I’ve had several folks say to me “I think the economy is going downhill because people are freaked out by the election.” Are we pitting elections vs home sales?

Personally, I have heard this in previous election years. But, let’s dig in to this a little.

I called the famous Tina Tamboer of the Cromford Report, who is always a great source of analysis and information.

So, I asked, “Is there an impact on the market, due to fears about the possible outcome this election year?”

According to Tina, a resounding “No.”

She gave several reasons.

First, if you are hearing negative news about jobs numbers in Arizona, remember that our jobs are often very cyclical and the jobs numbers often drop around this time when people leave for the summer. So, its not likely that things are as bad as the daily news makes them sound.

Second, the real estate market is not likely to respond quickly to speculation about the up-coming presidential election. The fact remains, says Tina, that people make real estate decisions based on need more than what the candidates promise.

In other words, the typical annual rhythms of the market do more to influence price and availability than campaigns.

Third, if you look at the diagram, you can see that the contract ratio still shows that things are good, even better than last year. This is the ratio of all listings that get under contract. We are still in a “hot” market. If you are going in to the summer hot, then you will probably stay that way.

Questions like these often permeate the news, and especially social media. I think the key is to speak with professionals like Tina or we-truly to help weed out the hype from the facts.

If you have any questions about buying or selling, please let us know at 602-456-9388.