If you’re looking for the perfect Phoenix area home – and you’re having trouble finding it – you’re not alone. Many people in the market for a previously owned Phoenix home call me wondering why the pickings seem so slim, given the fact that Maricopa County sports a population of nearly 4 million people.
Maricopa County is a fairly populated area – 3,954,958 – but so are the major communities in the county:
- Phoenix (1,445,632)
- Mesa (439,041)
- Chandler (236,123)
- Glendale ((226,721)
- Scottsdale (217,386)
Phoenix Real Estate Numbers Tell the Rest of the Story
The population in Phoenix is only half of the story. As the late, great Paul Harvey used to say, “Now for the rest of the story.”
The population in an area doesn’t tell the whole story. The reason? While the U.S. Census Bureau counts as many people as they can find, each person doesn’t have their own Phoenix apartment or house in which they live. Depending on the community, somewhere in the range of 1.5-2.5 people (on average) live in each housing unit. This considerably drives down the number of possible housing solutions for home buyers in Phoenix. For instance, here are official numbers pulled directly from the U.S. Census Bureau:
- Maricopa County (1,639,279)
- Phoenix (590,149)
- Mesa (201,173)
- Chandler (94,404)
- Glendale (90,505)
- Scottsdale (124,001)
The number of housing units is pretty much irrelevant to your property search in Phoenix, though, because these numbers represent all of the apartments, condos and houses in and around Phoenix… and the overwhelming majority of them already have somebody living in them.
Here’s the shocking truth about real estate in Phoenix: There just aren’t that many houses available in Phoenix. And the same goes for the suburban areas around Phoenix, such as Mesa, Chandler, Glendale and even Scottsdale. As an active Phoenix real estate agent, I see the numbers on a daily basis. The bottom line number that matters most to you in your Phoenix property search is the number of houses available today.
Number of Phoenix Houses For Sale
For instance, today’s available properties listed on the MLS (the multiple listing service, a handy listing sharing mechanism used by real estate agents that enables real estate professionals to find available properties offered by other real estate agents as a courtesy to their clients) shows the following total properties available:
- Phoenix (2,225)
- Mesa (864)
- Chandler (529)
- Glendale (498)
- Scottsdale (1,786)
Just looking at these numbers, you’d think that it would be fairly easy to find a great Phoenix home in one of the nearly 6,000 available properties, wouldn’t you? So why can’t you?
It comes down to simple math.
All of the Phoenix area homes won’t work for any single Phoenix home buyer. Some will be out of your price range, in a different area than you want to live or will lack amenities you’ve identified as extremely important to you.
How to Find the Perfect Phoenix Area Home
Finding the perfect Phoenix area home can be difficult. While you might know somebody… who knows of somebody… who might have a home for sale… in your price range… in the Phoenix neighborhood you want to live in… the reality is much different.
Most people searching for Phoenix homes aren’t that lucky. And luck should never enter the mix when you’re looking for Phoenix residential real estate.
You need to give yourself the best possible chances of finding the Phoenix home of your dreams.
This means working with the most qualified Phoenix real estate agent you can find. While there are a lot of choices in the Phoenix real estate market, your best bet for finding the right Phoenix home is to work with a good real estate agent, one with a proven track record of helping people find the right home, at the right price and in the right Phoenix neighborhood.
Gone are the days of stumbling upon a home that is available, writing an offer, and getting an acceptance with little or no competition. Most of the offers we are writing on homes have multiple offers to compete with, some within 24-48 hours of hitting the market. Demand is at an all-time high, and supply is at an all-time low. Now more than ever, it is CRITICAL to have new listings sent to you on a daily basis by your agent. All of our buyer clients are set up in the actual MLS system, and they receive daily updates from our agents of new opportunities. When our clients find a home they’d like to see, we can usually meet them at the home within hours, not days.
So find a skilled Phoenix real estate agent who will set aside his or her desire to earn a few bucks in real estate commissions – and will go all out in finding the perfect home for their clients. We have a team of dedicated buyers agents who will do just that.
If you put your focus on finding the right Phoenix real estate agent, in no time at all you’ll be making plans to lay down deep roots in the home of your dreams in Phoenix.
Then you can honestly say, “No, no trouble at all!” when friends ask if was easy to find a home in Phoenix.
