Phoenix investment property

[Ben F.]

Is the market in Phoenix a good place to buy a property?  My friend is moving for a job opportunity and wants to buy a house immediately.  He is not sure if he will be there long term.  Everything that I read in the past describes Phoenix not as a great market.  If he needs to move in a year, will he be able to resell his house or will he be stuck with the purchase or take a loss?  

[Doug McVinua]

@Ben F. The Phoenix market has been on an overall positive swing since 2010. The down cycle started in 2006 and ended in 2009/2010. 2010 is the recognized bottom for most areas of Phoenix, at least in the typical investment portfolio range.

Appreciation was in double digits for a few years and has, for the most part, settled into a single digit appreciation cycle. Inventory is low at the moment, current active residential listings sets at 21,813. The market could easily handle 30,000 active listings and still, be balanced. Decent properties are selling quickly.

Buying for one year will depend on what he is looking for, where he wants to be etc. The Phoenix metro area is over 100 miles diagonally so most buyers choose an area that fits their needs regarding commute time, area, social activity, schools, price, etc depending on the buyer.

Buying for 1 year does come with some element of risk if appreciation is 6% for a property and the overall selling costs (Title, Realtor etc) is 8% it may not look so good! Many areas have exceeded 10% year over year and continue to do well.

Rentals are renting very quickly, most vacancies I have experienced multiple applications in the first few days. Canadians have sold a lot of investment properties and taken the money back to Canada causing a shortage of decent rentals.

Lot's of factors to consider for your friend! Happy to answer any further questions.