Phoenix real-estate market is much talked of throughout the year only because of its dwindling prices. Though it is still a sellers’ market in metro Phoenix, gradually buyers are gaining their ground in the market.
Though Valley home prices are being steady now instead of inflating as they did last February, the number of homes for sale is up.
The combination is making it easier for buyers who are trying to purchase more affordable homes priced below $300,000.
“Buyers now might be competing with three other offers compared to 15 last year,” said Tina Tamboer, a senior housing analyst with the Cromford Report.
According to the Information Market’s latest report for the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, the median home sales price in January was $262,100.
The median price is looming at around $262,000 since October. That is below from the record $268,000 it hit in June, but up from $260,000 it had dropped to in September. Prices decreased about the time 30-year mortgage interest rates climbed above 4.5 percent.
Too few homes for sale priced for first-time buyers are responsible for inflating sellers’ market during the past two years. It should be noted that prices increased by about 7 percent in 2018 and 7.5 percent in 2017.
But, as per ARMLS, the numbers of new homes in the Phoenix area jumped 78 percent from December. Valley home sales have fallen down 16 percent in January from December.
“January’s numbers are in, and we are off to a roaring mediocre start,” said Arizona housing analyst Tom Ruff with The Information Market. “Not good, not bad, just slightly above average.”
Buyers-
Most of the first-time buyers will have to compete with investors and flippers going after homes priced around the Valley’s median. Tamboer said, but recently homes for sale priced below $250,000 have seen the most price reductions. The reason might be because many of the investors and flippers are now trying to resell homes they purchased in that price range. As per real-estate agents, first-time buyers are getting choosier about what they will pay for houses that need work.
Crash-
The buyers waiting for the metro Phoenix home prices start to decrease are unlikely to become homeowners this year. Valley home prices are expected to make a growth most likely at a slower pace or possibly flatten out during 2019.
But, it is expected that home values will not be falling as they did in the real-estate bust of 2008-11, as per the real-estate analysts’ predictions looking at the numbers. The bigger problems like subprime loans and rising foreclosures are not happening now. According to predictions by Ruff, metro Phoenix’s median home price will inflate to $264,000 next month.
