By Frank May
I spent a few months in Brisbane, Australia, years back during their summer, and it was pretty humid! I have lived in Arizona all my life, so I wasn’t used to humidity. I’d always quip back when someone said, “It’s a dry heat,” with, “Yeah, like a blow torch!” After experiencing humidity, I promised I would never complain about our dry 115-plus degree days again! I’m being tested with these temps lately, but I will still take the dry heat any day of the week! Humidity is way more horrible to me, and it’s all about perspective, right?
My experience in real estate has given me a unique perspective. I weathered the storm of the 2008-2010 years, a period that was undeniably tough. It felt like every third or fourth home was being foreclosed or listed as a short sale. As a real estate agent, I not only helped people sell but also became a full-time counselor as people were dealing with a lot.
It was a challenging time, but it also showcased the resilience of the real estate market. When rates skyrocketed in 2022, I had to maintain perspective and think back to 2008. I realized that even though prices were dropping and buyers were having a hard time qualifying, things were not even close to 2008. Most homeowners in 2022 had plenty of equity as prices had been going up at record paces for years! It wasn’t fun to watch values go down, but because of being around the block a time or two, I was able to see some good news. People were able to keep their homes and not lose them. Most of their mortgages were at the lowest interest rates we have ever seen, and as I mentioned, most people had a lot of equity!
During the last part of 2022 and into 2023, most people who would have normally sold their homes decided to wait as they didn’t want to trade a 2.5% interest rate for an 8% rate (and who could blame them)! Even downsizing didn’t make much sense when your payment wasn’t going to go down much. Over the past year, I’ve watched our inventory slowly rise as more and more sellers finally decide they don’t want to wait any longer to make the next move. A year ago, we had just over 11,000 homes for sale. Today, we have just under 18,000 homes for sale.
The interest rates have also dropped over a percent from the peak of last year to this year, which has helped a lot of buyers. A 1% drop in your interest rate can mean a savings of $300 to $500 or more a month, depending on your home price/loan amount. This drop in interest rates is a beacon of hope for both buyers and sellers, and we will probably see a little more of a drop in interest rates (that’s what I’m hearing from the ‘experts’) before the end of the year, which is good for buyers and sellers. I have seen many price reductions over the past month or two, but even with these reductions, it is interesting to see some of the highest-priced sales this year.
So far in 2024, the highest-priced home sold was in Scottsdale, and it just closed in July for an astounding $17,000,000! It was on over 1.5 acres and had over 9,600 square feet! Here in 85383, our highest sale was $5,275,000, including over 13,000 square feet of living space and garage space for 14 cars! Last year, in 85383, we had 138 homes close for $1,000,000 or more; this year, we are on the same pace! We (85383) had 1,108 homes sold last year, and we are on pace to beat that this year. You can get more home for your dollar in 85383, and even with these price reductions and more inventory on the market, this area has better growth potential than other parts of the Valley, making it an ideal place to live.
So, my perspective when seeing all of these stats is that 85383 is doing great, and this area is the best place to live in the Valley! With the current market trends and the potential for further drops in interest rates, the future of the real estate market in 85383 looks promising. It’s a great time to be a part of this thriving community. Want to know how your home stacks up in this market? Give me a call at 623-203-1800.
Frank May grew up in the Valley, graduating from Northwest Christian School and Northern Arizona University. He is a real estate agent with RE/MAX Fine Properties and has been helping both buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He has been a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) since 2003. Learn more at mayteam.com.
