Tight competition for homes makes Maricopa a seller’s market

Jun 8, 2020

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By Dayv Morgan

This spring, Maricopa home sellers have been happy and home buyers have been frustrated as the marketplace has become very competitive.

Even though the stock market has seen significant decreases in recent months, home prices are headed in the opposite direction. The supply of homes for sale has been at its lowest point in many years. In response, prices have climbed to levels they were at during the peak of 2006.

Currently, the lowest-priced four-bedroom on the market is listed at $224,900. Last spring, you could get a four-bedroom home for as low as $178,000. Bidding wars have resulted in offers above the asking price. Appraisals aren’t keeping up, and many buyers still end up having to pay more than the bank is willing to lend.

Days-on-market also shrank as buyers quickly snatched up inventory. Homes are selling about 30 days faster than they did a year ago. Some properties are even getting offers before they are listed for sale.

For now, the main competition with resale homes is new builds, with at least 10 subdivisions currently seeing ongoing construction. If short sales and foreclosures begin to enter the market it will create downward pressure on prices.

How all that shapes up in the future remains to be seen. Currently all foreclosures and trustees sales have been suspended. And because the foreclosure process typically takes at least six months from the first missed payment, we will probably not see distressed properties affect the market until 2021, if it happens at all.

For now, if you are a buyer who sees a newly listed home for sale that you like, you should submit a strong offer as soon as you can. Odds are that someone else already submitted one while you were making up your mind.