Realtor: Home buyers getting more bang for buck

PHOENIX — Buyers in the current Valley home market are likely to get more for their money, a Realtor said.

“They’re playing it much more safe, but it also depends on price,” Realtor Dianne Brennan told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR’s Mac & Gaydos on Wednesday. “With interest rates being so low, they are getting a bigger bang for their buck.”

Brennan, who hosts News/Talk 92.3 KTAR’s That Real Estate Show, said those interest rates are getting boomerang buyers — those who left the housing market for a period after a foreclosure or short sale — back into similar houses.

“With the interest rates being low, it’s the reverse: They probably had a really expensive house that they overpaid for and probably can get even bigger for the same amount of money that they paid for their previous homes,” she said.

Despite a potential fear of another bubble, Brennan said the wants of Valley buyers haven’t changed and there is not a lot of houses to satisfy those wants.

“We won’t ever have enough houses. We have too many people moving here,” she said, citing an Arizona State University housing market study.

That study also said that 100,000 people were expected to move to the Valley by 2015 with an additional 80,000 by 2016. The influx of buyers should help keep Phoenix’s housing market stable.

“If you’re investing in real estate or buying, be assured that prices are going to go up slowly and they’re going to level off in six months,” said Brennan, adding that selling in the Phoenix metro area will not be an issue.