Here’s how lumber prices have been affecting the real estate market.
One of the most common questions I get is, “What’s up with lumber prices?”
The height of the lumber price bubble was last May when it cost $1,515 per thousand board feet. Right now, lumber prices are down 68% to $479 per thousand board feet. That’s actually lower than it was this time last year. The price probably would’ve fallen further if it weren’t for the wildfires in British Columbia. At 2:07 in the video, you can see a graph of lumber prices over the last year.
What does this mean to you as a homeowner? If you’re looking to build, I would wait another three to six months to see an actual price drop for a new-build home. If there’s more lumber supply, more homes will be built, and that could slow down the increasing home values across the country. If you’re looking to sell, it’s a very good time because demand is still much higher than supply.
If you have any questions, please call or text me at 480-227-2028.
I have a great new home-buying program to introduce you to.
I’d like to introduce you to a home-buying program not a lot of people know about but is great for anyone with the following issue(s):
You don’t have enough money for a down payment for the loan you’re seeking
You just changed jobs (or perhaps you’re self-employed and don’t have the traditional two years’ worth of income statements most lenders require)
Your FICO score isn’t where you’d like it to be
You need to sell your current home before buying
If this describes your situation, this program is for you. There are a couple of companies we partner with in offering this program, and here are the steps involved in using it:
Apply. It doesn’t take long to apply, and the turnaround time for processing your application is only a day or two. You’re notified of your budget. This will tell you how expensive of a home you’re allowed to buy. This budget covers all fees involved in the purchase, including HOA dues, taxes, insurance, etc.
“With this program, you can secure the house you want and buy it in your own time frame.”
It’s time to shop. You give us a call and we go to work helping you find your dream home.
The home is bought and paid for in cash.
You rent the home until you’re prepared to purchase it.
Your three-year time frame is established. If you buy the house within 18 months, you buy it at a set price and get to keep any appreciation and equity. If you buy the house anytime after 18 months, you buy at a slightly higher price, but you still get to keep any appreciation above that number.
There are a few requirements you need to know about to apply for this program. First, you need to be able to afford a 1% to 2% down payment. For example, if your prospective home is $500,000, you only need to come up with $5,000. Second, you need a FICO score of 550 or higher. Third, you need six months’ worth of income—that’s the minimum underwriting standard our partner companies need. With this program, you can secure the house you want and buy it in your own time frame.
If you or anyone you know would like to take advantage of this offer, call or email me today. If you have any other real estate questions, feel free to reach out to me as well. I’d love to speak with you.
Now is still a great time to both buy and sell in our real estate market.
2020 has been a wild year, to say the least, and it’s time for one last market snapshot before it ends. Before I get into the latest numbers, I want to thank all our clients, friends, and family for supporting the Cook & Associates Real Estate Advisors.
Right now, there are about 10,000 active properties for sale in the Phoenix Metro area, and inventory stands at 1.4 months of supply. In other words, if no other homes came on the market, it would take 1.4 months to sell off all available listings. The good news is that roughly 7,300 homes came on the market during November. The bad news is that 8,200 homes came off the market, which means supply and demand continue to be pinched. The average days on market, meanwhile, is 38 days.
“With interest rates and supply this low, I predict a robust Arizona housing market in 2021.”
If you’re a seller, it’s a no-brainer that now is the time to sell. In the week leading up to the recording of this video, we sold four homes—each of which attracted multiple offers and sold for over asking price. Conditions may yet improve for sellers, but waiting to sell would mean trying to time the market.
If you’re a buyer, you may remember that last month we talked about the three main reasons why now is still a good time to buy. To reiterate, interest rates are low, which means your buying power is high. With interest rates and supply this low, I predict a robust Arizona housing market in 2021.
If you have any questions or are ready to buy or sell a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays. We’ll see you in 2021!
Here are three things to consider if you’re thinking about buying a home.
Is right now a good time to buy a home? There’s a lot of emotion wrapped up in this question, but I always like to look at the facts, break them down, and use them to make an informed decision. Here are some things to consider if you’ve been waffling over this question:
1. Your exit strategy. If you’re looking to buy a house soon, what’s your exit strategy? If you have no foreseeable plans to move out of that home for the next several years, your plan matters. Markets cycle up and down, so even if you did buy now and the market were to correct, it will still come back up, meaning you’re not forced to sell at a certain time. That way, you can sell when the market cycles up. Right now, we are on one of those up-cycles, but because of several other factors, that doesn’t mean you should be afraid to buy.
2. The local market conditions. Right now, the U.S. unemployment rate hovers around 8%. Conversely, the unemployment rate in Maricopa County is only 5.9%, which is much healthier than the national average. Here, there’s job growth, corporate tax cuts, and a lot of big companies coming into the area. More than just your county, you also need to look at what’s going on in your specific city and perhaps neighborhood. It could be that the house you’re selling has a lot of demand with very little supply, causing you to max out your purchase price, but the one you’re looking to buy doesn’t have as much demand with a decent amount of supply, meaning you can get a good deal.
“I always like to look at the facts, break them down, and use them to make an informed decision.”
3. The affordability index. Right now, the index says that across the country homeowners had equity appreciation of 6.6% in the second quarter alone. Granted, it went down when COVID hit, but it bounced right back up. Again, be sure to look at your local market. Year over year in Arizona, we have an appreciation rate of about 16%, which is amazing.
Without question, now is a good time to sell across the board. If you’re looking to buy, it’s still a reasonably good time. Given the local economic conditions, that’s probably not going to change any time soon. Soon, snowbirds will begin traveling down here to purchase, and the weather will be perfect.
If you have any other questions about buying homes or other real estate topics, please reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you.
Instead of our typical client event, we’re hosting something a little different.
Normally, our client events and parties are a simple way to give back and say thanks to all of you. We always cherish the time we get to spend with all of you in person, but because of COVID, it’s been a little difficult to plan one for this year.
So we came up with the idea for a giveaway, and it’s very easy to enter. All you have to do is pick up the phone on Wednesday, October 21, and give us a call at 888-KCRG-11 (888-527-3411) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. You’ll be automatically entered into our drawing for the chance to win the Green Egg Mini Max mobile smoker. It’s portable, great for tailgating or parties, and it makes delicious food.
With the holidays around the corner, we also want to give back to the local community. For each and every call we receive during the event, I will personally donate $5 to the St. Mary’s Food Bank on your behalf. The more people who call and enter, the more we’re helping the community and the better chance you have of winning the prize.
Want multiple entries? All you need to do is head to our Facebook page and “like” it for a second entry. If you take it a step further and share our post to your personal Facebook page, you get a third entry. If you refer us to someone who is looking to buy or sell a home right now, you’ll get yet another entry. Each referral after that will result in an additional entry.
“The more people who call and enter, the more we’re helping the community.”
On October 22, we’ll do the drawing and announce the winner, so stay tuned for that. If you have questions for us about the giveaway or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. We look forward to hearing from you.
These are the closing costs for which all Arizona buyers should prepare.
Which closing costs are you responsible for when purchasing property in Arizona? There are a lot of misconceptions about this topic, so today I’ll list the four costs you should prepare for and explain how each varies depending on your situation.
Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch it in its entirety, or use these timestamps to browse specific points at your leisure:
0:53—Inspection fees
1:41—Appraisal fee
2:23—Lender fees
3:37—Title fees
5:03—How your down payment differs from the closing costs
5:41—How closing costs can be negotiated
6:24—Wrapping things up
As always, if you have questions about this or any real estate topic or are thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m happy to help.
