Arizona housing prices are on the rise

Arizona has some of the highest home prices in the nation, with the metro Phoenix area seeing an 18-percent year to year jump.

Catherine Reagor covers real estate for The Arizona Republic. We asked her about the record prices we’re seeing.

Reagor shared that the market had a two-month dip around April and May, but as Arizona has moved into the fall months, the demand for homes and the amount of buyers have skyrocketed.

However, the supply of homes is low. Reagor shared that since many people are working from home due to COVID-19, many people have grown to love their homes and stay in them longer. Some sellers also may be nervous to sell due to visitors and limiting the spread of the virus.

Reagor has been communicating closely with real estate agents who are watching buyers and their habits. She has found that almost 82-percent of buyers were owner-occupied. This means that the market is shifting away from people trying to flip Arizona homes to make a profit. Reagor has also monitored where buyers come from when they move to Arizona.

“We are having a lot of buyers come from California,” Reagor shared, “and you can work from home or you can buy a house here, it’s a lot cheaper and you’re getting a salary.”

Reagor warns that bidding wars are expected for houses that are under $500,000 or $600,000 at this time of the year.

Experts believe that this is housing boom and not a housing bubble due to the lack of supply and the extra steps that need to be taken in order to secure a mortgage.

Reagor said that this boom can be good for Arizona’s economy unless you are a first-home buyer.

Additionally, rents are still increasing.

“We are leading the nation in rent increases,” Reagor said. “Cities like San Francisco, New York, Chicago–they’re seeing 8-9 percent drops in rents, and we’re seeing 3-4 percent increases.”