities for buyers, and some tough decisions for sellers.

Now let’s see what the existing inventory looks like when broken down by property type and splitting out the foreclosures.

Bullhead City Condominiums

Bullhead City Condos on the market - Active and Pending Sales

What jumps out at you? You might notice there are 82 active listings for condos and only two pending sales (2.4% of the listings are under contract). The demand is obviously pretty low. Drill down to the foreclosures though, with six active and two pending (25% of the listings are under contract), and we see there is demand when the price is right. The pending sales are listed at $79.83 per square foot, compared to the overall average list price per square foot of the condos on the market of $192.19.

Bullhead City Manufactured Homes

Bullhead City Manufactured Homes on the market - Active and Pending Sales

With only 12 of the 408 active listings, foreclosures are not having as much of a direct impact on manufactured homes as they are on site built houses. The indirect impact is another story, more on that in a bit. Overall, there are 11 manufactured homes under contract with 408 others on the market.

Bullhead City Site Built Houses

Bullhead City Site Built Houses on the market - Active and Pending Sales

The rubber hits the road in the site built house segment of the market. First of all, approximately ten percent of the listings are under contract, which is much higher than any other property type. This is also where the greatest number of foreclosures are, and the greatest discrepancy in price and Days on Market (DOM). The lower the DOM, the faster the sale.

Take a look at the houses under contract. The average time on the market is three months for foreclosures, and over seven months for everything else. Makes sense when you look at the difference in price.

I don’t think it’s a leap to say that while there aren’t many condo or manufactured home foreclosures, their significant presence among site built houses is indirectly making a mark.

So What’s the Deal with the Foreclosures?

A few years ago, in 2000 and 2001, I used to get calls form people wanting to buy foreclosures. I used to ask them if they specifically wanted a foreclosure or if they just wanted a good deal. More often than not we could find better deals from regular human sellers. Sure there was the occasional foreclosure you could steal, but they usually needed a lot of work. This time around it’s different.

It’s not so much about finding a place in need of rehab and picking it up from a bank that doesn’t want to deal with it as much as it is about seizing the opportunity to buy from a seller that is willing and able to sell for what the market will bear.

So what do you think? Are foreclosures setting the prices? Is the fact that they’re predominantly site built houses affecting the other areas of the market because there aren’t as many wlling and able sellers in those segments? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

What you may not have heard is that along with first-time home buyers, the IRS includes anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the previous three years. From the IRS website:

Taxpayers who owned a main home at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase are not eligible for the credit. This means that first-time homebuyers and those who have not owned a home in the three years prior to a purchase can qualify for the credit.

When you hear “first-time buyer”, don’t you think of someone who has never owned a home? Not so in this case. Good to know.

Before reading on, please understand that I am not a tax guy. I’m not a CPA, tax attorney, or bookkeeper. I am passing on information as I understand it, including the imaginary and fictitious example that follows, but I strongly encourage you to seek further information from a qualified tax professional. Whew.

Tax credit NOT tax deduction

Unlike a tax deduction which reduces your taxable income, a tax credit actually reduces your income tax directly.

For example, let’s say you had an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $35,000 and an overall tax liability of 25% or $8,750. A $1,000 tax deduction would reduce your AGI to $34,000, which would reduce your tax liability to $8,500, saving you an additional $250. On the other hand, a tax credit of $1,000 in the same example would reduce your tax liability to $7,750, saving you the full $1,000. That’s better!

While tons of tax deductions can be found within the convoluted maze that is our tax code, tax credits are few and far between.

Temporary tax credit similar to interest-free loan

The temporary tax credit, which is available to qualified individuals on qualifying purchases made between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009, acts very much like an interest-free loan.

The credit is 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $7,500 for either a single taxpayer or a married couple filing jointly. The limit is $3,750 for a married person filing a separate return. In most cases, the full credit will be available for homes costing $75,000 or more. Whatever the size of the credit a taxpayer receives, the credit must be repaid over a 15-year period.

Although The National Association of REALTORS has urged Congress to eliminate the provision that requires the tax credit to be repaid, there has been no change to that provision as of this writing.

Other things you need to know about the tax credit

Like any good piece of tax code, there are some other qualifications and restrictions. Some of the caveats include:

• Income restrictions - Yes, there is a maximum income limit to qualify for the credit, but you might be surprised how high it is. Joint filers can have a modified adjusted gross income of $170,000 and still qualify.
• Primary residence - Not intended for rental or or vacation properties.
• Arms length transactions - The purchase of the property must not be from a close relative.

There are other restrictions that must be met in order to qualify for the tax credit. Be sure to visit the IRS site for more info. You might want to check out The National Assocaiton of Home Builders site, too. And last, but not least, please check with a tax professional first to make sure you will be able to claim the tax credit.

This temporary tax credit creates a fantastic way for soemone to become a homeowner, but I haven’t heard much talk about it. If you know of someone who may be interested in taking advantage of this unique opportunity, please let them know about it. It’s this first time anything like it has been available to my knowledge.

Foreclosures account for 1/3 of residential sales in Bullhead City

The trend established in the the 3rd quarter continued in October, as 16 of the 48 home sales reported to the local REALTOR® data exchange in Bullhead City were foreclosures. A 33% share of all homes sold is nothing to sneeze at, but it did go down (barely) from September and (significantly) from the August tally of 44%.

Are human sellers starting to compete more effectively with non-human sellers (banks)?

I’ll be digging into the active inventory to compare the offerings of both and posting my findings this week. In the meanwhile, let’s look further at October sales by property type.

Bullhead City site built houses sold in October 2008

Foreclosures
Sold: 12
Median Sale Price: $151,000
Avg. Price per Square Foot: $98.34
Avg. List/Sale Ratio: 96.3%
Avg. Days on Market: 110

Non-Foreclosures
Sold: 15
Median Sale Price: $170,000
Avg. Price per Square Foot: $134.83
Avg. List/Sale Ratio: 91.7%
Avg. Days on Market: 216

The spread was almost identical to last month, with 44% of the site built home sales going to foreclosures. Check out the huge difference between price per square foot, which no doubt contributed to those foreclosures selling twice as fast as the other homes.

Bullhead City manufactured homes sold in October 2008

Foreclosures
Sold: 4
Median Sale Price: $51,250
Avg. Price per Square Foot: $41.46
Avg. List/Sale Ratio: 80.8%
Avg. Days on Market: 120

Non-Foreclosures
Sold: 16
Median Sale Price: $58,750
Avg. Price per Square Foot: $60.83
Avg. List/Sale Ratio: 88.4%
Avg. Days on Market: 239

With 20 sales, four of which were foreclosures, October was one of the strongest months of the year for manufactured homes. The median asking price of manufactured homes listed for sale has dropped every month since March, and broke the $100,000 mark in September, which perhaps contributed to the increase in sales in October.

Seller Tip: The competition from site built homes puts downward pressure on manufactured home prices. When the price difference is small enough, many buyers will step up to the site built home. Stay up on prices of competing site built homes as well as manufactured homes.

Bullhead City condominiums sold in October 2008

Foreclosures
Sold: 0
Median Sale Price: n/a
Avg. Price per Square Foot: n/a
Avg. List/Sale Ratio: n/a
Avg. Days on Market: n/a

Non-Foreclosures
Sold: 1
Median Sale Price: $445,000
Avg. Price per Square Foot: $299.66
Avg. List/Sale Ratio: 84.8%
Avg. Days on Market: 409

The imbalance of supply and demand in the condominium segment of the residential market continues. With 23 condos sold through October and 81 on the market, there’s nearly a three year supply. Stay tuned to see if snowbirds make a dent in some of that inventory.

Foreclosures continue to have a significant market share of residential sales in Bullhead City, particularly in site built homes. The good news, in addition to the opportunity created for buyers in this market, is that they need to sell to work through the market. The real issue is the presence of foreclosures for sale, which will be the topic of an in-depth feature later this week.

Buy and hold works when it comes to the HOME you LIVE IN. Turning in the keys because you have negative equity is a fool’s game. If you do, YOU WILL NEVER OWN A HOUSE.You will be a renter FOREVER.

Your home has far more value than its mark to market price because you can live in it . Do whatever you can to stick it out. It will pay off for you in the long run.

You might know Cuban as the “maverick” owner of NBA franchise Dallas Mavericks. You might also know him as the guy with a net worth of $3 Billion.

Bullhead City real estate has appreciated 214% since the turn of the century, based on annual median home sale price. I’m talking about today’s values, not the peek of the market in 2006.  That’s equal to about 10% annual appreciation for 8 years. Not a bad investment. While flipping houses may have made you a lot more or a lot less, depending on your timing, buy and hold would have given you a nice gain. Not to mention the utility of real estate.

Please note this report includes all residential property types (Single Family, Manufactured Homes, Condominiums) and does not include commercial property or vacant land. Enjoy!

Bullhead City Home Sales

Bullhead City home sales increased from 44 homes sold in September to 48 in October. At the same time, the total dollar volume went from $8.8 Million to $7.6 Million. Obviously this brought the average sale price down. Also, and perhaps more useful as a gauge of what is (and isn’t) selling in Bullhead City, the median price dropped about 15% to approximately $118,000.

Units Sold - 48
Dollar Volume - $7,592,014
Average Price - $158,167
Median Price - $118,257

Year-to-Date
Units Sold - 512
Dollar Volume - $92,657,566

Fort Mohave Home Sales

Fort Mohave home sales were pretty steady in terms of the number of homes sold. In stark contrast to Bullhead City, the dollar volume did jump up quite a bit to $3.1 Million for the month of October, with the median sale price rising from $141,300 to $180,800. The average home sold in October was larger than those homes sold in September by nearly 10%, but the price per square foot also went up 18%.

Units Sold - 17
Dollar Volume - $3,136,900
Average Price - $184,524
Median Price - $180,800

Year-to-Date
Units Sold - 228
Dollar Volume - $39,102,165

Mohave Valley Home Sales

Nine homes sold in Mohave Valley in October, compared to 6 last month. The median sale price fell back to Earth, landing at $109,900 after a few big ticket last month drove it up to $300,000+.

Units Sold - 9 6
Dollar Volume - $1,218,900
Average Price - $135,433
Median Price - $109,900

Year-to-Date
Units Sold - 88
Dollar Volume - $19,735,421

Source: Western Arizona REALTOR® Data Exchange

Welcome to the third installment of “Where to eat in Bullhead City”, a series in which I highlight some local places worth checking out. The first two places I’ve covered can be found here:

• Pit Stop Grill
• Antonucci’s Restautant

And now for this week’s entry:

House of Siam

Map to House of Siam in Bullhead City, Arizona

680 Hancock Rd
Bullhead City, AZ 86442
(928) 758-9333

House of Siam is a small, family run Thai restaurant that serves good food at a great price. It’s location on Hancock Rd. puts it a couple miles from the main road of Highway 95 and makes it one of those places you have to know about to know about.

They have most of the dishes you would expect to find at a quality Thai restaurant, including some excellent soups and salads. And lunch specials. You know those lunch specials that most of the Chinese places have, with soup, an egg roll, and rice for five or six bucks? House of Siam has those as well, and at similar prices. They just taste better.

You can grab a beer or wine, or better yet go for the Thai Iced Tea.

Keep in mind this is a small, casual, neighborhood restaurant. You’ll find nothing fancy here. Just good food at great prices.

I’ve been eating at House of Siam for ten years and I’ve never once had a bad meal. If you like Thai food, I think you’ll like it.

• Nice to see a good turn out at my voting place in Bullhead City. I’d estimate there were close to 100 people there, as opposed to the 2-3 I usually see.
• Primaries - Can we stop moving them up earlier and earlier every year? Seriously, this mass diversion of attention has been going FOREVER!
• No matter who you voted for. No matter who wins. With any luck, there will be no claims of fraud or mischief, no circus stunts, and tonight this election will come to a close.

Then we can get on with our lives. And for that reason I declare us all winners today!

We’ve moved beyond rational thought and action into an area where questions are not answered with projections, forecasts, or even editorials, and this Time magazine article nails it.

But fear is a persistent emotion, one embedded by evolution in our lizard brains. That’s why there’s no precise economic definition of a market panic; it’s more a psychological than a fiscal phenomenon, simultaneously anticipatory (you think something terrible will happen) and retrospective (you think you have waited too long to avert disaster). Swimmers being dragged to sea in a rip current often try to swim directly to shore–against the current–and end up exhausting themselves. Panic can kill.

Panic. Can. Kill.

Isn’t this what we’re watching unfold day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute?

Watching. Waiting. Swimming against the current.

We’re not talking about Bullhead City, or Arizona, or even the United States. It’s gone global. This market panic has spread beyond real estate and mortgages, to stocks, oil, energy, currency, elections, and every recess of everything. That’s an elephant we can’t eat in one bite. So we keep swimming directly to shore, exhausting ourselves.

So what happens next? Better yet, when?

Let’s get back to real estate for a moment and recognize that there is no global or national real estate market. One does not go out and buy or sell national real estate.

Real estate is local.

It is in these local real estate markets that this all began - and where it will end, too. The question is when.

A half century ago, Kennedy said the Chinese word for crisis is represented by the characters for danger and opportunity.

One of these days some smart people are going to get sick and tired of watching and waiting and swimming against the current. Sometime just this side of exhausting themselves, they will act on the opportunity in this crisis while everyone else is still focusing on the danger. Some time later things will calm down, and the news will tell us it’s OK to go back in the water. The crisis will have passed. The danger gone.

Oh, and the opportunity? You guessed it.

44% of Bullhead City houses sold in September were foreclosures

Nearly half of the Single Family Homes sold last month were foreclosures. Not startling considering foreclosures have now accounted for at least 40% of the Single Family Home sales in Bullhead City for five of the last six months.

I feel the need to mention that the point in tracking foreclosures is not to be sensational or contribute to the gloom and doom we hear/read/see about the economy. The point is that foreclosures are real. Lots of people got in too deep and/or got hammered by unforeseen shifts in the real estate market and lost or walked away from lots of houses.

As I said when I first wrote about foreclosures in Bullhead City in detail back in June:

However, with foreclosures representing 37% of the Single Family home sales in the last 90 days, if you are a seller in today’s market they are the competition.

Until foreclosures work through the market, sellers will have to compete with them for buyers. There 76 of the 568 houses on the market in Bullhead City at the end of September. Here’s the breakdown for September:

Foreclosures Sold

Sold: 14
Median Sale Price: 125,000
Avg. Price per Square Foot: $93.09
Avg.  List/Sale Ratio: 93.5%
Avg. Days on Market: 119

Non-Foreclosures Sold

Sold: 18
Median Sale Price: 185,000
Avg. Price per Square Foot: $128.88
Avg.  List/Sale Ratio: 96.3%
Avg. Days on Market: 243

Remember, there are lot’s of good deals out there, and not all of them are foreclosures. If you’re in the market looking for those good deals, be sure to talk to your agent about opportunities in both foreclosure and non-foreclosure properties.