Category Archives: Weekly Market Update

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 8/20/2021

As many suspected, affordability declined in Q2 2021 and the US as a whole and Greater Phoenix fell below the ideal affordable range of 60-75 for the first time since late 2018. Through Q2 2021 in Greater Phoenix a household earning the median income ($79,000 annually), can afford 56.4% of what is for sale. A year ago, it was 70%.

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 8/13/2021

Long before residential real estate pulled us out of the shortest recession in history, Wall Street and Silicon Valley were plotting ways to infiltrate housing. While big money and new technology provide powerful incentives, it is very difficult to replace a well-informed, well-connected, local real estate professional.

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 7/30/2021

In the past, the Phoenix housing market tended to run about 8-12 months ahead of the rest of the country. Over the past 18 months, our market has pretty much been on pace with the rest of the country until very recently. I would say that our market is running about a month ahead of the rest of the country so be mindful of national headlines, it is old news in Phoenix.

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 7/2/2021

The market is softening = slowing = normalizing = moving closer to balance which are all good things even though it feels weird. After the wild ride of 2020 and the nearly non-existent inventory levels of Q1 2021, the real estate market is working out its kinks. I have mentioned it before and will say it again, it is impressive what a person can get used to. We got used to 10 or 15 buyers for each listing. We even (kinda) got used to only 4,000 active listings (when we should have 25,000). Now we have to prepare today’s buyers and sellers (and ourselves) for another new normal, a much healthier one.

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 6/18/2021

The real estate market continues to shift and change, slowly moving towards normalization. Prices continue to increase, demand is slightly subsiding, and inventory is growing (and has a LONG way to go). The intensity is cooling (from 500 degrees to 350 – its still HOT), and fatigued buyers are writing fewer offers before one is accepted. The headlines attempting to explain the still very hot, yet cooling market seem to be causing more confusion than clarification.

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 6/11/2021

While today’s residential real estate market remains unhealthy (remember when 10% appreciation was a lot?), initial progress has been made. Prices are leveling off, supply is increasing, and immediate sales are declining. This is good for buyers, especially first-time homebuyers, which are foundation of the real estate market.

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 5/28/2021

April saw its best sales rate in 15 years and at the same time sales declined again for the third straight month. Homes are selling faster than ever before, and prices are higher than ever before; yet the signs are all there, the market is slowing – very slowly – and just starting to normalize.

Greater Phoenix Real Estate Update 5/21/2021

Residential real estate continues moving at breakneck speeds. In April, nearly 75% of offers written by Redfin agents were for listings with multiple offers, nationwide. In greater Phoenix, it was 80.5%. Last week Tina Tamboer with the Cromford Report told us that 57.1% homes that closed in greater Phoenix in April, closed over asking. These exciting times of economic growth and massive home-price appreciation are being dampened by fear, not just of a bubble – which we are not in – but also by the threat of inflation. One of the ways the government is able to slow inflation, is by increasing rates (not mortgage), which then usually puts pressure on mortgage rates which would increase affordability challenges thus weakening homebuyer demand.