How Is Phoenix Affected By Lack of Affordable Housing

Posted by on Nov 2, 2018 in Bobs Blog | 0 comments

In the last month I have read a few real estate journals talking about the lack of affordable housing. In many large metropolitan areas, the problem has become so dire that some cities are addressing the problem by creating a form of urban renewal. We are lucky in Phoenix, our housing stock is still within the grasp of families whose income are in median range. Your investment homes are a big benefit for those families; well cared properties in desirable communities priced at the market rate. But the demand for homes like yours continues to grow. Recently one of our clients purchased three homes, all three were rented within 30 days of close of escrow.

Several news sources in Phoenix are reporting an increase in the number of scams happening to investment home owners and prospective tenants. Bad guys are advertising empty, available rental homes at very low rents. These criminals find homes listed For Rent by property management companies or rental home owners, duplicate their ads and collect move-in funds from unsuspecting hopeful tenants. Sadly these landlords don’t either have the manpower or the understanding to adequately protect their properties. This is not a new problem, we have been dealing with this illegal activity for years and actively work to disrupt this issue before it can happen to you and your investment home.

In the Metropolitan Phoenix Area, the number of real estate sales are down 14.2% from August and down 5.9% compared with September 2017. New inventory is down 8.6% from August and also decreased 7.4% from one year earlier. Total inventory of homes for sale is up 1.9% from the month prior, while year-over-year reflects a decrease of 7.4%. Supply of inventory increased from 2.47 to 2.93 months. The year-over-year median list price was up 5.7%. The average sales price increased 8.8% and the median sales price rose by 7.6%. Pending foreclosures increased 2.7% from August but were down 14.1% from one year ago. Average Days on Market was up 1 day compared with the month prior.

Please give me a call if you are interested in purchasing another investment home. We currently have one home being advertised For Rent. That home has generated two strong applications that we are currently processing. This home will probably be rented in the next few days. It appears that this may be the last home we rent in 2018. We will probably spend the last six weeks with the “No Vacancy” sign flashing. We continue to need more inventory to rent. There are good values for sale currently (if you know where to look) which will translate into strong, long term investment properties. Call me!