Phoenix-area home shoppers better make up their minds quickly
Apr 19, 2018, 4:30 AM | Updated: 11:26 am
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
PHOENIX — Phoenix-area home shoppers who take time to think over a purchase may be left out in the cold, according to an analysis by real estate website Zillow.
It’s part of national trend that saw the median U.S. home sell in an average of 81 days in 2017. That includes the time it took to close. It’s the fastest annual average on record, falling from 90 days in 2016.
The Phoenix metro market was even hotter than the national average, with houses selling in 66 days last year.
“As demand has outpaced supply in the housing market over the past three years, buying a home has become an exercise in speed and agility,” said Aaron Terrazas, a senior economist for Zillow. “This is shaping up to be another competitive home shopping season for buyers, who may have to linger on the market until they find the right home but then sprint across the finish line once they do.”
Zillow says inventory will be down 13.5 percent in Phoenix in 2018, increasing the pressure on home shoppers to move fast. Nationally, the number of houses on the market has fallen on a year-over-year basis for 37 consecutive months.
And bargains could be hard for home shoppers to find. In 2017, 16 percent of Phoenix-area homes sold for more than the list price. That was a tick up from 15 percent in 2016, but it trailed the national average of 24.1 percent.
According to the analysis, homes sold faster in 2017 than the year before in all but two of the nation’s 35 largest markets.
San Jose, California, was the fastest major market in 2017, with houses selling in an average of 41 days. In addition, home shoppers in San Jose have seen inventory drop 26.8 percent in the past year.
San Francisco (43 days), Seattle (47), Denver (52) and Sacramento (54) joined San Jose as the five fastest-selling major markets.
