September 9-10, 2023

Welcome back Weekend Warriors! I'm afraid to say that the weather has made a turn for the better because we are STILL hitting those daytime highs of well over 100 degrees, but with the mornings and evenings finally starting to get down into the 80s - we know amazing weather is right around the corner. With the cooler weather will come a JAM PACKED calendar of events - September through March in Arizona is the time to get out, meet your neighbors, and enjoy all that your beautiful community has to offer. Whether you are gearing up for the Rockin' Taco Street Fest or the or the Downtown Chandler Oktoberfest later this month, Queen Creek's Annual Trunk or Treat next month, or the Gilbert Days Parade in November - there are lots of fun local events to get on your calendar.   

In between kids and school projects, sports, and that busy social calendar - we've got lots of folks who are deciding that NOW is the time to revisit making a move. Ahead of the holiday season each year, we start to get an influx of questions about "is now a good time to..." fill in the blank with YOUR next real estate move. Some times its about buying a house and moving out of a rental and othertimes its about putting your home on the market because you really cannot keep working at that desk in the closet. This year, the questions have centered more around interest rates and how to buy those down, what kind of help is out there for down payments and closing costs and HOW to buy a house right now when so much of your money is tied up in the house that you have. Of course we're also getting, "Our house doesn't work for us anymore but I'm not giving up my low payment and rate" and our answer is, you probably shouldn't. 

In the last 24 hours, we've gotten two of our clients under contract and both the buyers and the sellers are ECSTATIC. It took the buyers 24 hours from finding the house, seeing the house, offering on the house and getting the beloved ACCEPTANCE - so if you hearing it's not possible in this market, I call hooey on that. In this week's edition of Weekend Warrior, we've brought you OUR take on the real estate market, some really fun events we've got coming up including a BIG way to give back in October , and don't forget we're just ONE week away from the Back to School Back to You event this month with East Valley Moms. We are also GROWING so if you happen to know someone in the industry who might be a good fit for us, can you do me a favor and send them our way? We so appreciate you!

The numbers are out for August and there were a few surprises buried in a whole lot of, exactly what we expected. With nearly 12,000 homes on the market, a 36% decrease year over year, and monthly sales down about 2% from last month - I would say we all felt the fluctuation of interest rates, the hike over 7% and what’s SHOWING in the numbers is more of a dissinterest in volatility than anything else. Supply continues to be the primary driver in our market and while we saw a slight increase over the last month, we’d have to see a similar increase for at least the next 6 months for prices to stop rising. At a recent economic update, forecasters talked about the recession as being rolling, impacting different industries at different times - and that now might just be the best time to lock in both for investments and real estate as the diversification of the recession itself, has been enough to keep the economy moving forward. With inflation still twice the target number and businesses continuing to move into our area, it’s likely that interest rates will go up before they go down which means that the question, “should I stay or should I go” is going to depend on what you can afford today. The bargaining power of active buyers who can afford a home continues to increase each day and the good news is, sellers are getting a fair shake too with prices returning to 2022 numbers. Listen in as we start there and work backwards and don't miss our Gilbert Sun News article for more on our take. Want more market news? Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram where we provide real estate updates every Monday and Friday and if you are really wondering what these changes mean for YOU, click the link below to book a strategy call with one of our team members and let's get to work!  

Community on Purpose and the Amy Jones Group will be partnering with eXp Extend a Hand's annual day of service on October 10th from 8:30am - Noon with hundreds of volunteers giving of their time to local nonprofit organizations. We're excited to announce that this year we'll be doing SEVERAL projects at Chandler-based nonprofit AZCEND including organizing the food bank, sprucing up the outdoor landscape and garden, putting together snack kits and birthday cards for the senior center and more! You can Sign Up Here to volunteer (all ages welcome!) or help support the event by providing some of the materials for the project:

Needs List

Sand

Paint/Paint Brushes/Tape

Brown Paper Lunch Bags

Card Stock & Card Making Supplies

A Landscaper!

An Electrician!

Donations for Volunteer T-Shirts (Logo Optional)

The Center also has a need for canned food items, diapers, pull ups, baby wipes and more which the Amy Jones Group will be collecting over the next month. If you'd like to schedule a pick up of your donation, plan a drop off to our offices, or need help organizing a drive for your children's school, church or temple, or workplace - please email us at [email protected] and we'll get right on it!

The Women in Leadership event was a massive success with more than 60 women in attendance at Parlay Kitchen and Cocktails in Chandler on September 1st. Heading into the weekend, these women got to hear from C. Renee Mangum on the power of confidence, your personal brand, and knowing your UNIQUE self in order to step into your BEST self. The breakfast was amazing, the networking and company was powerful, and we're gearing up for our LAST one of the season on December 1st with a fashion show benefitting AZCEND Community Center in Downtown Chandler. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, this one WILL sell out so be sure to REGISTER today! 

😲 In Case You Missed It!