Realtors see Desert Aire sales climbing

DESERT AIRE - Realtor Bill McCaffery, associated with John L. Scott Real Estate, is looking forward to improved sales of Desert Aire properties this year.

McCaffery believes the worst of the downturn that started in 2007 has passed. His own website, Desert Aire Real Estate, had 10,867 hits in December.

"April is usually our big month," he said. "That's when people on the west side start looking for warm weather properties. December was the biggest month in 2011."

McCaffery is a resident of Desert Aire. He moved here after retiring from a career in bank records with Washington Mutual.

McCaffery took a position with JLS in 2006 after he decided being retired did not necessarily mean being idle. That was the year JLS opened its office, taking over for developer Ross Davison.

There were three people working out of the JLS office that year. They handled a good share of the 60 homes that sold.

The downturn that followed bottomed out in 2009 with 14 homes sold by all realtors combined.

McCaffery had his worst year in 2009. He was the lone person in his office, and his income was 30 percent of his 2006 earnings.

Because of his retirement income, McCaffery was able to weather that storm. In 2010 things started to take a positive turn with 23 home sales total 15 lot sales. McCaffery had his best year.

Values are still way below 2006, McCaffery said, and he expects them to rise only slightly, if at all. Most properties are worth 20-40 percent less than they were in 2006.

McCaffery noted one 3,000-square foot, two-story home with a view of the river was listed three years ago for $335,000. It sold for $180,000 as a bank repo last year.

"I don't think they'll go lower," McCaffery said. "We're down to about the cost of replacement."

Low-end, non-view lots of about 8,000 square feet are valued at about $21,000. View lots of half an acre or so are valued at $149,000. A Lakeview lot that started at $229,000 sold for $169,000.

McCaffery is hoping for 25-30 home sales this year, total, based on last year's action and December's website activity. And January hits were good too.

"It's got to result in increased business," he said.