Arizona Real Estate Market Report By Dr. Jay Butler Of ASU Realty Studies Delivers More Bad News To Arizona's Homeowners!
The median home price remained stable at $220,000, in contrast to last year's $265,470.
No, "stable" is not the word that comes to our minds- "consistent", maybe?
Butler reports:
March is typically an indicator for the coming resale home season, and with 4,335 recorded sales it's showing signs of a continuing weak market. Even though it is an improvement over the 3,750 sales of February, it is significantly below last year's 5,385 sales and is the lowest March since 1996, with 3,270 sales.
It is plain to see that with a 19.5% drop in sales year-over-year, we think the market is not so much "continuing to be weak", but "continuing to deteriorate".
Butler states:
While there are many problems rising out of the hyper-resale market, many households were able to acquire homes with traditional financing, according to Jay Q. Butler, director of Realty Studies in the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus.
"People who settled in their dream homes with manageable mortgage payments have little incentive or pent-up demand to change their housing investment. Thus, lower sales activity should not be unexpected," he said.
Butler may not jump right out and state that he does not expect lower sales activity, but we do. Last year March was the busiest month of the year, and in 2006, it was the second busiest. While it is possible that there might be a month or two that are busier than March this year, it is unlikely that there would be a significant increase over March sales, and it is our expectation, based on traditional seasonal patterns that most months would be slower.
His conclusion is surprising, given this frank assessment of the current situation:
During the last year, the housing market has been confronting issues derived from the hyper-market of previous years such as the subprime meltdown and overly ambitious investors. Unfortunately, there is increasing data, such as job losses and layoffs, that the economy is now weakening and will add further stress for the housing markets.
Butler also does a good job explaining what is driving the lower prices:
Capital is available for lower-priced housing, but lacking in the higher priced housing market. The recent rise in the FHA limit from $271,050 to $346,250 will help some move-up market activity. However, the non-conforming limit is expected to remain at $417,000, which will be of little assistance to the higher priced market.
Last year, 39 percent of the resale homes sold for more than $300,000, while it was 27 percent for March 2008. Homes selling for under $200,000 have increased from last year's 16 percent to a current 40 percent of the local resale housing market.
The median square footage for a single-family home recorded sold in March 2008 was 1,770 square feet, which is larger than the 1,700 square feet for a year ago. In the townhouse / condominium sector, the median square footage was 1,160 square feet, which is larger than the 1,120 square feet reported a year ago.
In contrast to March 2007, recorded sales in the city of Phoenix decreased from 1,450 sales to 1,075, while the median sales price decreased to $185,455 from $228,000. Since Phoenix is a geographically large city, the median prices can range significantly such as $148,800 ($157,700 in February) in the Maryvale area to $263,500 ($260,000 in February) in the Union Hills area. The townhouse / condominium sector decreased from 400 to 195 sales and the median price decreased from $165,000 to $149,000.
The Scottsdale resale home market declined from 465 to 305 recorded sales, with the median sales price decreasing from last year’s $635,000 to $525,000. The median resale home price is $605,000 ($573,570 in February) in North Scottsdale and $260,000 ($254,000 in February) in South Scottsdale. The townhouse / condominium sector in Scottsdale decreased from 280 to 155 sales, and the median sales price decreased from $265,950 to $236,750.
The Mesa resale housing market declined from 620 sales a year ago to 450, while the median price fell from $242,700 to $200,000 ($208,750 in February). The townhouse/condominium sector also fell from 190 to 90 sales, while the median home price decreased from $158,400 to $144,000.
Glendale decreased from 355 to 260 sales, and the median sales price decreased from $248,250 a year ago to $209,750 ($202,000 in February). The townhouse / condominium sector decreased from 50 to 15 sales, while the median sales price increased from $148,850 to $155,000.
For the city of Peoria, the resale market declined from 255 to 190 sales, while the median price moved from $270,000 to $235,900 ($225,300 in February). The townhouse/condominium sector decreased from 35 to 20 sales, while the median price increased from $165,000 to $175,700.
In comparison to a year ago, the Sun City resale market declined from 150 to 100 sales, while the median sales price decreased to $182,500 from $200,000. Resale activity in Sun City West decreased from at 70 to 60 sales, and the median sales price decreased from $217,450 to $214,000. The townhouse/condominium market in Sun City decreased from 75 to 65 recorded sales, while the median home price decreased from $131,000 to $119,900. In Sun City West, activity stayed at 25 sales and the median sales price decreased from $190,000 to $130,970.
The resale market in Gilbert increased from 290 to 295 sales, and the median sales price decreased from $295,500 to $245,000 ($254,700 in February). The townhouse/condominium market declined from 15 to 10 sales, as the median sales price decreased from $200,000 to $176,450.
For the city of Chandler, the resale market declined from 380 to 325 recorded sales, with the median sales price decreasing from $293,850 to $234,000 ($245,000 in February). The townhouse/condominium market declined from 65 to 20 sales, and the median sales price went from $170,000 to $145,000.
The resale market in Tempe decreased from 125 to 100 sales, with the median sales price decreasing from $278,750 to $237,000 ($240,000 in February). The townhouse/condominium sector fell from 95 to 35 sales, and the median sales price decreased from $198,500 to $160,000.
The highest median sales price was in Paradise Valley at $1,750,000 with a median square foot house of 3,995 square feet.
In the West Valley, the following communities represent 14 percent of the resale market.
Avondale decreased from 100 to 90 sales, with the median price moving from $232,280 to $185,130 ($194,570 in February).
El Mirage increased from 40 to 60 sales, while the median home price went from $213,750 to $146,900 ($149,500 in February).
Goodyear went from 105 to 125 sales, while the median price decreased from $255,000 to $220,000 ($220,490 in February).
Surprise improved 250 to 285 sales, but the median price went from $241,500 to $205,000 ($213,740 in February).
Labels: arizona housing crash, arizona market report, arizona real estate investor, sell my house fast, sell quick for cash
posted by SellQuickForCash @ 9:11 AM
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