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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | APRIL 24, 2022
For more community news visit SanTanSun.com
Housing supply tilting upward – but so are prices BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor
The supply of homes for sale across the valley is starting to increase significantly but that may not be something to cheer about for either sellers or buyers, the Cromford Report said earlier this month. In several reports of the last few weeks, the Cromford Report, a daily analyst of the Valley’s housing market, offered little encouraging news for buyers. It noted that fewer listed homes are going under contact and warned, “Ordinary owner-occupier home buyers are hitting real trouble.” Blame spiraling home prices and increasing mortgage rates, it said. “The very significant rise in mortgage interest rates over the past few months is keeping many sellers out of the market - they do not want to let go of their cheap fixed rate loans,” it said. “However, it is also taking the wind from the sails of the normal owner occupiers, especially the first-time home buyer. “Not only are they suffering sticker-shock from the asking prices of the homes they would like to buy, and crazy competition from cash buyers, the higher interest rates mean their month-
This home on East Cedar Waxwing Drive in Sun Lakes recently sold for $749,000. The 1,937-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath home was built in 2005 and boasted a complete remodel with 24-inch Italian matte marble tile floors, a spacious great room with custyom-built Marantz theater system and a master suite with bay windows capturing stunning views. (Special to SanTan Sun News
ly mortgage payment has increased alarmingly. In some cases, it has increased so much it is no longer deemed to be affordable by their lender and their loan application is denied. Comparing April 1 of this year with the same date last year, Cromford said active listings are up 23.6%, excluding those that are under contract but still taking offers and those sales contingent on the seller finding a new home. That percentage shrinks to less than 1% year-over-year when those two categories are included, it said, though
they dropped 4.3% between March 1 and April 1. Moreover, under-contract listings that include those two categories and pending sales are down 7.6% year-overyear and down 3.6% from what they were on March 1. Sales for March were down 2.6% year-over-year on April 1 but up 26.6% from February, according to the report. Meanwhile, Cromford reported that in March, the median square-foot price soared 25.5% from what it was in March 2021 and 2.3% from February 2022.
At the same time, the median home sale price in March was $456 – up 27.3% from the $358,250 median price in March 2021 and up 2.5% from the February 2022 median of $445,000. Last month also saw the highest monthly dollar volume in sales ever recorded, it said, with $5.8 billion. “This might lead you to think that demand remains very strong, but you would be wrong,” Cromford said. “The falling number of listings under contract show a negative story –down almost 8% from this time last year and even down 3.6% compared to the beginning of March. As we said - fewer active listings are going under contract.” Cromford also said investors – not homebuyers look for a place to live in – continue to drive home prices upward. “In this way an expensive market reduces demand and prices start to climb less steeply – at least they would if it were not for the investor demand,” it said. “Many investors are flush with cash and to them, residential real-estate looks like a safe haven. A hedge against inflation, revenue producing (unlike many stocks, cryptocurrency, commodities and gold) and very tangible – it looks extremely attractive when See
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Chandler mom sees opportunity in ‘macro counting’ BY KEN SAIN Staff Writer
Chandler resident Shannon Dougherty says it’s easy to see why people don’t always stick to diets. “When I started down my own personal path of macro tracking, I realized all the things that I was depriving myself of in the past, and struggling with those restrictive diet plans that most of us, women especially, feel like excess cardio, under eating and restrict ourselves, a whole new world opened up.” In macro counting, people count carbohydrates, proteins and fats instead of calories. Dougherty said that helped her finally keep off the same 10 or so pounds she would gain, then lose, then gain, then lose. She said what she likes about counting macros, is there are no good or bad foods. You can eat what you want, you just have to limit it to the macro daily goals. Dougherty has always been interested in health. She’s been a fitness trainer for years but after having success with macro counting in her own life, decided to make the switch and become a macro counting coach. “It’s a really hard concept for a lot of people to grasp,” Dougherty said. “They think, shoot, I’m going to add more food, and the panic sets in, ‘I’m going to gain weight, I’m adding more
Chandler resident Shannon Dougherty runs Fit Mom Living and has clients from Europe to Canada. (Photo by Stephanie Slezak)
food.’ There’s no magic pill, everyone’s searching for the quick fix, and they want results yesterday.” Dougherty said the best way to think about macro counting is like a race car. If there’s no fuel in the tank, it’s not going anywhere. She said denying the body nutrition leads to binge eating. By instead of counting calories and
instead counting how macros, you’re not denying the body the fuel it needs and you can stick to the types of food that will allow you to still lose weight. Dougherty started her online coaching in 2019 and currently has clients as far away as Europe and Canada. Because she’s online, the pandemic hasn’t hurt her business.
“It used to be that they wanted to lose their baby weight, now they want to lose their COVID weight,” Dougherty said. Dougherty said she studied sports medicine at San Diego State University before starting work as a personal trainer. She said with her experience as a mom, and a business owner and a person who tries to stay fit herself, she can help other busy moms find the balance they need to care for their families and still find time to invest in themselves. Dougherty said first her clients have to make the decision to buy in. Then, she starts by setting small goals to make the changes sustainable. While exercise will definitely help with that journey, it’s not the priority. “I always like to say you can’t outtrain a bad diet,” Dougherty said. “Nutrition is 85 percent of the equation, I like to say exercising is the icing on the cake.” She said she limits the number of one-on-one clients she takes so that she can maintain a high level of service. She also offers group classes. “I just want women and moms to know that they’re not alone in struggling, and there is a way that they can feel good about themselves and see results and not give up on their goals.” Information: Sign up for service at FitMomLiving.com. Learn more on Instagram at FitMomLiving.
