Real Estate Information Archive

If you’re thinking about selling your home, the time to make the move is NOW. According to Realtor.com’s recent Housing Shortage Report, the US is experiencing its most severe inventory shortage in twenty years. And a recent Trulia report found that home inventory dropped a whopping 10.5% in Q4 of 2017—the biggest drop the market has experienced since mid-2013. In addition, the Trulia report found that homes across all categories—starters, trade-ups, and premium—are the most unaffordable they’ve been since Trulia started tracking the data. And while this is bad news for people looking to buy a home, it’s great news if you’re looking to sell. Low inventory is creating competition for homes across the nation, and that competition is driving up prices, making it an ideal climate for sellers.

The Takeaway This competition and low inventory isn’t going to last forever; in a recent article, economics experts from Realtor.com predict house inventory to start increasing towards the second half of 2018 (largely due to new construction). If you’re thinking about selling, now is the time to act.

Thanks to historically low inventory and an extremely competitive market, home prices across the nation have been steadily rising in recent years. And according to expert predictions, it doesn’t look like that trend is going to change in 2018. According to CoreLogic’s recent Home Price Insights report, home prices are expected to increase by 4.3% in 2018. While that’s less than the 2016-2017’s year-over-year change, which came in at 6.3%, it’s still a significant increase. If you purchased a home for $200,000 today, that same home is projected to cost you an additional $8,600 by the end of the year. Homes have steadily been getting more expensive, and they’re just going to continue to get more expensive in the upcoming year. Buying at the start of 2018 can save you thousands (even tens of thousands) of dollars vs. waiting until the end of the year to make a purchase.

The Takeaway If you’re thinking about buying a home in 2018, talk to your real estate agent and start looking at properties before prices start to spike.

3/17/17 – 3/17/18 (Sedona):

Total Closed Sales: Up 19% from 186 to 221 from this time last year, and up 6% from Dec. ‘17

Median Recorded Sale Price: Up 7% from $490K to $523,500 from this time last year, and up 1% from Dec. ‘17

Price Per Square Foot: Up 1% from 248 to 251 from this time last year, and up 1% from Dec. ‘17

Days On Market: No change; stayed at an average of 147 days. However, this figure is up slightly, 2%, from Dec. ‘17

3/17/17 – 3/17/18 (Cottonwood):

Total Closed Sales: Up 5% from 325 to 342 from this time last year, and up 3% from Dec. ‘17

Median Recorded Sale Price: Up 12% from $200K to $223K from this time last year. However, this is a slight dip from Dec. ’17, down about 1%

Price Per Square Foot: Up 9% from 134 to 146 from this time last year, and up 2% from Dec. ‘17

Days On Market: We are seeing a 10% increase in the time a house sits on the market, from 107 days on average to 118, and up 1% from what we were seeing in Dec. ‘17