Downsizing in Scottsdale
Selling the long-time family home and finding the next one, handled by the same agent, in that order.
What downsizing really involves
Downsizing in Scottsdale is usually described as moving to less square footage. That is the smallest part of it.
The real work is two things happening at once. You are selling a house you have lived in for twenty years, which has to be emptied, prepared, priced and marketed. And you are buying a different kind of home, in a different kind of neighborhood, with different questions attached: what the HOA covers, what happens when you travel for a month, whether there is room when everyone visits.
Most people try to do those one after the other and get stuck between them. They cannot face emptying the house until they know where they are going, and they cannot commit to the next place until the house sells.
That is the knot. Everything below is how I untie it.
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How I handle a downsizing sale
I am Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Realty Luxury. I have been selling homes in the Phoenix area for more than twenty years, around three hundred of them, and this particular move is the one I have built a process around. It is called the Legacy Method, and you can read all five steps here.
Three things make a downsizing sale different from any other listing I take:
The house gets emptied with help, before it goes on the market. I connect you with a senior move company that walks the house with you room by room and works out what goes with you, what goes to family, what gets donated and what gets sold. You pay them directly. Twenty-five years of belongings is not a weekend job, and it is the single thing most likely to stall a sale for months.
We start looking at your next home the week you list. Not after it sells. Not once you are under contract. And I go with you, in person, rather than sending you links or handing you to another agent.
You get three prices, not one. A price that tests the top of the market, a price that matches where the market is, and a price below the comparables designed to create competition quickly. I tell you what each one is likely to do, including what it risks. You choose.
What happens, step by step
First, a conversation about where you are going. Not about the house. What you want your days to look like, how much space you actually use, whether you want to lock the door and travel, whether you need room when family comes. Nothing gets signed at this meeting.
Then the house gets ready. The move company first, then professional photography and a 3D walkthrough so buyers can move through it online before they arrive. Drone photography where it shows the property well.
Then it goes to market properly. Its own website built for your house alone, the MLS syndicated out to the portals buyers already search, and paid and retargeted ads on Facebook and Instagram. Luxury listings also run through eXp Luxury, the Wall Street Journal and Robb Report.
You hear from me every Friday, with real numbers: how many people saw the listing, how many booked a showing, and what the feedback said. Showing feedback is collected automatically through the lockbox, so it arrives while it still matters instead of after I have chased someone for it.
The two sides get sequenced out loud. Whether you buy first or sell first, how the timing lines up, and what happens in the gap. We plan that with your actual numbers rather than hoping it works.
Downsizing looks different by neighborhood
Most of my downsizing work is in Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and North Phoenix, and the conversation is different in each.
In McDowell Mountain Ranch and DC Ranch, most of the homes I list are the ones people raised families in, and the next home is often a lock-and-leave elsewhere in the same area. In McCormick Ranch, the housing stock is more varied, which usually widens the options for the second half of the move. Fountain Hills and Grayhawk each have their own patterns worth talking through before you decide anything.
If you are not sure yet whether this is the year, that is a normal place to be, and it is worth a conversation rather than a decision. If your timing or your price does not match what the market will do, I will tell you that before anything is signed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I sell my house first or buy the next one first?
It depends on your numbers, not on a general rule. We work it out together at the start, using your equity, your timeline and what the market is doing, and we plan for the gap either way. Deciding this early is what keeps the rest of the move from feeling rushed.
What do I do with twenty-five years of belongings?
You do not do it alone. I connect you with a senior move company that walks the house with you room by room and handles the sorting, donating and moving. You pay them directly. This happens before the house goes on the market, because it is what stalls most downsizing sales.
Will you help me find my next home too?
Yes, and we start the week your listing is signed. I tour the next homes with you in person. Being handed to a different agent halfway through the move is the thing this process exists to avoid.
What if I am not ready to move yet?
Then you are not ready, and I will say so. The first conversation is about whether the timing is right, and it ends with no listing agreement. Some people leave it knowing exactly where they are headed. Others just know what they are done with.
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Ready to make your move with Jen Keene?