Up 14 from Nov., 2007
By Tony Waggoner
Sunday, December 14, 2008 8:42 PM MST

Lake Havasu City’s Real Estate market continues to show improvement with more sold signs going up on homes than for sale signs.

Pat Landry, president of the Lake Havasu Realtors Association, says it is a buyers market right now, and prospective homeowners are recognizing it.

Residential homes sales jumped from 70 in November 2007 to 84 this past month, bringing the yearly total to 1,131 homes sold. That number is still down from this time last year when the number of homes sold was right at 1,167, but Landry is confident Lake Havasu City should surpass the 2007 numbers by the end of the year.

The total number of active listings for November 2008 was 1,518. In November 2007, the total number of active listings was 1,763.

“People are looking to buy, and right now is the best time,” she said.

The city’s part-time winter residents are having an impact. Landry is seeing quite a few “snowbirds” returning, although she could not provide an exact figure.

A good amount of those winter residents have surprisingly been from Canada, she says. Many Canadians are delaying their arrival, though, until the exchange rate improves from the Canadian dollar to the United States dollar.

Interest rates are certainly playing an important part with home sales, Landry says. Rates are as low as they have been in over 10 year right now at 5.5 percent.

“It’s a wonderful time to buy,” Landry said. “Interest rates have dropped to as low as 5.5 percent.”

Landry has heard talk rates could continue to drop in the next few months to around 4.4 percent.

Landry said the government has really worked to keep interest rates low. She believes this could lead to a very successful year in 2009 for realtors.

“I can’t remember a time when the interest rates were as low as five percent,” she said.

Landry is not sure what impact the new Obama administration would have on the housing market, as of yet. She does expect the market will continue to improve, though, through 2010.

With lower interest rates, mortgages continue to go down. According to Landry, a mortgage for a $200,000 would be around 1,073 a month right now, with a five percent interest rate. She said typically interests rate are between six and seven percent. At 6.5 percent, the mortgage for a $200,000 home would be around $1,264 a month.

The average sale price in Lake Havasu City dropped substantially from November 2007. Homes sold at an average of $187,354 this past November. That number is down almost $100,000 from last year, when the average sale price was $275,558.

Those figures are right in line with the median sale price of homes in the cityle just don’t see the need to build right now when they can purchase resale. She said it is unfortunate, because this is keeping a lot of contractors out of work, but people just don’t want to seem to take the time to build, and construction costs are quite a bit higher.

The number of foreclosures continues to rise, as well. In October, foreclosures were 35-40 percent of the homes sold. That number rose to around 61 percent in November.

Landry says the yearly total is still relatively average. From Jan. 1 through November 2008, the number of foreclosures in the city stood at 406, 40 percent of the overall number of homes sold.

The market is showing improvement, but Landry knows that some realtors are still struggling. She has some suggestions for those realtors. Landry said it is important that realtors reach out to people. Most of her clients have come from referrals. Landry has spent countless hours marketing, making phone calls and sending out letters to prospective buyers.

She says it is also important for realtors to keep in touch with their homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, who typically know very little about what they are getting into.

“There is nothing more exciting than the first time you buy a home,” she said. “You really have to guide first-time buyers.”

RV GARAGE HEIGHT LIMIT COULD BE INCREASED.

P&Z seeks public input

Thursday, December 11, 2008 9:27 PM MST

Tony Waggoner

The Lake Havasu City Planning Division will hold the first of two public forum meetings Dec. 18 to examine existing zoning provisions related to front and rear yard setbacks in residential districts and permissible building heights for RV garages.

“Whenever you are talking about building heights in residential areas, it becomes an issue,” Senior Planner Stuart Schmeling said. “We’re looking to test the waters in regard to building height and the opportunity to move buildings on site in residential areas.”

City planners are looking to possibly modify the existing zoning code for RV garages to allow for building heights of 17 feet. Building heights are currently set at 15 feet, which Schmeling says doesn’t offer the opportunity for many residents to park their RV’s in their garages.

Schmeling noted both items for discussion are tied together. Many RV owners choose to park their RV’s in their front or rear yards, because they have no other options. This is where alternate setbacks requirements would apply. The setback issue would mainly involve existing lots, according to Schmeling. While the item is on the agenda for discussion, the Planning Division has suggested no official setback length.

Nothing is set in stone, though. Schmeling indicated this was why the Planning Division would like to hear from the public.

If changes are made, it could force some trade-offs, depending on the public’s input. It is foreseeable the city could no longer allow for parking of RVs in front or rear yards, considering a 17-foot building height on garages would allow enough space for most RVs.

The second public meeting will be held Jan. 8, 2009. Schmeling said he doesn’t expect any immediate changes. Both items would have to go through the Planning & Zoning Commission and city council before being implemented.

Parking in residential yards has been something of a heated issue recently. Many residents have expressed concerns that excessive automobiles parked in front and back yards cause eyesores. Schmeling said they have received complaints from some residents that it takes away from the community.

Others have argued for the right to park any vehicle on their property, noting many homeowners have a number of drivers living in the home and not much additional space for parking other than their yards.

RV storage facilities have been discussed in the past. Many RV owners expressed their concerns over costs of storage and safety of their vehicles.

Schmeling said he is not sure how the Planning Division would handle the meetings. It is likely they would provide some examples to residents of how garages would appear under the proposed guidelines.

The meeting Dec. 18 will be held at 9 a.m. inside the council chambers at the Police Facility. The Jan. 8 meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the same location. Residents are encouraged to attend one or both meetings and offer their input.

For more information, residents can contact Stuart Schmeling or Dan Kassik with the Planning Division at 453-4148 or by e-mail at schmelings@lhcaz.gov or kassikd@lhcaz.gov.

You may contact this reporter at twaggoner@havasunews.com.