Housing Myths
For all the talk of national housing shortages, what the housing market has no shortage of is housing prognosticators. While sensationalism grabs attention, it is often more fiction than fact. Let’s bust a few myths with the help of Tina Tambour of the Cromford Report. While she lists seven popular myths, we begin with myth #6 believing it the most important myth to shake:
“Myth #6 – Housing is in a bubble and home prices are on the precipice of a crash.
One could argue that Greater Phoenix already had a bubble and price crash in 2022 when prices rose to their peak by May and declined a whopping 12.3% from May to December that year, with short-term flip investors taking the brunt of the pain. Since then, prices bounced and stabilized with most price ranges seeing less than 2% appreciation year over year today. That is less than the current rate of inflation, and what is expected after nearly a year in a buyer-leaning market. While Greater Phoenix is officially in a buyer’s market, it’s very mild. Under these conditions, sale price measures are showing most non-luxury buyer negotiations at approximately 1.9% below the last list price. That’s a huge improvement over 2022 where sales prices were averaging 2.4% OVER list price. Prices are declining in some areas, but not all, and not by leaps and bounds. Current supply and demand indexes do not support massive declines in sales prices, but shaving 1-2% off lower list prices during negotiations is not out of the question. Sellers are not pushing the market with outrageous list prices. In fact, most are in line or even below last year in some price ranges.”
Note to buyers, now is the time to hire an experienced negotiator as your sales agent. “Shaving off lower list prices” requires some skill. Sellers, get your house in the best condition you can and be ready to flex in negotiations. Again, your best friend in this market is a skilled negotiator working for you.
Interested in all 7 myths? Email or contact us and we will send them to you. Otherwise, hang tight and we will explore them all in future articles.
Russell & Wendy Shaw
(Mostly Wendy)