While the long hot summer is the one drawback to living in Arizona, even that’s nothing to complain about when you consider it is our worst time of the year.
Unlike just about everyone else whose worst time is the winter, we don’t have to shovel snow, scrape ice off the windshield with our fingernails, or take 45 minutes getting dressed in layers and a Michelin Man suit just to step outside. Our worst time of the year really isn’t that hard to take.
As our summer begins to fade and we head into the fall, we become the envy of everyone else. Let’s face it, it’s the reason we all live here in Arizona. With the cooler temperatures comes our annual flock of snowbirds, ready to relax and stay warm while enjoying our perfect winter weather. With the exceptionally cold winter many parts of the country had last year, this season we can expect more visitors from the United States and Canada who are ready to escape the freezing temperatures lurking just around the corner. After all, you don’t have to shovel the sunshine.
If you live in Arizona, you are very familiar with the term snowbirds, which we fondly refer to as our winter visitors who migrate to our sunny state. Canadians still top the list, and Arizona is their second destination choice just behind Florida.
With the strong housing recovery we saw last year, where the median price increased 20.9 percent, many snowbirds were sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if the prices would drop again. Although prices are still up from last year, the pace is much slower. As we are seeing a more balanced market, home prices have increased just over 5 percent so far this year, and we don’t expect much of a change one way or the other for the rest of the year.
Our housing market finally is coming back to a normal market, and we don’t expect to see huge swings in either direction, as we have seen in the past few years. With the stable market, the second homebuyers who had been sitting on the fence are now ready to purchase, and we hope to see a strong second buying season over the next few months.
Even with the weaker Canadian dollar, with the exchange rate, as of September 2014, being $0.918, second home buying in Arizona is still very appealing and a strong investment. Beyond Arizona’s reliable weather and lifestyle amenities (golf, hiking, spectator sports and entertainment), Arizona is a draw for its affordability. It is not expected to slow down either. As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, snowbird numbers are likely to grow. People will flee the snow and cold weather and flock to our sunny state, as long as Arizona offers an attractive refuge.
Why Now Is a Good Time To Sell Your Home
The first snowbirds start to arrive in October. However, many are already searching online to purchase their home ahead of time. I listed a home in Mountain Bridge last month, and immediately had three Canadian buyers, all cash, who were interested in it, and we closed three weeks later.
We usually see an increase in active listings from August through November. However, this year, active listings from August have increased at the lowest rate we have seen since 2001. August this year saw 15.6 percent fewer new listings than last year, and 13.2 percent fewer than August 2012, the previous low record holder.
With demand expected to increase with our winter visitors buying their vacation homes, and supply decreasing over previous years, now is a great time to list your home and catch the second wave.
Contact me today if you would like to receive a free market analysis of your home, or obtain an instant home value at www.InstantHomeValueAZ.com.
Lorraine Ryall is a multimillion-dollar producer and recipient of the Coldwell Banker International President’s Circle Award. For more information, call (602) 571-6799, or visit her website at www.Homes2SellAZ.com.