By Catherine Reagor and Ryan Konig | The Arizona Republic
It’s a seller’s market in metro Phoenix real estate, with so few moderately priced houses on the market that typical buyers have to scramble to make a deal.
Last week, about 13,000 houses and condominiums across he region were listed for sale. In 2008, there were four times as many houses for sale in the Phoenix area, according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.
Houses, particularly those priced below $200,000, are selling faster than they have since mid-2006, at the peak of the housing boom. The typical house now sells within 72 days, almost half the time it took five years ago.
Investors are motivated to buy because they can pay cash for affordable houses and turn them into profit-generating rentals. The improving economy has been a catalyst for traditional buyers as well, but they also are looking for bargains. The typical first-time buyer in metro Phoenix, who can’t afford to pay much more than $150,000, also wants to close a deal before interest rates rise.
The growing group of prospective buyers propelled the region’s median sales price up more than 34 percent in 2012. That price increase is expected to motivate more homeowners to put their homes up for sale because they are no longer underwater, but demand also is expected to rise.
For those in the market, the competition can be frustrating and time-consuming.
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If you’d like to discuss real estate matters, contact RLG founder Jordan Rose, jrose@roselawgroup.com
