Study finds metro Phoenix real estate favoring sellers amid pandemic

Aug 17, 2020, 4:45 AM | Updated: 2:23 pm

(Facebook Photo/City of Phoenix, AZ USA)

KTAR.com

Phoenix — Homes for sale in the metro Phoenix area are currently going under contract in about eleven days — twice as fast as one year ago, according to an online real estate database.

Zillow’s Weekly Market Report also said buyers have seen their inventory decrease by 28.2% over the last the last 12 months.

“Those homes are selling faster, they’re seeing multiple offers, and that’s forcing prices higher as well,” Zillow Economist Jeff Tucker told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Buyers and sellers are also braving COVID-19 and trying to stay socially distant from one another as they engage in real estate business ventures.

“As long as you’re not crowding in, bumping elbows at an open house, there’s not that much in-person contact necessarily happening as part of the home shopping process,” Tucker said.

Younger buyers are taking virtual tours through their computers and smartphones while chasing historically low interest rates.

Tucker also said some sellers are hesitant to move during the pandemic for health reasons and overall uncertainty.

“Some people who may have been planning to list their homes this year are probably going to sit tight if they’re unemployed, and they can stay in the home they own under forbearance,” he said.

These factors have contributed to metro Phoenix median home prices soaring 10.2% in the past 12 months to $402,000.

The median sale price the week ending June 27 was $309,359, 6.2% higher than a year earlier.

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