Whether you're buying your first home in Gilbert, selling in Chandler, or exploring new construction in Queen Creek or San Tan Valley, you've come to the right place. This resource hub is designed to answer the most common real estate questions we hear from Arizona buyers and sellers — and to keep you informed with the latest local market insights and community news across the East Valley.
The East Valley — including Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Queen Creek, and San Tan Valley — remains one of the most desirable real estate markets in Arizona. While market conditions shift, working with a local agent ensures you get current data on home prices, inventory, and interest rates specific to your target neighborhood.
Home values in the East Valley vary by community, lot size, upgrades, and recent comparable sales. A free Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a local real estate professional is the most accurate way to determine your home's current market value.
Gilbert and Chandler consistently rank among the safest and most family-friendly cities in Arizona. Popular master-planned communities, top-rated schools, parks, and easy freeway access make both cities a top choice for relocating families and move-up buyers.
In Arizona, most residential transactions close within 30–45 days of an accepted offer. Selling timelines vary based on pricing, condition, and current market demand. Browse our latest articles below for up-to-date guidance on buying and selling in today's East Valley market.
Scroll down to explore our latest blog posts, local market updates, and expert real estate tips for the East Valley.
Seller Disclosures in Arizona Real Estate: What You Need to Know
Time to prepare for closing! As part of the Arizona contract, sellers have five days to provide the Seller Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS). We recommend that all sellers disclose everything they know about the property to ensure a successful closing.
#realestate #sellerdisclosures #arizonacontract #spds #propertydisclosures
Getting Your Earnest Money Back: 4 Ways to Cancel in AZ
Time to make sure you understand Arizona's contract: Don't enter a real estate agreement blind! During the 10-day inspection period, you can cancel the contract and get your earnest money back if something arises you don't agree with.
#arizonarealestate #contractterms #earnestmoney #homeinspection #realestatebuying
In what ways can I get my earnest money back in the contract and cancel? There's four main ways in our Arizona contract that you can get your earnest money back. The first big one is your 10-day inspection period. If for some reason we find something in the inspection and or we can't come to terms with the seller, you can cancel your contract and get your earnest money back from title in most cases. Second one is what we call the appraisal contingency. If the home doesn't appraise and or we can't come to terms with the seller if it doesn't appraise for an agreed upon price, you can cancel the contract and get your earnest money back in most cases. Another one is the HOA. So the HOA disclosure has to be sent to you as the buyer. You then have five days in our Arizona contract to review those documents and if for some reason you don't like what they say, you can cancel and get your earnest money back in most cases. And the last one, which the sellers really don't like, is if for some reason under good faith you trie everything possible to get your loan approved all the way up until three days prior to closing, again under good faith that you tried every option possible, you can cancel and get your earnest money back in most cases. If the lender says you don't qualify for the loan, what we typically see in that situation is if the buyer lost their job or something more serious like that.
How much can I afford to spend on a home? This is a very good question and the reason why us realtors want you to speak to a mortgage lender before we even go shopping. What the lender does in the background is they're going to take your income and they're going to take your debts. And remember, it's only your debts that appear on your credit report in addition to child support or something of that nature. They don't take into account utilities and things like that. There's a ratio that they're looking for in addition to your credit score. All these things come into play and that can give us two things. The purchase price that we should be shopping at or under, as well as what you should expect as a monthly payment for that purchase price.
The first step in the home buying process. It's very exciting to buy a home and it takes some time to get everything in order. First you have to assess your financial situation. You need to evaluate your credit score, your income, your debt to income ratio, talk about saving for a down payment, and closing costs. Figure out what you want to do for a budget. How much are you currently paying for rent and how much can you afford to pay on the new house? You remember there's things like property insurance, maintenance costs, taxes, things like that. The next step is getting pre-approved for a mortgage. The lender is going to go over budget with you. They're going to tell you how much you qualify for and what your all-in payment is going to look like. And they're going to tell you what that equates to in a purchase price so that you and I get to do the fun stuff and go shopping. And of course you want to find a reputable and experienced realtor like myself who has great communication and negotiating skills to get you the best deal on the house.
Are you worried about potentially buying a home that's going to have a low appraisal? Well, that's a concern of a lot of people nowadays and we have some options for you in terms of contesting an appraisal. Once you receive an appraisal, there is a process that most lenders will follow to identify discrepancies in appraisal form or maybe some comps that were not used during the process. There is still a lot of information to provide an appraiser to help them make their job a little bit easier, which is why it's important to make sure the listing agent also provides information to the appraiser, whether leaving it on the counter or providing it to the lender to help make the process easier for them. Also consider this, the appraiser does not work for the buyer or the seller. They work for the lender to make sure that the assets being purchased does fall under their guidelines within federal regulations.
Concerned about closing costs It is something to be concerned about it It can amount to five or six thousand dollars here in the Arizona market And it's something that a lot of buyers don't anticipate when they're already come on a pocket a lot of money for their down payment There's a tip to to kind of offset some of those costs What I always recommend is for a buyer to Communicate with their lender in order to look at lender credits If you raise your rate say a half percent a lot of times a lender can give you five or six thousand dollars And lender credits to help offset those closing costs now don't worry, you can always refinance six twelve months after and Have the ability to lower your rate down to mark a lower market rate, which is great But in the back of your mind you still were able to get those closing cost Credits per se on your transaction which could really help especially moving into a new home
Debt to income ratio. Sounds confusing. It's actually very simple and very fundamental to your home purchase. Think about it. When you hear debt, you think everything. Cell phone bills, utility bills, everything. Reality, it's just your revolving debts that are on your credit report. Your mortgage payment, your rent payment, your car payment, your credit card deals, your student loans, even some tax repayment options are all going to be on there. All you have to do is take your total income on a monthly basis and divide that by your total debts. That will give you your debt to income ratio. Once you have your debt to income ratio figured out, it's a good percentage to be between 40 and 50 percent. That will give you a good idea as to what you can afford based on your house. Search.
Thinking about buying down the interest rate, you may want to hold up for a minute. The market is crazy. Volatility is everywhere, not only in the housing values, but also when it's associated to rates. We have seen rates go to the moon and back down to the fives as in a month ago. So it's important to really take the rate environment into consideration. Buying down an interest rate can cost you thousands of dollars to only save you maybe a couple hundred dollars a month. Now, if we think about that, and if rates decide to come down in the next six to 12 months, we would likely advise you to refinance at that point to get to the lower rate. However, the money that you use to buy down the interest rate is now gone. You cannot recoup that money. So it's important to really take the environment into play when you make these decisions, especially when you're talking about thousands of dollars.
Don't play games. Always get pre-qualified when looking at homes. It's very important to be pre-qualified because it attracts the best buyers, agents, the best listing agents, the best mortgage brokers to give you the best team to save you the most money and give you the smoothest experience. Nothing is worse than having to work with Lyle, who's a part-time agent, who hasn't done any transactions in the area you're looking and you're working with somebody that may or may not be giving you the correct information. Always try to get your pre-qualification done before even entering the market. Or if even if you're looking, if you're a window shopper, that's absolutely fine. At least you know where you stand for price point, area, and your mortgage payment. It's important to make sure you know where you stand and that the professionals you're working with know where you stand so that you can get the best possible and most accurate information.
Did you know that retired, active, and disabled veterans have access to a range of incredible benefits when it comes to purchasing a home, including no mortgage insurance? Don't miss out on the opportunity to take advantage of the VA loan program!
