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Potential buyers in this range who come from Sedona tend to have been renting and are stepping up to home ownership. Rick says younger buyers relocating to Sedona ask typical questions about schools and the weather. Recently, he’s been fielding questions about the Brins Fire.
As for questions about the real estate market, Rick says, “they want to know if it is the same as California. I tell them it’s not as bad as L.A. and it’s still going strong, even if it’s not as good as it was a year ago.”
$499,900: Stepping Up to the Next Level
From the outside, with its multiple levels and mature trees, the 1,934-sq.-ft. home on Little Elf Dr. looks like many of the homes built in Sedona in the early ’80s. But Alexandra Olsen of Realty Experts says a “Mother-in-Law suite,” hot tub, and recent improvements show unexpected perks can await inside moderately priced properties.
The West Sedona home, built in 1981, has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, two decks and two patios, a wood-burning stove in the living room, remodeled kitchen with new appliances, an attached bonus room/office with separate entrance, and a 600-sq.-ft. garage which has been remodeled and enclosed to provide another separate living space with a kitchenette and bathroom. The backyard is fenced and holds a small water feature and above-ground hot tub. A sizable storage room, accessible from the backyard, connects to the home.
Alexandra says she expects this home to stay on the market from three to six months. While odds are buyers in this range will be self-employed, Alexandra says she won’t be surprised if a family moves in. “Just look at all the bicycles in the driveways,” she says. “I get questions about the schools in Sedona. I went to school here and I had a good experience. The schools are partially funded by property taxes and there are fewer students which means more money per student.”
The home last sold in 2004 for $254,000. Alexandra, who has been selling real estate in Sedona for six months, expects the home to appreciate at an even higher rate since it’s already at the lower end of the market. She said she does not get many questions about resale values because most people who buy in Sedona are familiar with prices in Red Rock Country.
“Though the real estate market has slowed down across the country, this only means there are fewer prospective buyers, not that values have declined,” she says. “Values aren’t down, they’re just not as high as people expected.”
$655,000: A View From the Village
Spacious rooms, a green backyard with native landscaping, and commanding views of Castle Rock, Bell Rock, and Courthouse Butte are the big attractions of the 2,341-sq.-ft., single-story home tucked away in a quiet neighborhood in the Village of Oak Creek, say Jerry Meyer and Cathy Egry of High Valley Real Estate. And while in years past homes in the Village – seven miles southeast of the heart of Sedona – may have been less expensive, Jerry says the gap is closing.
“You may have a very slight edge [on price] in the Village but not by much,” he says. Cathy adds the Village has its own selling points: It’s away from the tourists and traffic of Uptown and West Sedona and, for golfers, boasts two 18-hole courses and one executive course. But it all boils down to views and proximity to National Forest land and this Stone Circle home, listed at $655,000, has both.
