Signs the worst of the Great Recession is over are hard to miss. In Arizona, unemployment is down to nearly 6% from more than 11% in four years ago, according to the state Office of Employment and Population Statistics. And more people are buying houses.
Competition is stiff when it comes to getting your dream home, especially for people trying to buy a home for the first time. “I have an agent who put in a house on the market on Wednesday and had two offers on a Thursday,” explains Realtor Eric Gibbs.
According to reports from the Tucson Association of Realtors, out of the thousands of homes for sale across the city highest percentage sold between $100,000 and $160,000.
Gibbs has this advice for people looking for a home for the first time:
- Talk with a lender to figure out what you can afford
- Know what you want
- Don't wait to make an offer.
“If you go home to sleep on it [the house] may not be there tomorrow,” that’s because there fewer homes on the market said Gibbs. He explains the reason why is rooted in the great recession, “People bought homes in 2005, 2006, 2007, and the sellers are not about to sell the just yet or they might be at the breaking point or still underwater on a home.”
In fact there are 17% fewer homes on the market now than last summer, an indication of a "sellers’ market” and an improving economy.
