(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Lennar.)
By Keridwen Cornelius | Phoenix Magazine
The Valley’s real estate market is on fire.
True, we proclaimed the same thing last year, in our inaugural Top Agents issue, but what was a hot market then is doubly hot today. More accurately, 2.7 times as hot. That’s how fast year-over-year home values climbed in the intervening 12 months. A theoretical home worth $400,000 in June of 2020 was worth $506,000 in summer 2021.
The reasons for the Valley’s home-value bonanza are myriad. Some pundits say it’s fueled by a countrywide craving to flee crowded, expensive cities in favor of a less-impacted outdoor lifestyle. Concurrently, few Phoenicians wanted to sell during the pandemic, resulting in low inventory and pitched bidding wars. Finally, the Valley is growing faster than most metros. In August, the U.S. Census Bureau proclaimed Phoenix the fastest-growing large U.S. city between 2010 and 2020.
All of it adds up to this: Buying a home in the Valley requires perseverance and planning. Sindy Ready, treasurer-elect of the Arizona Association of Realtors, is practically doubling as a life coach for her bidding-war-weary clients. “I say to them, you’re going to battle right now to buy a house, and you’ve got to be willing to get in there and fight, stay positive and stay in the game,” she says.
