Flash Sales Increasing in Volume Every Month In Arizona

Flash Sales Increasing in Volume Every Month

A “Flash Sale” is defined as a listing that goes into Pending status within 1 day of being placed Active in the MLS. When a listing is in Pending status, it is considered off the market and the MLS system’s Days on Market count will stop. Today, many home sellers are choosing to keep their homes in active status during the escrow period (referred to as “UCB” or Under Contract – taking Backups). This is to troll for backup offers online through Zillow, Trulia and other websites in case the transaction should fall through. Not only does this practice keep the Days on Market count rolling until the property is finally placed in pending status and closed, it pushes the overall average calculation higher and confuses many buyers online when they find out there’s an accepted an offer.

That being said, the number of sellers accepting contracts and placing their property in pending status immediately has been growing every month thus far in 2015.

Monthly Increases in 2015 Flash Sale Closings:

Feb +77.4%
Mar +22.3%
Apr +36.5%
May +11.5%
Jun +10.9%

While it’s not surprising to see the majority of Flash Sales under $200,000, they are not isolated to any particular part of town or price range. This supports the theory that a properly priced and marketed listing will sell quickly in today’s marketplace. While selling in one day is the exception rather than the rule, it’s not unreasonable to expect the most amount of buyer activity within the first few weeks of your Active listing status. Therefore, it’s important to set the price well from the very beginning to minimize your time on the market. It may come as a surprise to see so many listings under $200,000 that sold after 6 months or longer on the market. This is reflective of a market transitioning from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market. As the supply of listings continues to decline dramatically in this price range, those properties that were once rejected on price or condition are now suddenly attractive again in the absence of buyer choice.

HOW MESA COMPARES TO THE OVERALL MARKET

Mesa is reflecting the overall market in terms of Days on Market by price range. The city accounted for 13% of all flash sales in the last 90 days and 11% of sales that went pending in under 2 weeks. The majority of listings under $300,000 (67.5% to be exact) were off the market in 60 days or less. Even the luxury market in Mesa had some fast sales this last quarter, with nearly half of those over $750,000 going to pending status in less than 6 months. As we head further into the heat of summer, expect to see buyer activity relax a little bit but not too much. It will be similar to turning the oven burner down from high to medium-high.

For assistance selling your home in Arizona, contact Las Sendas Realtor Ron Brown.