“Right
now it’s a buyer’s market,” says John Foltz, president
of Real Estate Executives in Phoenix. “That simply
means there are more properties than buyers on the
market. Prices in general have gradually come down.
But I firmly believe most of those days are behind
us.”
Steve
Wallace at Arizona Mortgage Specialists acknowledges
this is a good time for consumers to take that giant
leap.
“I’ve
been here 18 years and this is one of the best times
to buy I’ve seen,” Wallace says. “Things were overpriced
for a while, but there are some great bargains out
there right now. Some prices are down as much as
$100,000. That’s all over the Valley. Interest rates
are up a bit, but the economy is so strong. Look
at the stock market. It’s setting records everyday.
People are still spending a lot of money.”
Foltz
says there are a couple of factors contributing
to the current real estate conditions.
“There
has been an increase in foreclosures,” Foltz says.
“A lot of homes were bought with no equity loans
using very high leverage. Then people found they
couldn’t pay their mortgage. This type of activity
tends to bring prices down.
“The
other factor is there’s still a pretty sizeable
inventory of new homes,” Foltz says. “Builders are
offering incentives to buyers. Right now it’s a
very good market for buyers.”
Some
areas haven’t felt the impact as much as others.
“The
luxury markets, homes in the million dollar range,
have remained stable,” Foltz continues. “Markets
in established areas have pretty much stayed stable.
The perimeters grew much faster. Places like Surprise,
Queen Creek and Maricopa are now feeling the downturn
much more than established
neighborhoods. The market tends to be more volatile
the farther away you get from the city.”
It’s
simply a matter of cycles.
“I’ve
been in the business for 40 years and have seen
times like these before,” he says. “We know things
change gradually. There are times when it’s a buyer’s
market and others when it’s a seller’s market. People
have a sense that something dramatic is going to
happen. I don’t foresee a dramatic up bounce immediately.
It’ll be a gradual change. When things settle down,
there’ll be a time to stabilize.”
This
is a perfect time for buyers to upgrade, Foltz says.
