On a more personal note, what I am seeing in the market outside of the statistics is an increase in demand backed up by sales of our lower end properties, short sales and foreclosures up to $400K and an increase of all cash buyers in the high end, over $900K. What is falling flat is the sales from $500K-$800K.

The Trifecta Effect in Buying or Selling a Property:

Coldwell Banker First Affiliate is still the leading Real Estate office with the most sales volume in both Sedona and the surrounding areas of the Verde Valley since 1986. In my opinion, there are three reasons why a property doesn’t sell:  price, showability and feeling.

PRICING

When pricing your property, make sure you ask for market comparisons and be ready to sell your home at today’s’ market price. Really, a property is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it and for many sellers, this is disheartening news as today’s market is much more competitive then days past.

SHOWABILTIY

Speaking as an experienced Interior Designer, I have had many a client who couldn’t see past the orange shag carpet or avocado green Formica counters.  These are design flaws that are easily remedied and having a Realtor working for you who can arrange the best contractors for the job or even oversee in some cases these upgrade or remodel projects can be a real bonus. In regard to selling a property, having your home staged or tweaked by a designer, especially one who is also a realtor (smile) and knows what Buyers are looking for is an excellent and affordable idea that is well worth the time and small investment.

FEELING

What about the overall feeling?  So very important and where the skills of feng shui can be of great assistance in both getting a property ready to sell and in making a new property ready for the next home owners.  Feng shui deals with the visible and the invisible aspects of a home or a piece of land by optimizing the positive aspects of the property through the use of a 5000 year old tradition.

As an Interior Designer and owner of Sanctum Design since 1992, Master Feng Shui practitioner of 18 years and Sedona Realtor since 2003, I welcome your questions and comments on any of the above mentioned topics.  Your answers will appear in my upcoming articles.

Query:
I have had a very difficult time since my divorce finding a new relationship and keeping it. I read about a feng shui cure involving the color pink in the bedroom. Can feng shui help with this?

- KB, Sedona, AZ

Answer:
You are speaking of the popular kind of feng shui that uses external remedies to adjust what is primarily an internal challenge. The solution is to work with someone like a dear friend or counselor who can guide you to look at the long held beliefs and judgments that you have been holding around your ability and right to have a loving relationship in your life. These “irrational beliefs” are mostly unconscious and why I recommend working with someone skilled in these areas.

Once you have uncovered and released these beliefs you are ready to affirm the Truth not only in yourself, but reinforced in your environment. I call this process “Feng Shui From The Inside Out” (side note: Stay tuned for my upcoming book of the same name!), and in my opinion is the most powerful way to create lasting change that aligns you with a more authentic and fulfilling life.

Now we are getting into the more traditional way of practicing feng shui where I can look at your home and the land it occupies and see areas that may be out of alignment with your new clear intention to experience a lasting and loving relationship. One of the most powerful places to focus is the Master Bedroom. After any energetic clearings, I advise the removal of anything that is not supportive of rest, relaxation and sensuality. This includes computers, clutter and other electronics in the Master Bedroom. They are much better suited in other areas of the home. Now we create a space that invites intimacy by adding things in twos or couples. For example, two bedside tables, images of two people or animals together. Also adding earth elements in the right areas such as crystal, stone, pottery or the warm color palate of reds and corals, candles and if space and finances allow, the master bedroom is the perfect area for a fireplace.

There are a few more steps that a feng shui practitioner holds in confidence with the client that I can share with you in person. Thank you for your timely question.

To my readers, I look forward your questions and comments at Laura@SedonaInspiredMoves.com and invite you to visit my website to read more about feng shui (LINK). Please feel free to send questions anonymously as your name will not be added to my answers in upcoming newsletters.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

You can also click here to read my article on The Feng Shui of Home Buying or view past articles on my blog.
]]> http://sedonainspiredmovesblog.com/2011/02/15/the-heart-of-the-matter-feng-shui-and-love/feed/ 0 sedonainspiredmoves Heart http://sedonainspiredmovesblog.com/2011/02/15/sedona-never-saw-its-shadow/ http://sedonainspiredmovesblog.com/2011/02/15/sedona-never-saw-its-shadow/#comments Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:00:15 +0000 sedonainspiredmoves http://sedonainspiredmovesblog.com/?p=139 ]]> As Sedona starts to warm again from our unusually chilly winter, the forest trails begin to beckon again and the Real Estate Market groundhog prepares to come out of it’s hole, look around for the light and tentatively enter what is historically its busiest time of the year. The interesting thing is that it seems that the Real Estate Market never went into hibernation this winter! According to the statistics, Sedona ended the winter of 2010, historically its slowest real estate season, on the sunny side – surpassing single family home sales of 2006 by 7% and exceeding 400 sales for the first time since 2005.

January also heralds the return of the Luxury Buyers, as four homes sold in January in the $1.2 -$2.5 million range with an average of $527 per square foot, a sharp contrast to the 17 homes in the $250-$800,000 range that were also sold in January at an average of $160. per square foot. A very unusual but exciting way to start the New Year, indicating a return to a healthier market while the national economy continues to try and regain its balance.

Want to keep with what’s going on in the market? I have two suggestions:

1. Click here for a free market statistics report!
2. You can see my favorite properties on the market right now by visiting my page of Laura’s Picks. These are what I consider strong buys on the market right now, not necessarily my personal listings.

I welcome your real estate questions and comments at Laura@SedonaInspiredMoves.com.

November “Pending” sales are up the highest they have been since before 2006.

The Sedona Real Estate Market’s inventory of single family homes is at its’ lowest point since 2006.

The average price per square foot for Single Family Homes is holding steady at $180 a square foot all year.

We are showing an 18% increase in unit sales this year.

Coldwell Banker First Affiliate has sold 40% more listings than any other local so far this company this year.

What does all this point to?  Mainly that our market is stabilizing in the under $600K range and the people who don’t have to sell right now are simply taking their homes off the market.  This is good news because having overpriced listings skews the whole market and creates unrealistic expectations.  What we are showing is a realistic market with properties that are selling.  Outlook for the spring looks sunny!

I welcome your comments and questions at: Laura@SedonaInspiredMoves.com or visit my web site to receive my monthly newsletter at www.SedonaInspiredMoves.com

Happy Holidays and if a new home is on your futire, dont hesitate to call me.

Laura L. Pennington

928-300-0180

Have a GREAT weekend and i look forward to receiving your comments and questions at Laura@SedonaInspiredMoves.com

Question: “We have been on the verge of losing our house for the last two years, and it finally seems like we will be able to stay. The house doesn’t feel like a home due to the uncertainty that we’ve lived with for so long. How can we re-energize it and feel more settled?”     – K.B. Cottonwood, AZ

Answer: This is a common issue for many home owners facing similar issues in this market and I appreciate your candor. Financial stress directly affects the chi, or life force of a home and hence, the way it feels. Any stressful change can leave an energetic imprint on a home just as a traumatic event can leave an emotional residue on you for years to come if not dealt with. There are two parts in the solution to your problem.

The first part of your solution is to perform a clearing of the energy. Traditionally this can be done with sage as the uprising smoke takes the problems with it. You can light the sage and starting at the front door, move in a clockwise direction through the house using a prayer or chant of choice as you “smudge” seeing the smoke taking the problems with it and leaving the space clear when it dissipates. You may want to open the doors and windows while performing this ritual to further encourage the stale energy to leave.

Once the house is clear, you will want to create a new imprint of vitality. Feng Shui calls this “planting new seeds”. The sageing tills the soil and now you plant new seeds of things you wish to invite into the house. Here are a few good ways to raise the chi of the home. You can do one or both with a strong intention and focus on what you want to create.

Fragrant Flower Method:

Bring three bouquets of fresh, fragrant flowers into your home. Place one at the front entrance, one in the wealth quadrant of your home (left back corner of the house), and one in the wealth area of the master bedroom or home office (also left back of each room). The smell and color attract vital life force. You must change the flowers if they start to die or wilt and there is a feng shui empowerment that is traditionally preformed with this cure, but if doing this on your own, you can simply visualize vital life force as rainbow light being attracted into your home and recharging the areas of intention where the bouquets are placed.

Planting New Seeds:

This solution is best preformed by a traditional feng shui practitioner and can be quite powerful. It involves the traditional ingredients of rice and cinnabar, combined with a ceremony to plant new intention into the earth around the home and attract abundant energy into the occupants’ life to support them. I have performed this cure for clients and found it to be very powerful and transformative.

To summarize, first clear, and then plant new intentions. The Holiday Season is a great time to make this change as parties and festive lights are another excellent way to raise the chi of any home!

NOTE TO READERS: Email me your comments and feng shui questions in all areas of your life and I will answer them in upcoming editions of my newsletter.

You can also click here to read my article on The Feng Shui of Home Buying.

Well, it looks like the Sedona Real Estate Market is beginning to stabilize, at least in the under $400,000 price range – which is where most of the action has been happening this year. According to the Sedona Verde Valley Association of Realtors, prices are actually rising in the under $250,000 price range for the month of October and sales have increased overall in all areas of our market.

What’s driving this trend? Most likely the lower interest rates, which are hovering around an unprecedented 4%. Many fortunate bargain hunting Buyers are striking while the iron is hot! These rates won’t last forever and as I write this we are already seeing them increase over the past week.

The Luxury Market (which starts at $750,000), showed a median selling price of $1.5 million in 2007, and is now registering at a cool $920,000 this year so far. Many choices exist in this market segment, and strong negotiations by your Buyer’s Representative can reap great rewards. If you have been shopping in Sedona, but were holding off over the past few years, I’ve got news for you… the iron is hot!

Housing Trends: Bigger Isn’t Better

According to USA Today, the shifting priorities of home owners are calling for a rethinking of floor plans by builders. Disappearing are libraries, formal dining, sitting and media rooms as owners are trending toward less square footage, while spare bedrooms are doubling as home offices.

More efficient space and less formality have always been the preference in Sedona. Our casual lifestyle calls for a more open floor plan with a focus on red rock views and practical outside patios that double as dining and breakfast rooms. Imagine kicking off your red dirt covered hiking shoes and relaxing with a cool iced tea while watching the sunset light up the rocks as your honey throws a fresh one on the grill. Now that’s living!

My feng shui topic this month is an ode to Halloween and a Geomancer’s answer to the question: “Are ghosts real”?

Question: I moved into a house that people tell me is haunted. Although I have not seen anything and am not sure I even believe in ghosts, I was wondering what you would do about this? – K.H., Pine Valley, Sedona

Answer: Interesting question, and one I have dealt with many times over the years. My solution would be to look at the land and surrounding environment from a geomantic perspective (an earth-based science of energy and land vitality), before dealing with the structure. Once that area has been addressed and I am sure the land is supporting the occupants, I would look at the home in order to access the energy inside the structure itself.

Most of the time I find that what has been described as a “bad feeling” area of a home is a place where energy residue has built up and become stagnant or stored. Maybe the prior occupants experienced health, emotional or financial problems. This stressful energy stays in the place and builds up over time. It is nothing to be afraid of, but can affect the new occupant’s health and vitality. Traditional feng shui calls this “predecessor chi” and says that one is affected by the former occupants’ energy. This is something to keep in mind especially when you are looking at buying distressed properties. The opposite is true as well. When the prior occupants’ thrived, you will benefit from this uplifted history.

One of my most interesting cases was a consultation at a “Wellness Center” in a major hospital that shared its acupuncture and massage room wall with the morgue! Talk about a “bad feeling” room! I had to explain to the doctors (many not believers in Feng Shui), that it is the same as having a person coughing away in the corner of the O.R. while you were doing open heart surgery. There is nothing wrong with a cold, but you wouldn’t put it together in a room while you are performing surgery. The same goes for a morgue. Nothing wrong with dead bodies, but you don’t put them sharing a wall with someone who is energetically and emotionally “open” having a treatment. Imagine lying there with needles in you while being jolted awake by the sound of the long stainless steel drawer of the morgue slamming shut as a fresh body is deposited on the other side of the wall. Now THAT is creepy!

NOTE TO READERS: Email me your Feng Shui questions in all areas of your life and I will answer them in upcoming editions of my newsletter. Or, feel free to comment on this article.

You can also click here to read my article on The Feng Shui of Home Buying.

This just in…Some of you savvy readers may have heard the rumors about the halt in foreclosures by major banks such as Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo and are wondering how this will affect the real estate market. Well, much of this remains to be discovered nationally, but Arizona shouldn’t suffer much affect as it is not a judicial state and those are the states being affected.

The halting is mainly due to the confusion that has been happening in regard to Deed Transfers and title companies not offering title insurance. There are two types of Deeds, Special Warranty Deed and General Warranty Deed. The General Warranty Deed assures clear title back through a chain of title. The Special Warranty Deed only warrants title through time of current ownership. Many foreclosures were sold and resold on the secondary market and there is question as to who really owns the property, the the original note signer must be found. If they can’t find the original owner, they can’t insure the title.

As we plunge forward into what has historically been Sedona’s most robust real estate market season, we’re seeing single-family home prices still falling as sellers are finally digesting the reality of the market, and making price adjustments to reflect this new real estate market reality. Add to the mix the number of homes sold is showing a hearty increase this year over last: compare the 267 homes sold in the first nine months of 2009 to the 380 homes sold so far this year.

What is the obvious conclusion here? Falling prices plus increase in units sold equals a dynamic market where the buyer is still in control. With interest rates on home loans still hovering in the 4% range, savvy buyers are making the most of this unprecedented real estate market by tying up properties where the best deals can be found – which is in the under $600K range right now. Although I must say, I’ve also been pleasantly surprised on our weekly home tour day to view luxury properties priced 25% lower than they were only a short time ago. So what once would have been listed at $1.5M is now peaking on the market at a realistic $1.2M with a room for negotiation.

You can see my favorite properties on the market right now by visiting Laura’s Picks. These picks are what I consider to be strong buys on the market right now, not my personal listings.

Our vacant land took a snooze in the month of September with only 4 recorded sales and all were under $200K. Total lots sold this year so far is 71 with 60 of those closing for under $200 and only one above $500K – a bank-owned lot in the prestigious Seven Canyons Golf Community.