February 20-21

Welcome Back, Weekend Warriors!

This is the Amy Jones Group's weekly newsletter, detailing local events, recent real estate news, and open houses.

This week, we're bringing you five fun-filled events happening around the Valley!

The month of love always seems to be a turning point in a new year. Often, you are one month into your new year’s resolutions and have either fallen off the wagon or recommitted at least once or twice and are starting to see success. The middle of the month also marks the time where it becomes less and less socially appropriate to wish people a happy new year and many families start to plan their Spring and Summer vacations marking the proverbial end of winter for Arizonans. Many of us are transitioning out of our boots and back into our open toed shoes, holiday decorations are down and we’ve switched back to iced coffee, and farmer’s markets, outdoor events, and kid’s sports are in full swing…at least with as much momentum as Covid will safely allow.

In the residential real estate space, February typically marks the beginning of the “season” for buying and selling Arizona homes. While there is no “dead zone” for real estate in Arizona, Summer is actually a great time to purchase as is Winter where luxury properties typically shine, February is when we start to see the steady incline of inventory from folks who waited until after the new year to get their home on the market and buyers who waited until after the holidays to get serious about their search. With the upcoming tax deadline and many W2s already received, buyers and sellers are often leveraging their refund to help with home related expenses. The weather is nice, the birds are chirping, and so begins your typical season of rising inventory, rising home prices, and rising sales. 

But wait, haven’t we already been seeing rising home prices and rising sales? Good, you’ve been paying attention. Don’t stop now. 

For many years, the average price per square foot across all listings and all price ranges in the Valley was just under $200. Keep in mind, that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen single digit appreciation year over year in the valley - it only means that there was a healthy mix of property types and appreciation rates which ultimately kept the average pretty steady. In October of last year, we crossed over the $200/sf mark, quickly rising to $210/sf and at the beginning of this month rose up to $220/sf - a 16% increase in just 6 months. In order for prices to start trending down, we would need to see something significant change in the market - buying patterns to significantly decrease, sellers to start listing at a significantly faster pace, builders to start building at a pre-market crash rate - but none of these things are happening. 

With inventory down 61% and a median sales price that is rising by double digits, there is no arguing that it is a good time to buy and sell. What is the likelihood that you’ll have another opportunity to not only get 20%+ appreciation on the home you are selling in a year’s time and buy one with a similar expected outlook allowing you to speed up the pace at which you become financially “eligible” to move again if needed? We’re seeing folks who made quick decisions at the start of COVID and whether they’ve had a change of mind, heart, or circumstance - they are entering back into the market because they CAN. We’re obviously seeing a demand for more home offices, larger backyards, and high-speed internet as well as a decrease in the importance of proximity to work and amenities, and a greater interest in suburban and rural areas. 

We get the question a lot, I’m sold on the idea of SELLING but how do I BUY in this kind of a market. When the MLS is quickly becoming Zillow in terms of availability and clarity of the market opportunity - we’re turning to our roots of match-making buyers and sellers. It’s a beautiful space to be working in and one that allows for the true negotiations to center around TERMS, FLEXIBILITY, and TIMELINE. Price is of course pushing boundaries but with the vast amount of equity many of our clients are seeing in their home, that’s not the only benefit of finding the RIGHT buyer. We’ve helped clients who only want to have showings for a weekend, some even less, and others who want us to find the buyer that meets their needs WITHOUT ever putting the house on the MLS. 

There are 100 different ways to sell your home right now and about as many to coordinate your move - lease back, short term rental, long term rental, equity access, and more - the key is to partner with someone who can present all of the solutions and tailor the ultimate plan to your goal. Over the past ten years, we’ve seen the gap between housing units built and the demand for housing in the Southeast Valley explode - a problem that will not have a 2021 solution. As affordability continues to be challenged by rising prices and rising interest rates, it is absolutely the time to claim a piece of real estate while you still can. 

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