The Real Estate Market in Phoenix: Many Bright Spots

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The real estate market is changing quickly.  As your real estate resource center, we’re committed to keeping you up to date on all of these changes—and what they mean to you.  Here’s what happened in Phoenix over the past year compared to the previous year and what low inventory and record-low interest rates do for the market. 

In December 2011 in Phoenix the average sales price was $163,603 with an average of 69 days on the market.  The percent of sales price to list price was 96.2%.  Fast forward one year.  In December 2012 the average house sold for $213,820, which is way up from the previous year.  The average days on the market went down by 16 to 53 days.  Homes are moving fast.  Also, the sales price to list price went up to 97.4%, an increase of 1.2%.  

Right now, there’s a good opportunity in real estate that most people are not aware of—record-setting low interest rates coupled with low inventory.  The last thing you want is to miss out on these amazing rates.  Now you can get a 30-year fixed rate for 3.5% or less with some getting nearly 3% rates recently.  These rates have helped made home-buying affordable.

Keep in mind the interest rate makes a big difference.  Consider buying a $300,000 property with a 3% interest rate, your monthly payment would be $1,264.81.  If you’re on the fence about whether the real estate market is a good idea for you, think about those rates creeping up to say 5% and what that does to the same payment—it would go up by almost $400 a month.  Ouch!     

If you want to get top dollar for your property, you should take advantage of the fact that inventory is low.  Here’s the thing:  supply and demand affect what you’ll get for your home.  When everyone who has been thinking about selling their home puts their home on the market is not the time to dive in—if you want to get the most out of your home.  If you wait until then to sell your home, you’ll have lots of homes to compete with.  And when the supply of homes goes up, the price you’ll get for your home inevitably goes down.  At the end of the day, you have a better chance at success if you decide to sell now, instead of waiting until all the Joneses get in the market.          

We’re certainly starting the year off right with an overall confidence in the real estate market and I expect to see more of the same—sales prices increasing and average days to sell a home decreasing due to low inventory.  2013 looks great! 

If you are interested in buying or selling your home and want to get in on record-setting low interest rates, contact me today at 480.785.6939 or brianyelder@realestateexecutives.com so we can build a strategy to get you the results you want.  I’d be happy to assist you.