November 2024 Phoenix Real Estate Market Update and How Flataz.com Can Help You Sell Fast and Save Money

As of November 1, 2024, Phoenix’s real estate market shows a mix of increased supply, fluctuating demand, and slightly cooling prices, setting a challenging scene for sellers. Here’s a quick summary:

• Active Listings: Up 40% year-over-year, now totaling 21,368 (without UCB & CCBS listings). This increase gives buyers more choices and bargaining power.

• Pending Listings: Up 6.8% from last year, but down 4% from last month, suggesting some tapering in immediate demand.

• Monthly Sales: Up 11.9% from last year, showing more closed transactions despite a longer October work month.

• Price Trends: The average price per square foot ($290.64) dipped by 1% from last year, though the median sales price rose to $450,000, up 3.4%.

Demand has improved slightly, but with higher interest rates, it’s not as strong as some sellers hoped. Additionally, the Cromford Market Index has dropped below 90, indicating a shift to a buyer’s market. The elevated inventory and broader selection empower buyers, putting downward pressure on prices.

How Flataz.com Can Help Sellers Succeed in This Market

In a market where buyer advantage is growing, sellers need every edge they can get to attract offers and maximize profits. Flataz.com provides a valuable solution with its flat fee listing services, which allow sellers to pay a fixed rate rather than a percentage-based commission. Here’s how this approach helps sellers:

1. Lower Selling Costs: By avoiding traditional commission fees, sellers can keep more of their profits, which is especially helpful when price cuts are common and buyers are negotiating for concessions.

2. Faster Sales: With professional marketing and local expertise, Flataz.com helps ensure listings are optimized for visibility. This can help attract more buyers quickly, reducing the time a property sits on the market.

3. Informed Guidance: Flataz.com agents are experienced in the Arizona market, providing strategic advice on pricing and negotiation in a way that benefits sellers without breaking the bank.

If you’re looking to sell in the Phoenix market, partnering with a flat fee realtor like Flataz.com can help you remain competitive, attract offers faster, and keep more of your proceeds—even in a buyer’s market.

* Data from The Cromford Report

Pre-Foreclosures Up in the Valley

According to The Cromford Report , they “are starting to see a few more pre-foreclosure listings” here in the Phoenix area. Here’s their commentary from September 10th:

“Although they are still at very low levels compared to the long-term average, we are starting to see a few more pre-foreclosure listings. You will miss a lot of these if you rely on the MLS listing information. A home may be listed for sale well before a Notice of Trustee Sale is filed, but when it is filed we will catch that in our daily clean-up process and add a Pre-foreclosure tag to the listing. Listing agents often forget to do that (or decide not to).

At the moment we have around 100 pre-foreclosures in our database, but ARMLS is showing only 50 or so. Whether they are Short Sales or not is open to interpretation. Most homes will have some positive equity but it is certainly possible that it will be eliminated by costs incurred during close of escrow.

It is hard to compute the total amount of debt attached to a property. Even a lender can sometimes not do that, because there may be more than one loan if a HELOC or other loan has been taken out. If there are late payments, then these payments plus penalties and interest will need to be added to the debt.

100 pre-foreclosures is still a tiny number across 20,000 active listings. Back in 2010 we had some 19,000 pre-foreclosure and short sale listings. Levels of distress are low, but for those homeowners involved it is very real. The lack of significant appreciation over the last 2 years means negative equity can pop-up for anyone whose circumstances change or who overpaid for a property. We see some listings that are unsold fix-and-flips and that hard money interest can build up quickly if the home fails to sell quickly. A hard money lender will quickly foreclose to safeguard their position if the investor fails to make the monthly payments.”

Market Update - September 1, 2024

The housing market in Phoenix has seen a notable increase in supply but a drop in demand compared to last year:

1. Active Listings: Up 54% from 2023, with 18,430 homes available (excluding UCB & CCBS).

2. Pending Sales: Down 12.2%, reflecting weaker buyer interest.

3. Sales Prices: The average price per square foot rose 3% year-over-year, with the median home price steady at $440,000, up just 1.1% from last year.

Despite lower mortgage rates since July, buyer demand remains weak. Sellers are facing more competition, with common price cuts and concessions. The market for high-end homes ($5M+) remains strong, but for most sellers, a demand rebound is necessary to invigorate the market.

Potential buyers may be waiting for mortgage rates to drop below 6% before acting. Keep an eye on contract counts, as these will indicate whether demand is recovering.