Originally published by azfamily.com on July 14, 2020
MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — For Julie and Chris Cole, moving day will be here soon.
“We put it on the market on a Saturday,” Julie said. “We had a showing within an hour and five days later we had three offers.”
As sellers, the competitive real estate market paid off, but the Coles also faced the same competition as buyers. The couple, making the short move from Mesa to Chandler, looked at more than a dozen homes in the area and put in several offers before one was finally accepted.
“It was difficult,” Chris said. “It was kind of emotional and it wasn’t what we expected, that’s for sure.”
The Coles are not alone on the competitive, sometimes stressful, house hunt in the greater Phoenix area. In fact, it’s becoming apparent that housing inventory is actually extremely low in the Valley.
Currently, an average piece of real estate can expect to receive around three offers on it. So, if you’re trying to buy or even sell a house right now, anticipate several other offers and for the home to go quick.
Is there a rebound in the future?
In the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of homes sold dropped sharply. According to MLS data, 6,860 homes sold in the Phoenix metro area in May of this year, compared to 10,341 in May 2019. But there are signs of a quick rebound.
Even in a pandemic, home prices are up. The average sales price for homes in the Phoenix area is up 1.4% year-over-year, according to MLS. And although it’s a strong sellers’ market, there is good news for buyers, too. Mortgage interest rates are lower than they’ve ever been.
For the Coles, the low interest rate they locked in for their new mortgage, almost a full point lower than their current mortgage, sealed the deal for their move.
“We knew we were probably going to get top dollar for this house,” Chris said. “We knew we probably weren’t going to get a deal on the other side, but over time, we knew we’d be OK.”
Thanks for reading everyone! If you’d love to learn more about whether buying a home in today’s market is a good idea, go check out some of our other related posts in the blog!
