Chandler, Arizona

How much home can you really afford in Chandler Arizona?

When it comes to buying a home in Chandler, and figuring out how much you can afford, there are a lot more factors than just how much money you make.  There are factors such as credit score, credit history, and available cash that will also determine how much home you can, or should buy.  Everyone knows that qualifying for a loan these days is much more difficult than four years ago, and to some extent, that is a good thing.  At the same time, if you are in the market to buy, here are some things you should be aware of given today's current lending environment.

Credit Score - The lower your credit score, the higher your interest rate will be when qualifying for a loan.  If your credit score is too low, you will not even qualify for a loan.  To qualify for an FHA loan, most lenders will require you to have a credit score between 620 and 660.  For a conventional loan, your credit score needs to be above 680, and preferably over 720.  The higher interest rate you pay on your loan, the less of a home you can buy, so having a good credit score can help you buy more with your money.

Credit History - Along with your credit score, lenders will look at your credit history.  This includes the number of revolving accounts you have, the balance on those accounts, and how much you pay each month on these accounts.  These revolving accounts include all credit cards where you carry a balance each month.  This also includes other things like car loans, student loans, and any other monthly debt payments you make, including rent or a current mortgage.  It is critical to maintain a low balance on any of these accounts if at all possible and make sure to pay these bills on time.  You also must not have too many of these accounts, as any payment on them is going to reduce the amount of money you can apply towards a new mortgage payment, and you won't be able to buy as much home.

Cash - Another factor to determine how much home you can afford is the amount of cash you have to apply towards closing costs, and/or a down payment.  You can get a lower interest rate by putting a larger down payment on a home, and if it is more than 20%, you will avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).  You can also pay for closing costs, which will reduce the overall loan amount.  You can also buy down the interest rate if you have cash, which will reduce the monthly mortgage payment, and allow you to buy more home.

If buying a condominium, townhouse, or single family home in a cummunity with a homeowner's association, those monthly fees will also reduce the total amount you can afford on your monthly mortgage payment.  If you own your own business, how much income you declare on your tax return is what will determine how much home your lender feels you can afford.  Stated income loans have pretty much gone away, and lenders want to see at least two year's of tax returns for your business, a profit and loss statement for the current year, as well as other documents.

One final thing to remember is that you don't need to accept how much the lender says you can afford when it comes to buying a home.  You need to make sure you are comfortable with the loan amount and the monthly payments.  So, how much home can you afford to buy in Chandler depends on your income, credit score and credit history, the amount of cash you have, and how much you are comfortable spending.

Rockwood Estates currently has four fantastic homes for sale.  This community has 178 improved lots, and is located in south Chandler, just east of the Jack Nicklaus designed 36 hole Bear Creek Golf Course.  The subdivision is more specifically located on the southwest corner of McQueen and Chandler Heights Road.  The subdivision was developed between 2001 and 2006, so there are no homes older than 10 years.  Out of the 178 homes, 125 have pools, and 136 of them are single story homes.  The average size of homes in Rockwood Estates is 3,063 square feet.

VIP Homes and Jackson Properties built within the development of Rockwood Estates, and many of the homes were semi-custom built.  Many of the homes are also on larger sized lots, some up to 15,000 square feet.  The neighborhood has at least one playground, as well as a grassy play area for kids.  There are walking and biking paths throughout the neighborhood, and they connect to the consolidated canal, which allows you to bike and/or walk for miles.  The consolidated canal also connects to several parks along the route you can take either north or south from the community.  The neighborhood resides in the Chandler School District, and Hamilton High School is the nearest high school that is about two miles away.  Hamilton High School also provides a public swimming pool and a public library for use by community members.  There is additional shopping along Arizona Avenue, and on Alma School at Fulton Ranch, as well as a variety of restaurants.  The subdivision is located about 6.5 miles from Historic Downtown Chandler, and 5 miles from the 202 freeway.  Rockwood Estates also sits about 2.5 miles from Snediger Recreation Complex, which includes baseball, softball, soccer fields, a playground, a dog park, as well as a community center offering classes for every age.

Out of the four homes currently for sale in Rockwood Estates, three of them are short sales, and one is a traditional resale.  Two of the homes are scheduled for auction in April.  They are all at least 4 bedroom and 2.5 bath.  Each home for sale has a 3 car garage, two are single story, one is a two story, and one is a basement home.  The smallest of the homes for sale is 2,691 square feet.  The sales prices range from $279,000 to $358,000.

There are also two pending sales currently in Rockwood Estates.  There were 18 homes sold in 2009, and two homes that have sold so far in 2010.  The price range for homes sold in 2009 was from $185,000 to $385,000.  The two homes that sold in 2010 through March 25th sold for $340,000 and $435,000.

Rockwood Estates is still a fairly new neighborhood made up of semi-custom homes that are well maintained in a south Chandler location.  It is located near several golf courses, newer shopping centers, and city parks and community facilities.  If you have not had the opportunity to see what this community has to offer, you need to have me show you all the homes for sale in Rockwood Estates, and why it is a great place to live in Chandler!

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Contact Troy and Mia Erickson, Realtors®, Terra Solis Realty, LLC. Licensed Residential Realtors® in Arizona at 602-295-6807 for Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek Arizona custom, unique, and luxury Real Estate.

You can view all Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek custom, unique and Luxury Real Estate from our website.  We are here to help you buy or sell!

Gilbert Arizona home values by zip code.  I retained this information from our local newspaper, and thought this could be valuable to not only those of you looking to buy a home in Gilbert, but also for those of you looking to sell.

NEW HOME SALES:

Gilbert Zip Code	Median Home Value 2009	Percentage Change 2008-2009	Percentage Change 2004-2009
85295	$180,804	-21.4%	-12.9%
85296	$251,140	11.6%	48.8%
85297	$240,000	-7.1%	19.0%
85298	$244,268	-22.9%	11.9%

As far as new home sales go, there was a loss in median price of all but one zip code between the year 2008 and 2009.  However, in zip codes 85296, 85297, and 85298, there has been an increase in median home values since 2004.  That's a pretty good sign that new homes in Gilbert are maintaining their value, and even increasing over the years.

NEW AND EXISTING HOMES:

Gilbert Zip Code	Overall Median Home value 2009	Best year for price gains	Percentage Change 2008-2009	Percentage Change 2004-2009
85233	$187,000	2005	-20.3%	-2.6%
85234	$189,000	2005	-23.8%	-6.9%
85295	$182,500	2005	-20.6%	-17.5%
85296	$188,000	2005	-16.5%	-0.5%
85297	$212,808	2005	-14.5%	5.6%
85298	$249,085	2005	-17.9%	11.9%

Another good sign that Gilbert is doing okay, all things considered, is that in zip codes 85297 and 85298, they have had an increase in median home value since 2004.  Yes, they all had a decrease between 2008 and 2009, but the decrease experienced in Gilbert wasn't as much as other cities like Mesa, Glendale, and Phoenix, which all had percentage decreases over 40 percent in some of their zip codes.  The overall median home values are still over $200,000 in zip codes 85297 and 85298 as well.

The Gilbert home values by zip code shows that Gilbert is doing much better than a lot of the other cities in Maricopa County.  Hopefully this information is valuable to those of you looking to buy or sell in Gilbert.

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Contact Troy and Mia Erickson, Realtors®, Terra Solis Realty, LLC. Licensed Residential Realtors® in Arizona at 602-295-6807 for Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek Arizona custom, unique, and luxury Real Estate.

You can view all Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek custom, unique and Luxury Real Estate from our website.  We are here to help you buy or sell!