Contrary to popular belief, the market doesn't stop during the summer months, but rather offers unique opportunities.
PHOENIX — Thinking about buying or selling a home?
We start this week's Money Saving Monday with advice on saving money in the property market.
Let's start by clearing up a common misconception: the Phoenix real estate market slows in the summer. Contrary to popular belief, the summer months don't slow down the market and instead present unique opportunities.
“I've been helping people buy and sell real estate for 13 years,” says Trevor Halpern of Halpern Residential, “and statistically, May, June, July and August are four of the six busiest months for transactions. So, as a seller, if you have your home on the market, you're more likely to sell during the summer because people are more likely to want to buy while their kids are out of school.”
Halpern says it's possible to find your dream home without breaking a sweat, as long as you bring a water bottle.
“Absolutely,” says Halpern, “Just turn on the air conditioning, grab a few bottles of water and you can get outside and search for your dream home all summer long.”
Halpern says if you're thinking about buying or selling a home right now, there are ways to save a lot of money.
“If you're thinking about buying a home right now, the best way to save is to do thorough research,” Halpern says. “You've got to find the diamonds in the rough.”
Next, Halpern recommends working with a lender and agent who understands how temporary and permanent interest rate reductions work.
“In a 7% interest rate world, if you can get 4.5%, 5.5%, 6% — whether it's permanent or temporary — that can really help you save money month-over-month,” Halpern said.
“We were able to get about $20,000 in concessions from the sellers for these people, and with that money we were able to temporarily lower their interest rates,” Halpern said.
Brittany Hoggard, a Phoenix mother and attorney, said her family needs more space to work.
“As our family grew and we got older, our needs changed,” Hoggard said.
Hoggard and his family are settling into a new home they bought in north Phoenix that comes with a yarn winder, chicken coop and garden.
“We're people who like to keep changing and tweaking things,” Hoggard says, “and this house is big enough for us to do that for a long time.”
In the past, interest rates were much more manageable when buying a home.
“This time, they learned about buydowns,” Hoggard says, “and we actually made concessions and helped the seller get the interest rate down, which made the overall home purchase price more affordable.”
Although it's a hot time of year to move, the Hoggards tend to buy homes in the summer, so the savings were clearly worth it.
“I think every house is closed in May,” Hoggard said, “and we're always wondering why it's so hot and why we did this, but I think we're going to see more activity as people's lives and schedules become more flexible.”
Although summer sales in Phoenix are the most popular compared to any other time of the year, the number of new home listings is slowing, Halpern said.
But it can be a competitive advantage for sellers: Halpern said if you put your home up for sale in Phoenix right now, there will be fewer sellers on the market, meaning less competition.
This means your home will stand out.
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