Welcome Back, Weekend Warriors! We're in this together!

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 four fun-filled events happening around the Valley!

Market Update

It’s been another week of surprises in the real estate world with the biggest of them being the fluctuation in interest rates after the Feds monetary policy review last week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Fear not, interest rates are still in the 2s on average, with one client we saw locked this week at a mere 2.75% which is basically FREE money, but we did have a few days there where interest rates were (gasp!) closer to 3.5% on average. If you are thinking in terms of your greatest investment, this is a TINY amount to pay for the safety and security of your own home or wealth building platform  - I mean, what else can you pay as little as 0% of your total investment down and see returns as high as 10% in 60 days as many of our buyers have experienced in this unprecedented market. We hear all the time, but we’re buying HIGH - when in fact, what you are buying is the lowest interest rate in history. Even IF prices go down, which there is no indication that they will do anything other than continue to escalate as long as there are NOT ENOUGH houses for people to buy, even an increase in 1% point in interest rates can make a devastating impact to your buying power.

An opportunity as great as the one that buyers have in the Valley right now is not without its challenges, of course. Our buyers are seeing multiple offers, requests for contingency waivers and inspection time period reductions, being asked to submit letters of interest describing their personal investment in the purchase, and the good agents are pulling out all of the stops to make sure our offers reach the top of the stack (CRUMBL, anyone?). Truth be told, the good LISTING agents are vetting the buyers offers, calling the lenders, AND evaluating the expertise and reputation of the buyer’s agent as part of their overall process of presenting the offer to their client, too. Professionals want to work with professionals, so now is not the time to just take the cheapest solution - it might end up costing you your home which isn’t exactly getting a good deal. Want to get a good deal? Get an agent who is experienced in negotiations, has expert communication skills, works full time to help their clients achieve their goals and has the reputation of being a professional - that’s how you get a good deal in this market.

And some more good news? Buyers aren’t the only ones getting a good deal in this market - which is THE BEST news for our locals who are buying up, buying down, or just moving around this great state of ours. Our sellers are reveling in the fact that we’ve got less than 8,000 homes available on the market for sale as compared to nearly 14,000 this time last year and nearly 8,500 this time last month. With the average price per square foot up more than 15% valley wide, it’s not surprising that we’re anticipating more folks will take advantage of getting their home on the market before the Election. We do expect price rises to eventually start negatively impacting affordability causing more buyers to drop out of the market and start a cooling cycle but eventually in THIS market, can be a long a time. Without knowing when we might start to see the tides turn, we can only focus on the opportunity cost of missing out on the ripe conditions for selling now. We’ve got families needing home offices, retiring couples wanting to rid themselves of a mortgage, and everyone in between. We are in a solutions market.

So, what’s that about that election? Well, according to Meyers Research, a housing consultancy firm, “new home sales record a drop in median sale activity of 15% from October to November, when the nation chooses its president” but it’s the lack of impact on pricing that is most important to consumers. Read more here…

Meyers Research Article

So what’s the key takeaway? Know your options. If you own a home, get an updated evaluation of its value and the market conditions - and if you are buying, make sure your agent is savvy. Gone are the days that you can walk into a builder and hand them your money if you are a buyer and knowing how to navigate 12 offers if you are a seller isn’t for the faint of heart. The good news is, this is what we live for - this is why we’ve sharpened the tools in our toolboxes, brought on the best of the best in the industry at the Amy Jones Group (Did we mention that we were hiring? Who do you know?). We are in this together and if you are ready to see what this might mean for your family, reach out to us - we LOVE seeing it all come together for you.

😲 In Case You Missed It!