Valley Buyers Market

Author:	Lucas Jones
Source:	Homes Discovered
Date:	April 7, 2006

The valley's housing market can now be called balanced or normal.  Last summer it was a frenzy. Now there are more homes for sale and sellers are being much more reasonable which has created a normal market that is favorable for both buyers and sellers. In the Valley, there are 30,000 resale homes for sale, compared with 7,000 last June, said Bob Rucker, head of the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. Normal is 22,000 to 32,000. Last year, even homes with unfavorable qualities, such as busy streets or proximity to power lines, were selling quickly, says Realtor Damon Pace, RE/MAX Excalibur. This means that there are also more open houses which gives home buyers more time to look at homes and to compare what they see.   Last year, 128 open houses were listed in the March 12 Arizona Republic Real Estate section Open House Directory; on Feb. 18 of this year, more than 300 were listed. This means a longer time on the market for sellers.  Now, the average amount of time a house is on the market is 49 days while last summer some homes sold in hours.  The average normal amount of time on the market is 40-55 days, last July it was at 24 days. Now there is more room for negotiation.  Last year, homes were being sold "as is," with no inspections, no repairs, no negotiation.  Because the inventory of homes was so low, sellers often received multiple bids over the asking price within hours of being listed. Today, sellers might get a couple bids and have to make a few concessions.  They are forced to reduce the selling prices to sell the homes faster.  Prices are holding. Home builders are once again offering incentives.  Such incentives include, free pools, lock in the interest rate for an extended period, save on closing costs, buy down the interest rate, or select upgraded options. Recently, interest rates are slightly higher.  This has not deterred people from buying homes but it has effected how much they can afford and the monthly payment on the same sized loan. Now, there are also fewer waiting lists for homes.  Last year you were lucky to lock in a lot because builders offered up limited numbers of homesites.  Waiting times were long and uncertain.  Some people waited as long as a year and hoped they would get a lot.  Now it is uncommon to have to wait so long. Now buyers can take their time in buying a home.  There are an abundance of houses on the market and you can make comparisons and get inspections.

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