After a difficult 18 months, the economy – and with it, the housing market – is rebounding strongly across the USA. Arizona is performing above the national average in that respect, with the latest estimates predicting that Phoenix and the surrounding Paradise Valley will enjoy an increase of 11.4% in home sales over the course of 2021.
But what does increased activity and turnover mean for the individual? Is the Arizona property sector a buyer’s or a seller’s market at the moment? And is now a good time to take out a mortgage in the Grand Canyon State? We’ll analyze the answers to these questions and more in the following informative article.
House prices on the up
According to the latest figures supplied by real estate brokerage Redfin, the median house price in Arizona in July 2021 is an eye-watering $395,000. That’s a massive 27.4% increase from the same period last year, with Flagstaff, Avondale and Tolleson showing the sharpest increases in property price since 2020.
This uptick in the market comes as a result of sparse supply and huge demand. After an extended sluggish period brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, many of those returning to work are now looking to buy their first home or upgrade their existing one. However, at the present time, available inventory is lagging sorely behind the demand. This makes Arizona very much a seller’s market at the present time.
Interest rates remain low
Having said that, there are reasons to be cheerful if you’re in the market for a mortgage. That’s because the current 30-year fixed rate average is deemed to be between 2.75% and 2.90%, depending on where you get your facts from. In any case, that’s an incredibly low offer that hasn’t been bettered in the last 50 years.
This means that buyers who are able to borrow enough to cover the purchase of their dream home could benefit from substantially smaller outlays in the long run. It is, of course, imperative to properly scour the market and compare a range of lenders in order to find the best mortgage purchase rates for your unique circumstances.
The verdict
Given that interest rates are at historic lows, now is certainly a good time to take out a mortgage in Arizona – with the important proviso that doing so might demand a sizable deposit and a strong income in order to obtain one. But if you are fortunate enough to have a mortgage application approved in principle, it’s an excellent strategy to enter the property market (or move up a rung on the ladder) in 2021.
While no-one can say with certainty what the future will hold, property is as reliable an investment as almost any other, meaning your home is likely to appreciate in value in the coming years. What’s more, the fact that interest rates are so low currently mean it’s probable they too will rise at some point, which means that getting in while the going is good is an advisable move.
The bottom line, therefore, is that taking out a mortgage in Arizona right now is a good investment – if you have enough capital behind you and enough income entering your bank account to make it feasible.
