By Frank May, Real Estate Agent
You might not hear it like I do since I deal in real estate, but I’m constantly hearing the fear in people’s voices about whether the real estate market is going to crash or not. I understand their concern because I was in this industry back in 2008 when it did crash (and most of the people asking were around then too). A lot of people’s financial lives changed negatively back then so there is reason to have some healthy concern about what is going to happen in real estate.
I try my best to remain unemotional and continually look at the numbers to see what the market is doing. I want to know if inventory is rising or falling and what prices are doing. Right now, our inventory on our MLS is below 6,000 homes, which is incredibly low. We haven’t been that low since this past July.
As I type this (in mid-January), there are only 93 homes for sale in 85383. Out of those 93 homes, there are only five homes less than $500,000 and nothing less than $450,000 (and that home will be gone in a couple of days). There are 10 homes listed at $1 million or more! Four homes over $1 million are currently under contract and, in the past 30 days, we’ve had seven homes close for more than $1 million with the highest being $2.75 million.
As you can see, we have no shortage of people wanting to live in 85383, only a shortage of homes. More and more people are hearing about the Upper Westside and they want to be a part of it. They love the newness of the restaurants and businesses. They love the mountain views with the hiking trails. Of course, there’s also the great schools. And, when they get here, they will love the people as well.
So, do you need to be scared of a real estate crash coming soon? My opinion right now is based on the numbers and they are telling me the prices are continuing to rise, not crash. I don’t see a crash coming right now, inventory is still too low. If you would like to keep track of your home’s value each month, then send me an email at [email protected] and I will be happy to update you monthly by email.
Frank May grew up in the Valley, graduating from Northwest Christian School and NAU. He is a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty and has been helping both buyers and sellers for 20 years. Frank May has been a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) since 2003.
