Dennis Balthazor

A Chandler man slashed his price by $60,000 to sell his home so he and his wife could move to Ahwatukee.

An east Mesa women accepted about $25,000 less than her original asking price even after installing carpet, remodeling a bathroom, upgrading the swimming pool and adding a $7,000 hot tub and a $2,000 shed.

Their tactics weren't extraordinary in the ongoing housing downturn, where prices are falling by double-digit percentages in some cases.

"Most of the homes for sale are hanging on or in the middle of the road" for the time it takes to sell, said Debi Gotlieb, a residential-real-estate agent with Coldwell Banker.

In one case, Gotlieb advised her client to take his home off the market until conditions rebound. But when that will happen is anyone's guess, she said.

"Realtors need to have a discussion with sellers because appraisal value and market value are two different things now," she said.

In nearly every ZIP code in the Southeast Valley, median home prices fell on a percentage basis over the past year, according to Information Market.

The biggest percentage drop was 19.4 percent in the 85297 ZIP code in Gilbert. Another Gilbert ZIP, 85296, saw a 15.2 percent drop. Its remaining two ZIP codes saw smaller declines.

But there were some bright spots, too. Four areas in Mesa saw a percentage increase ranging from 0.8 percent to a whopping 21 percent. The 21 percent jump occurred in 85207, which includes Las Sendas and other tony east Mesa developments.

Still, in Mesa, nine of its 13 ZIP codes posted a decline in the percentage change for the overall median price.

Susan Estes, an east Mesa resident, was among those in 85208 who saw her home value fall.

The median home price fell by 8.1 percent over the past year in her area, making it hard for Estes and her husband to sell their 1,589-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bath home near Southern Avenue and Signal Butte Road.

"I figured it would take four months," she said.

Estes and her husband put their home on the market in December, took it off for one day in June and put it back on the next day.

It was expected to close Friday, 270 days after it went on the market.

She originally asked $255,000 for it, dropped the price to $240,000 and sold it for $229,500.

The deal came after Estes sunk $7,000 into a hot tub, $2,000 into a shed and thousands more into remodeling a bathroom, putting in new carpet, painting the garage, draining the pool, adding a heater to it, upgrading its pump and installing a new home water heater.

"And we're making $5,000 off the sale," she said.

The Estes had bought a larger, 4,000-square-foot home near Baseline and Crismon roads in the 85209 ZIP code, which experienced a 5.8 percent drop in the median price.

That worked to the Estes' advantage because they got the home for $525,000, well below the $560,000 asking price.

Some real estate agents argue that home prices have been inflated for so long that a market correction is overdue.

"I had a family that couldn't accept an offer, but as the market continues to decline a little bit, they probably wish they had," said Cindi Dewine-Barebo, a residential real estate agent specializing in the Southeast Valley for Century 21.

For Gary Brown, selling his two-story home in Chandler was a chore that he and his wife were anxious to finish.

They put their 3,000-square-foot home near Ray and Rural roads on the market last Octoberfor $520,000 and sold it - twice.

The first deal fell through because it was contingent on the buyers selling their home, and that sale fell apart.

After nine months of agent showings and open houses, the Browns sold the home in July for $60,000 less than their original asking price.

Brown blames himself for not following the advice of his real estate agent, Coldwell Banker's Gotlieb, who urged him to price the house at $480,000.

"You know, you get delusions of grandeur," he said.

Brown also blames his timing, adding, "We thought about selling six months earlier, and we should have acted on it."

Like others, Brown said he was able to save money, $10,000, when he bought another home in the original section of Ahwatukee. The home is in the 85044 ZIP code, which saw values fall 6 percent.

Kerry Fehr-Snyder
The Arizona Republic