Here's How Shelley Sees It - Your Real Estate Questions Answered 

Dear Shelley,

I keep seeing headlines about real estate, and they’re not good. Interest

rates are up. Inventory is down. Did I miss the boat for buying a house? Did

I miss the boat for selling my house?

-Amanda, Phoenix

 

Dear Amanda,

Good news… No boats have been missed! I’ve seen those same

headlines. Lots of doomsayers and naysayers talking about interest rates

rising, bubbles bursting, and buyers disappearing. Just remember that

headlines are designed to grab your attention so you’ll click on the article.

Truth can be stretched, exaggerated, and filled with conjecture. So, allow

me to add some important perspective to the conversation.

For home buyers…

Yes, interest rates have gone up. Yes, this affects mortgage payments. I

can’t tell you whether a home is “affordable” (That’s a matter of personal

finances). What I can say is that even though rates have gone up, they’re

not what people would call “outrageous.” We’re coming off a period of

historically low interest rates, so any increase in rates will be noticeable. A

home in your price range today will have roughly the same mortgage

payment as a similarly priced home pre-Covid. If you still have an

opportunity to get into a home with a mortgage rate in the low, single digits,

you’re in good shape. You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a 14%

home mortgage rate. Yikes!

For home sellers…

Yes, the number of buyers bidding on homes have gone down since the

beginning of the year. We saw homes selling in record time for record

sums, and sellers couldn’t wait to get in on the action. The local real estate

market isn’t quite the same these days, but demand is still strong.

Remember that Arizona has done nothing but grow since the pandemic.

Our state leads the country in nearly every category of growth, including

population, jobs, rent, and new employers. So long as AZ remains an

attractive place to live and work, there will be people in need of a place to

live. You might not have 20 bidders fighting over your house, but you’ll still

have two or three. And all it takes is one!