Metro Phoenix home prices are up. What effect will the election have?


Metro Phoenix’s housing market got a boost from low interest rates in October and could be getting a lift now from the election outcome.Home prices, sales and supply all climbed last month, according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.A dip in mortgage rates during September likely led to more home sales in October. But rates are ticking up again and could keep rising as investors optimistic about President-elect Donald Trump’s tax and deregulation policy drive up stocks and bond yields.The Valley’s median home price climbed $8,000 from September to $448,000 in October, also likely spurred by lower rates.Home sales last month climbed by about 350 to 5,708, according to ARMLS. The number of listings increased by about 1,500 to 21,174, as more homeowners likely decided to sell after seeing more buyer interest.The election results have led to an increase in homebuyer interest in the Phoenix area, say some real estate agents.”Thankfully, I have seen great activity since the election,” said Sherry Rampy, associate broker with Phoenix-based Brokers Hub Realty. “I’ve gone under contract with two properties, just received an offer on my Encanto listing and am meeting with buyers to write another offer.”October’s pending sales that will close in November and December fell by about 150 to 6,534.“We’ve seen after presidential elections — and it doesn’t matter who wins — that there’s usually a slight boost in home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, because election results “remove some uncertainty.”Real estate:Our landlord charged us a 2-month penalty. Can they do that in Arizona?Housing costs put homes out of reach in the Phoenix areaMetro Phoenix’s median home price is up almost 55% from 2020.Valley rents are down slightly from a year ago but still up more than 30% from 2020. The average one-bedroom Phoenix-area apartment rents for about $1,300, according to multi-family research firm Zumper.A household must earn $62,252 to afford a two-bedroom rental in Arizona, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. That means an Arizona renter must earn almost $30 an hour and potentially have more than two jobs paying minimum wage to have a home.Lower mortgage rates make homebuying more affordable for many, but rates climbed again last week.The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate Nov. 7 for the second time this year in response to curbed inflation. Though mortgage rates often track with interest rates, they didn’t last week.Mortgage rates are closely tied to yields on 10-year Treasury notes, which lenders look at so that home loans remain competitive investments. Treasury yields have been rising for the past several weeks.”Since rates peaked above 8%, there has been a lot of wishful thinking that rates would fall and settle below 6%, and this has kept people on the sidelines hoping lower r …

See the full Home Prices article, or, read more Arizona real estate investing news. Go ahead. You know you want to.