Phoenix-area median priced homes sold increased slightly in May from the previous month despite an increase also in home foreclosures, according to the latest data from the Information Market and Cromford Report, local analysis firms.
In May, the number of homes sold increased to over 8,600. In April, the homes sold were just under 8,160. The median sales price for both new and resale homes was $130,000, which is an increase of about 3 percent. This information is based on data from the Maricopa County Recorder's Office.
In May, the median new-home sale prices rose to $216,000 from $205,000 in April. The amount of sales of new homes rose to 705 new-homes from 599 in April. The resale homes, however, remained the same at roughly $120,000. Cromford Report analyst Mike Orr said that the bulk of buyer activity is still happening at the market's low end but that home-sales volume in the higher-price range is starting to creep upward.
The percentage of Valley home sales involving bank-owned homes decreased to 57 percent in May, down from 68 percent the previous month, Orr said.
Although there was a lot of activity on purchases, the foreclosures were still very much active. There were 3,809 homes foreclosed on in May, which was an increase from April's 3,103. About 8,600 pending foreclosure notices were issued, which was a decrease from the previous month at 9,100.
Analyst Jim Belfiore of Belfiore Real Estate Consulting, who surveys home builders regularly about sales trends, stated that builders have recently been offering huge incentives to sell off the existing speculative inventory - as much as $200,000 worth per home in some high-end communities. That effort has paid off, he said, leaving only about 4,500 unsold "spec" homes now on the market Valley-wide.
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