The team at Newman Realty hopes this email finds you healthy, happy, and safe during these unusual times. Here is the latest Gilbert Real Estate Report that includes surrounding areas. Let’s talk about what we’re seeing in the local real estate market.

The most significant day was probably April 1^st when the Governor of Arizona issues a Stay at Home Order. This was an order that led to the greatest shift in showing activity of active listings and contracts taken. Until April 1^st we had observed a relatively gradual slowdown in showings while at the same time, the number of active listings on our MLS system was climbing at a modest pace. Keep in mind this is after months of low inventory and high demand.

Available Inventory: Gilbert Real Estate Report

Inventory of available homes had been hovering around the 8,000 active listings total, it climbed to about 12,000 in early April and today sits at 14,300. A more balanced market is typically about 18,000 active listings given normal demand. Other changes in Gilbert and the surrounding areas includes:

• Shift in demand due in large part to buyers not going out in public as much as they would have otherwise, so the market we are at now could be considered balanced due to reduced demand.
• A number of VRBO, AirBnB, or vacation rental homes go to market as they could not be rented out for the short term.  Owners of these properties that were thinking about selling this summer, went to market quickly.

Overall, the good news is that homes are still selling. We have listings that have come to market in the last 30 days, some as recently as five days ago and all are receiving showings, with some even having contracts. A new listing in Gilbert priced at $299,000 that went to market on April 10^th had 11 showings on the Saturday before Easter. Buyers are still shopping, there just aren’t as many of them active right now and they are not looking at as many homes as they typically would.

What happens to Gilbert Real Estate for the rest of the year?

It’s hard to say what the rest of the year will look like for Gilbert real estate. My feeling has always been that this disruption in our market was related to a health and public safety issue, not a housing issue. The sooner the health concern is removed, the sooner the markets will stabilize and possibly swing back to the sellers.

If the Stay at Home Order goes on for months and unemployment continues without resolution, then all bets are off on what our markets would look like in the fall. The biggest concern is unemployed homeowners walking away from mortgages or short-selling homes, an exodus like we saw in 2007 would be devastating.  However, I don’t believe at this time that will be the case for a couple of reasons.

First, this does not seem like it is going to be an event that lasts for months on end. The news cycle is slowing trending more positively (as of the time of this writing, but things change frequently) and if the trend continues we can expect to see some loosening of social distancing guidelines and see a path to a more recognizable economy.  Here’s hoping!  Second, the action of the federal government seems to be helping stem the financial impact on some individuals and businesses.  That, combined with leniency from mortgage lenders and landlord, potentially looks like it will help the situation and lead to recovery sooner than later.

What does this mean for Newman Realty?

It is definitely not business as usual for us but we are staying active and enjoying working for both sellers and buyers. We are committed to adhering to changing protocols including wearing gloves and masks at showings and traveling in separate cars from our buyers. We are posting more video content and increased our online promotions for listings. Above all, we’re confident we will come through this disruption smarter and better than before.

From the Newman Realty family to yours, we wish you health, safety, and security during these trying times and as always, we are here if you have questions or need anything at all.

–       Mark Newman, Newman Realty, Gilbert, Arizona