That's a good question... How well do you think you know our real estate market? It boomed and went bust... There has been lots of talk about inflation over the last several years... But did the mortgage payment for the average home go up or down?
I love how the economists at the Cromford Report do such a good job at giving us perspective on our local real estate market. In a recent presentation, they showed a slide that depicted how prices & affordability for the average size home (1900SF) in the Phoenix/Scottsdale Metro Area has changed over the last decade or so.
In April 2003, before the start of the boom market, that house cost $201,715 and the mortgage payment was $1064. By November 2008, as the market started to crash, the cost had dropped to $195,331 and the payment was unchanged at $1064. As of July 2014, well into our housing recovery, the price was up to $246,648 and the mortgage payment was... $1068- a whopping $4 more than it had been about 6 years prior and 11 years prior.
So the answer is: the payment is actually the same as it was in 2003!
For those who say homes are "overpriced" or are still convinced that we're headed for another housing crash, they really need to look at the cold, hard numbers. Look closer and you might see that it even looks like prices are leveling off or maybe taking a tiny dip. No one in our industry would have predicted low interest rates would last this long, but it's made affordability a bright spot in our economic recovery.
Call me if you think the time might be now to become a homeowner or upgrade your home in the "Valley of the Sun"!
Related:
How to Know Whether Refinancing Your Mortgage Makes Sense (Video)