Eric Chernick Real Estate

***Phoenix Area Market Report***

For Buyers:
New listings activated in June were down 10.0% compared to last June and overall supply has dropped 9.5% in 4 weeks, putting it below last year’s count for the first time all year. Buyers have gotten used to very little supply under $200K but now they’re feeling it hard between $200K-$250K, where new listings were down a whopping 15.1%. Trying to fill the gap, brand new townhome/condo sales have been strongest between $200K-$250K with a median size of 1,362sf. The top two builders that have sold the highest number of condos in this price range this year are Lennar in Gilbert and DR Horton in Mesa. Other competing developers building condos between $200K-$250K include Bela Flor in Mesa and Maracay in Goodyear. In Mesa, new condos in this price range have been extremely competitive with resale with an average price per square foot of $155.70 versus $157.47 for resale.

For Sellers:
Listings in escrow are up 7.4% and have soared nearly 19% over last year between $250K and $600K. Homeowners with property valued under $250K are inundated with offers from investors as flip sales* have rebounded strongly over the past few months. Making up for lost time after being down 4.2% in the first quarter, successful flip sales have now outperformed 2018 by 4.8%. The median sale price for a flipped home in May was $245K, up 8.4%, and the average size sold was 1,710sf. The median gross gain for a traditional flip investor was $53K between their acquisition and sale price. iBuyer companies such as OpenDoor, OfferPad and Zillow showed a median gross gain of just $9,900, however that doesn’t account for significant service charges to the sellers during escrow.

*A flip sale is defined in this case as the sale of property within 6 months of acquiring it.

Commentary written by Tina Tamboer, Senior Housing Analyst with The Cromford Report
©2019 Cromford Associates LLC and Tamboer Consulting LLC

STOP!
Be sure to call if you have any questions about this report
or about how the market is performing.

Would you like to know what is happening in your neighborhood?
Would you like to know the value of your home?
Do you need help deciding whether to sell or not or would you like to know if now is the right time to buy?

I would be very happy to get you that information.

Real Estate Market Report for May 2019. Contact me with any questions. I'm never too busy for your referrals! :)

For Buyers:
The median rent paid on single-family rentals through the Arizona Regional MLS is currently $1,625 per month, which is comparable to what the mortgage payment would be on a median-priced $270,000 home with 4% down at today’s interest rate (including approximate taxes, homeowner’s insurance and mortgage insurance). If a buyer were to purchase that home today, within 5 years they would have nearly $35,000 in equity just from making their mortgage payment, not including any appreciation in value. If prices were to rise at a modest 2.1% per year (the average long-term rate of inflation) within that same 5 years, then they would have an additional $43,000 in equity just from appreciation. This scenario would result in $78,000 in total equity within 5 years and by year 3 they would be able to remove any mortgage insurance from their payment, which would save another $200 per month approximately.

For Sellers:
Low interest rates are continuing to fuel buyer demand and there are now 2.5% more listings under contract today than there were last year at this time and 3.7% more sales. All in all, an impressive rebound as interest rates have remained below 4.2%, keeping affordability stable for the time being. Increased demand in the 2nd quarter has resulted in strengthening the weakening seller market after a full 7 months of decline. May is typically the highest month for listings under contract and buyer activity is expected to decline from here through December as it typically does every year. Don’t think you’ve missed the boat if you need to list however. On average since 2001, about 52% of all sales happen in the first half of the year and 48% in the second.

Commentary written by Tina Tamboer, Senior Housing Analyst with The Cromford Report
©2019 Cromford Associates LLC and Tamboer Consulting LLC

STOP!
Be sure to call if you have any questions about this report
or about how the market is performing.

Would you like to know what is happening in your neighborhood?
Would you like to know the value of your home?
Do you need help deciding whether to sell or not or would you like to know if now is the right time to buy?

I would be very happy to get you that information.