Previously, buyers looking to purchase a home in Desert Ridge faced possible bidding wars and less inventory. However, with the past month reporting fewer than 26 percent of homeowners are upside down in their mortgage according to CoreLogic, a national real estate data firm. More homeowners in the Desert Ridge area have chosen to put their home on the market. While sellers are certainly seeing increases in home values and thus prices, it is still a buyer’s market. “In just the past few months, the market has shifted,” said Kim Fricke of HomeSmart. “It’s good news for buyers because there are more homes for sale, and homes are staying on the market a little longer.”
Since the beginning of the recovery of the housing market, sellers, including those selling foreclosure properties have had the advantage in the sale of homes in the Desert Ridge area. Investors paid cash for homes when they were at their lowest prices and dominated the housing market for a time period. The shift has shown foreclosures to be at their lowest numbers since 2011. In August of 2013, the number of foreclosures in the Phoenix area was at approximately 24 percent as a whole. Comparatively, in 2011, those numbers were over 50 percent being investor dominated. “The seller is no longer holding all the cards in the Greater Phoenix housing market,” said Mike Orr, a housing analyst with ASU’s business school.“If their offers are countered aggressively, some potential buyers may walk away because they now have more alternatives.”
It is expected that more homeowners will place their homes on the market further increasing the availability for buyers. As the inventory increases buyers will be able to find a home and acquire it at a fair price. With this slowdown in home prices, a more natural balance for the traditional buyer can be achieved and those seeking a home in the Desert Ridge area will have even more opportunity to do so.