More people are backing out of buying a home in the Phoenix area

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Backing out of buying! The Phoenix area saw more than 2,000 canceled residential listings last month alone, according to data published in a monthly report from the ARMLS.

The number of backout buyers jumped significantly in the last few months as mortgage rates rise and home prices fall. ARMLS data also shows monthly home sales are down 29% in the Phoenix metro area, compared to last September.

Homes are also staying on the market a lot longer. According to the data, the average home is on the market for 18 more days compared to September 2021.

If you don’t have an immediate need to purchase a home now, should you wait 6 months to a year to see what happens with the market?

“I think that’s really good for those buyers that are not motivated or don’t have a situation that calls for them to make a move so I agree if they don’t feel comfortable with the current situation, and they don’t have to buy ,it probably does make sense to hold off a little bit and see what sees what plays out because we don’t know what the future holds,” Valley realtor Asher Cohen with Realty ONE Group said.

If you do need to buy now, Cohen says you can reduce your monthly payment by getting the seller to make some concessions.

“The concessions that are happening is asking the seller to pay let’s say $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000, going to the buyer, and then the buyer gets to decide, hey, I can use that money for my closing costs or I can use that money to reduce the interest rate that I’m locked in at,” Cohen said.

That means instead of having an interest rate of 7%, a buyer could possibly get it down to 6%, reducing their monthly mortgage payment.

“It’s being more creative! Agents right now in the marketplace have to be communicating with the other agents to figure out where’s the pain point? Where’s the solution and how to create the deal to work for both buyer and seller,” Cohen said.

Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.