November is here!  Where do the years go anyway?

There is good news on the real estate front as the market is very active.  Of course, the most active market remains in the lower price ranges but as these properties sell, the more expensive market will become the new hot spot.

Its official – President Obama signed the Homebuyers Tax Credit extension and expansion on Nov 6, 09. 

So what about the numbers for October 2009?  Do not believe everything you read in the newspapers or hear on the news as the data they receive lags the current market by about 3 months.  We have access to the latest statistics on a daily basis and would be happy to furnish detailed info for a zip code, city or even subdivision.  Do not hesitate to contact us for specific info.

 Regarding the overall Phoenix metro market::

• October 2009 research shows closings +8000 which is 50% above October 2008.

• With 12,000 transactions still in Pending status, and with the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit thatwas scheduled to end this month, November should close a similar number.

• If we top the high of 8,071 sales of November 2004 – this will be the most November closings ever.

• At 78,000 YTD closings; 2009 is on track to rank as the 3rd highest year on record (should reach by Thanksgiving). We are already 30% above the total for 2008 and should end the year up about 50%.

Besides the YTD numbers, let’s look at the trends. The percentage of REO’s (Foreclosures) continues to drop both with  Closed transactions at 44% and the Pending Sale category of 35%. There is currently a 38-day supply of Active REO’s. Short Sales (SS), on the other hand, continue to increase. SS Active Listings make up 25% of all Actives with another +6000 in the Active Under Contract status.  October’s Closings were at 20%. But, with SS Pending’s totaling 31%, the closed % will increase. A further look at SS shows that the Days on Market (DOM) is approximately double of the non-SS DOM numbers. SS are slow to sell, as banks are overwhelmed with the volume and sluggish to review any offers. Unfortunately, many simply go to foreclosure auction before the SS sale is approved. However, the Good News is that the DOM for Closed SS has improved by almost 3 weeks in the last quarter.

The price numbers are continuing to ‘bump around’ with no consistent trend line. October’s Average Sales price was down about $4,000 to $171,000 and the Median Sales price was down $2,000 to $128,000. Both of these numbers are considerably above the yearly low of $159,000 and $115,000 respectively. The Average has been up and down for the past 4 months, with the Median down for the first time since April.

Overall Inventory – as you can see the inventory for the lower priced properties is minimal as compared to the highest priced homes.  This graph supports the sales numbers showing that  90+ % of the sales are priced under $400,000.  Homes priced under $300K are now considered a Buyers Market.

The Supply of Lender Owned Single Family properties priced under $300K is 27 Days
while the Supply of ALL Single-Family homes priced under $300K is now only 2.4 months.

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Specific numbers vary across the cities of the metro area.  We can provide the details for the area you are interested n, just send an email or give us a call. 

We are proud of our Broker Jim Sexton as he is always on the leading edge of the real estate community:
Congratulations Jim Sexton ...
Recipient of Phx Assn Realtors’ Continuing Service Award

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