For the past 4-5 years Arizona, as well as Florida, Nevada & California, has been in the news as some of the hardest hit states for Real Estate. Prices have fallen about 40% in these markets since 2007. With a glut of homes and short sales & foreclosures dominating all sales, the market was by and large in favor of buyers.
Finally there has been some accurate reporting in the news relating to what is really happening in the Arizona housing market. Market conditions are favorable. Inventory is down significantly in Arizona!! In the past year we have seen a lot of investors getting into the market. They are not only buying up the foreclosed homes but the number of investors buying homes at auctions has increased from 20% to about 40%. In fact approximately 40% of all homes sold last summer were cash buyers.
According to Mike Orr, director of the Arizona State University Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice, about 58,000 homes were on the market by late 2007. The long-term average is about 33,000 homes listed at any given time. That’s down to 25,000 now or 19,000 when accounting for homes that have deals pending, Orr said. The unusually short supply will continue to shrink. What does this mean for buyers and sellers? Pay attention! Now is the time to get into the market. The road ahead is long but now is the time to take that first step…or leap.
As a Realtor, I still hear news about the Real Estate market that is just not the same as what I am experiencing out in the field. The news at large is still “scaring” buyers & sellers away, telling them prices will continue to drop and that we have still not reached the bottom. In my experience I do not see that out in the field.
Nick Cote from the Daily News-Sun wrote a very timely article on Arizona’s West Valley Real Estate Market. Click here to see the full article. Thank you Nick for a great article. West Valley Real Estate Market on the Mend.
Elise Fay's Blog 