Is there a best time of year to sell a house in Arizona. As temperatures in our state climb, the question many homeowners who have been thinking about selling a home have on their mind is, “should I list my home during the summer months?” There are several different perspectives on this, but this year has been different than any year in the past, so to answer this question takes a little more analysis.
We think for the remainder of this year the Arizona real estate market is going to be quite different. No one can predict the future, but we can look at indicators and market direction. We’ve posted before about how real estate inventory in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area was low before the pandemic. It did increase slightly over the past couple of months but is still significantly below every year since 2016. New listings are still down about 26 percent over previous years, so as demand increases supply continues to be low.
THIS YEAR THIS MIGHT BE THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO SELL A HOUSE IN ARIZONA.
In talking to several colleagues about the market, there is agreement that this might be the best time of year to sell a house. We are seeing some trends that give us some very positive feelings about the direction our market will go over the next twelve months unless we have another black swan event that changes everything.
The first trend started before the virus hit. We started seeing a large influx of buyers from California, Oregon, Illinois, and Washington state. We are now seeing even greater numbers of inquiries from potential buyers in those areas.
One buyer who contacted me last week told me that they worked for Google who announced that most of its workers will work from home until 2021. This buyer indicated there is talk that Google will allow many Googlers to continue to work from home even after 2021. For her, Scottsdale was at the top of her list of where she would like to work remotely.
BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC THIS MAY BE A GREAT TIME TO SELL A HOME
The pandemic has shown that many companies are learning their employees can work quite productively from home. This probably doesn’t spell good news for commercial office space in the future, but for cities here in Arizona, we become attractive work-from-home locations. The median price of a home in the Bay area is hovering around $1,000,000 and in some cities like Palo Alto, the median price for a home is over $3,000,000. We look very attractive to buyers who are paying the mortgages on those homes. The key takeaway is that market demand is going to continue being high and people who have been cooped up in their homes are starting to look in our market.
THERE REALLY IS NO RIGHT TIME TO SELL A HOME IN ARIZONA
Homes do sell in the summer, and this year more might sell than ever before during the same time period previously. Many agents suggest summer is not a good time to sell a home in Scottsdale and tell clients to take the home off the market during the summer so that days on market can refresh to zero. It used to take 90 days for this to happen, but a new rule just issued by the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) reduces the time a property must be off the market to 45 days to reset the days on the market to zero.
We are not big proponents of doing this. First of all, in a typical year in our metro area, homes go under contract all summer long. In fact, last year, 34 percent of all homes in the market, 31 percent of the homes in Scottsdale for example, and 27 percent of homes over $1,000,000 went under contract in June, July, August, and September. This is during the same time period many agents suggest removing the home from the market.
If someone has made the decision they want to sell their home, it makes sense to leave it on the market until it sells. A good real estate agent will always look at a home’s history, which shows how many times a home has been listed, and how many days it was on the market each time it was listed. Adding those numbers together and you have a home’s true market timeline.
SERIOUS BUYERS MAKE SUMMER A GREAT TIME TO SELL A HOME
Any buyer who is house shopping when our temperatures hit their peak is likely a serious buyer. There are definitely better months to look if you are just kicking tires and want to see how homes are decorated. With many sellers taking the advice of agents who suggest removing a home during the summer, inventory typically drops. Last year home shoppers looking for a home in Scottsdale at the beginning of August had 36 percent fewer homes to choose from than were available to potential buyers in March.
So to answer the question we started with is there a best time of year to sell a house in our area, our answer is absolutely, and this summer may be a really great time to be on the market. If you are wondering what your home is worth, visit our home value page for an instant estimate of your home value. If you are considering listing your home this summer, or even later this year, we would welcome the opportunity to earn your business. We have strong marketing elements, including our exclusive Zillow relationship that can help gain your home more exposure.
Interested in searching for a home in Scottsdale, Phoenix or Mesa? Visit our search page. Or visit our communities page to learn more about Scottsdale communities and what they have to offer.
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