Phoenix Homes and Unicorns….What They Have In Common (hint…it’s not Google)

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What does the Phoenix housing market and Disney have in common? More than you may think.

I had an interesting conversation with my seven year old daughter this morning. She is getting very excited for an upcoming “big trip” to Disney World this winter. She’s been hunting down videos about Disney on Netflix, and basically doing any research she can on the computer to order to find out everything she needs to know about the place. In other words, she’s your typical consumer – she searches “the Google)” until she gets the answer she wants.

Anyway, as the OCD planner type that I am, I was commenting to my husband Josh this morning that we needed to find small bound books for the kids to use as autograph books at Disney (yeah, they need to be found NOW – even though the trip is at the end of the year… prior planning and all that stuff, ok?). Little miss nosey pokes herself into the conversation, very excited about getting Belle’s signature – but not the Tinker fairies.

Me:  ”Why no autographs from the TInker faires?”
Her:  ”Because they don’t go on vacation. They tinker all the time.”
Me:  ”And where did you hear that… everyone needs a vacation! I’ll bet they will be there…”
Her:  ”No. I read it on the computer. They WON’T.”

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At this point, having had no coffee, I decided to stop the conversation before my head exploded. I was thinking about the talk later, though, and realized how similar in tone it was to a lot of conversations I’ve been having with prospective homeowners and investors in our market today.

Buyer/Investor:  ”I’m looking for a four bedroom, two bath house, at least 2000 sq ft, built after 1995, within 20 miles of the airport and under $100,000. Oh, and it has to be move in ready/able to get me at least 10-15% return.”
Me: “There are exactly 0 homes of that description in our MLS right now. What’s flexible in your search?”
Buyer/Investor:  ”There must be something wrong with your search. When I Google those critera, I get tons of homes.”
Me: *headdesk*

Fine. I get it. If there is anything that I understand, it’s that while time may be fleeting, Google is forever. And ever. And ever. But like I tell my daughter – just because the computer says so doesn’t mean it’s true (remember when we were kids, and our parents asked us if all our friends jumped off a building, would we too? This is the new generation’s building…)

Information changes fast, and sometimes it seems like the Phoenix real estate market is moving faster than the speed of light. Even the almighty Google can’t keep up with what’s available and what’s been sold – but we, as real estate agents with access to the MLS, can and do. So unless you enjoy wasting time searching for mythical unicorns, contact one of us - if the home you’re looking for is out there, we can help you find it faster than Google will.

To stay on top of the Phoenix housing market, make sure you join the Thompson’s Realty Phoenix Housing Market email list.

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About the Author
Dawn McKinley

Dawn McKinley is an over-motivated, under-energized tech geek real estate agent. A former Hawaii resident, she likes kids, dogs, and wine - not necessarily in that order. She can be found as Dawn McKinley on Facebook, tweeting at @DawnMinAZ, and writing sporadically with her husband Josh at Your Agents Everyday

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Dave Mansur 5 pts

Phil,  You have a great point.  Data is really difficult to wrap your head around sometimes.  Our inventory in Wisconsin has actually been way up, but this is because of a GM plant closing.  Oh, and your point about online listings is also good.  They aren't always kept up to date.  Stinking with the pros is good advice.

It was a nice conversation with your daughter and so easily you have explained about phoenix homes and Uni corns.

Phil Boren 11 pts

Aggregating data is one thing, aggregating accurate data is another.  Here in the Boulder real estate market in 2012, we've seen much lower inventory levels than we typically have.  Home buyers can find that frustrating, so the seem to find comfort in all the "listings" they find online - until they find out that the house sold 4 months ago.  That just adds to their frustration.  Good advice in the article - stick with the pros if you're serious about buying a home.

JonathanDalton 33 pts

Is the problem "the Google" or the "the Zillow" and "the Trulia?"

 

There are roughly 8,300 detached homes for sale in Maricopa County according to the MLS. The Zillow says there are a hair over 14,000 - only 68% above the real total; the Trulia says there are more than 15,000 - a full 81% more than really exists.That's one reason I'm not much of a fan of listing syndication - it's of dubious benefit for sellers to have their homes involved in a county-wide game of Where's Waldo as buyers try and figure out what's really for sale. (And that doesn't even take into account the Zestimates, which oft make homes wrongly appear to be overpriced.) 

DawnMcKinley 5 pts

 JonathanDalton  While it is true that syndicated sites make up a large source of the homes that show up on search engines, those engines also index IDX sites, which are supposed to the "accurate" ones. And, as we all know - it's very difficult for something to disappear once it's on the internet - if you look hard enough, you can find anything you want.

JonathanDalton 33 pts

 DawnMcKinley Absolutely true. Only difference is the IDX is updated in near-real time; one exception would be someone using Feedburner to turn IDX listings into blog posts as those can't be updated.

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