October 2-3

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 six fun-filled events happening around the Valley!

Hey guys! We are headed into another weekend but oh my gosh, can you believe it’s October? It almost feels like Fall is in the air with these cool morning breezes and I’m loving all of the signs of the coming holidays from Halloween decorations in the stores to weekend fall festivals (check out our events section) on the calendar. Our agents continue to be busy helping families make the East Valley their home and for some of our sellers, button up the details as they start a new journey out of state.

The last week has shown an increase in demand for housing across the valley and it continues to outpace the rate at which we can add new inventory to the market which means the number of available houses for sale has started to decline yet again. The silver lining for our buyers is that this market stabilization is occurring at about 3-4 times the amount of inventory we had in March of this year - and while we expected interest rates to have gone up by this time, they are still exceptionally low and less than a point up from their lowest mark yet.

As we continue to watch the gap between supply and demand narrow, we actually have four more cities moving in favor of our already well positioned sellers making our top 10 list: Fountain Hills, Avondale, Scottsdale, Glendale, Chandler, Surprise, Peoria, Gilbert, Phoenix and Mesa. While demand is seasonally lower than in the second quarter, the iBuyers are masking much of this muted demand by holding 655% more inventory year over year and selling 1 in 3 of their homes to a company versus a private buyer as compared to 1 in 10 last year. 

The valley continues to top the charts of the Case Schiller Index after 26 months in the number one position, now showing a 26% annual increase in prices. For our buyers who have been on the fence or found themselves wary of competing in the market, the fourth quarter appears to signal an expected increase in inventory giving buyers more options than they’ve had all year. It would take 25,000-30,000 homes on the market as compared to our 8700 today to be in a balanced market - so prices WILL continue to rise making them cheaper today than they likely will ever be. 

Keller Williams founder Gary Keller predicts that 2022 will be one of the 6th most transacted years for real estate meaning that if you are thinking of making a move, getting started in 2021 could be to your advantage. With expected price increases, assumed interest rate hikes, and inventory well under what would be needed for a balanced market - the opportunity for financial gain for both our buyers and sellers, the ease of moving for our sellers and the increase in options for our buyers - means you haven’t  missed your chance.

As rental prices have soared 36% valley wide in the last two years, paling in comparison to the 55% increase in housing prices over the same time period, this potential calming of the waters might be the best time to rev up your home buying engines. The expectation of increasing prices and interest rates continues to drive buyer demand while sellers can read between the lines of the 32% increase in new home permits from the first half of the year, and investors - well, you might want to take a cue from some of the biggest who have doubled down on purchases in the valley.

As seasonality returns to the landscape, we’ll likely continue to see a market very similar to the one we were in before COVID came on the scene in 2020. January will likely bring another increase in homes available after a strong new construction quarter rounds out 2021, and then the Spring will return a lighter version of the frenzy seen earlier this year.  

Give us a call today with ALL of your questions - and join us at an upcoming event so that we can meet you in person if we haven’t already! We’ve got a Fall Festival, Women in Leadership breakfasts, BeLocal happy hours and quarterly business mixers - there is something for everyone. 

Thanks for letting us be on this journey with you - 

Mindy & The Amy Jones Group Crew

Have questions? Schedule a call with the Amy Jones Group below today!

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