Now’s the time to Invest in Arizona Real Estate. I know, I know- the media hype and the masses are claiming it’s Black Friday all over again. A good friend told me once that ‘you always want to do what everyone else isn’t doing’. During the Gold Rush years I had Grandmothers (literally!) asking me how to flip houses, and where they could ‘pick up a foreclosure’. I knew it was time to get out of the game and let the amateurs get shaken out. Remember the same symptoms in 2000 when everyone had a ‘hot stock tip’ on a new dot-com? Yeah, kinda like that. And look what happened in both scenarios- inexperienced investors lost their butts, while the true investors sat on the sidelines waiting for the right moment. The ‘Fly-by-Night’ investors are now running back to the stock market, while the educated ones are swooping in and picking up the greatest deals. Many of which are foreclosures left over from the newbie investors who bought at the peak of the market, hoping it would last forever! If I learned anything from my Economics Professor, it was to buy low, sell high. It’s no different in Real Estate folks!

So how do I know this is the perfect time and place to invest? Well, for a number of reasons…

• AZ ranks #2 in the Nation for Job Growth, according to this article by Ryan Randazzo at the AZ Republic and the Department of Economic Security.
• Cathy Luebke, of The Business Journal of Phoenix and the Department of Economic Security reports today that while Unemployment rose slightly last month, Arizona is still 1.7% below the national average. We also set a new record high for jobs in October.
• The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Maricopa County is #1 Fastest Growing from 2000-2006.
• AZ has a historical appreciation rate of 4-7% on average (not counting the boom years)- I am still tracking down this statistic for you guys, but will post it when I find it again.

Here’s the deal- foreclosures in Maricopa County are double the normal rate. The sellers are desperate to sell, and buyers are in the driver’s seat with decision making. It’s no secret that there’s a ton of inventory out there. However, prices are holding steady and are barely dropping, if at all. Even if they drop another 2% in the next year- that’s only $5,000 on a $250,000 house. Boo Hoo. If you’re a client of mine, there’s no way I’ll let you buy a property at or close to full market value. You’ll most definitely have plenty of equity to cover a 2% drop- shoot, I’ll even give you a 10% drop and you’re STILL sitting in equity!

Shailesh Ghimire of Arizona Mortgage Guru states:
“Don’t believe the doom and gloom. Loans are still available, and with the shake up in the industry, you’ll most likely be dealing with better mortgage loan officers. ” I agree, and the same goes for REALTORS®, Title Companies, Appraisers, etc etc.

Finance rates are holding fairly low, with Rental Rates rising. I honestly don’t know a better time to start picking up property than now. Everyone wants to wait for ‘the bottom’ of the market. Keep in mind that we never know when we’re at the bottom until it’s too late and changed to an upswing. Personally, I’d rather buy now then wait for everyone else to give me permission to dip my toe in the shallow end. I’ll post more statistics and facts in the near future.