By Shelley Sakala

I have a friend in California who loves to surf. When I asked him how he knows when the perfect wave is coming, he laughed and said he doesn’t waste his time waiting for the perfect wave. He leaves that for the competitive surfers. When my friend sees a really good wave, he rides it for all it’s worth. Then he paddles out again and grabs another really good wave. He does this all day long and goes home tired and happy. He loves surfing because he spends his time riding waves instead of waiting for them. Meanwhile, the beach is filled with frustrated would-be surfers who sit on their boards, waiting for some life-changing wave to appear.

This same scenario could describe the real estate market for 85085 and 85027. Homeowners looking to sell their homes fall into two categories: those who sell their homes, and those waiting to sell; waiting to see if interest rates will drop further or home values will keep rising. Look, I understand the desire to get maximum value. But this strategy forces you to chase a moving target. There’s no alert telling you when it’s the absolute best time to sell. There are, however, several indicators telling us that now is a great time to sell:
• Interest rates are historically low
(below 3%)
• Home values are very strong
• Inventory is limited
• Demand is high
• Houses are moving quickly

When you can check all five boxes at the same time, that’s about as clear an indication as you could hope for. Now is the time to sell.

Sure, you might be able to squeeze out a few more dollars for your home by waiting. Then again, interest rates might go up, canceling those gains. Or perhaps demand will begin to cool off as the foreclosure market heats up in the wake of COVID-19.

You can’t control market conditions any more than you can control the waves. But you can work with your realtor to create a strategy for selling your home at the price and terms you want. And if a bidding war erupts and you end up with some extra money in your pocket, even better!

Here’s the bottom line: this is the strongest local seller’s market we’ve seen in more than a decade. Equity has come roaring back for Phoenix homeowners. And many homes are selling in just a few days (if not hours). As a seller, you’re in an excellent position to sell. So, what do you want to do? Do you want to sit or do you want to surf?

Shelley Sakala is a local Realtor with The Sakala Group.