The Arizona Real Estate Market continues to be RED HOT with record sales for the second month in a row. Today's real estate market in Arizona is being driven primarily by three types of home sales. 37% of the sales were REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures, 21% of sales & 40% of closings were Short Sales/Pre-Foreclosures, and 42% of the closings were Regular Sales and/or Investor "flips" a/k/a 'equity sales'. The trend of homes foreclosing seems to be slightly down which is a good overall sign for our real estate market. We are definitely seeing a shift in the distressed sales market from bank owned to short sales. This is great news for agents like me who specialize in listing and selling Short Sales.
Short Sale closings are higher than they have ever been. 2010 has been touted as The Year of the SHORT SALE....and now that we are almost half way through the year, that seems to be ringing true. I know....I know.....Short Sales are an utter pain in the rear for both buyers and sellers...and sometimes they even turn out to be a bit of a nightmare, but one thing's for sure: An expanding segment of the market is distressed sales and the loathed SHORT SALE.
There were 9,003 closings in April and 9,190 closings in May. These are both record months. We haven't seen sales numbers like these since 2005. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts now that the government tax credit deadline is passed.
You will hear that it is a "Buyer's Market" in Arizona. But, the reality is, the market here in AZ is very unique and many areas exhibit more signs of a "Seller's Market" than a buyer's. Sellers are getting almost their full asking price if not netting a purchase price OVER list.
- If the home is priced under $200K, sellers are getting on average 99% of the asking price.
- If the home is priced over $200K they are getting on average 97% of the asking price.
- Regardless of the list price, if the home is priced right (at fair market value) sellers are getting near full price.
Signs of a Seller's Market
- Inventory is very low as compared to previous months / years.
- Less than six months of inventory is on the market.
- Comparable sale prices are lower than active listing prices.
- More buyers are purchasing, resulting in higher closed sale numbers.
- Median sales prices are increasing.
- Real estate ads are getting smaller.
- For Sale signs are up for a few days before a pending or sold sign is attached.
Here is the entire market in a nutshell up to April of this year:
The Real Estate market in Metro Phoenix, Arizona is strengthening and hitting record numbers. All the numbers are heading in the right direction for a recovery. For some reason, people seem to love to buy when it's HOT here. You would think the buying season would be during our peak "snowbird" months of January through April, but that just isn't the case. The Metro Phoenix real estate market traditionally improves as spring moves into summer....May through July which are usually our 100+ degree months. Total listings are down 1268 units from last month....which is a good thing! Total sales for the month of April were up 5% over March.
Housing inventory is a seasonally adjusted number of existing homes available for sale at the end of each month. Months-of-supply or Months of Inventory is the number of months it would take to sell the housing inventory based on the current annualized sales rate. Valleywide we are sitting at a comfortable average of 4.6 months of supply of homes. This indicates an average of a "neutral" market or leans towards that of a "seller's market". The luxury market is definitely impacting the inventory levels, and it still continues to be the worst segment of business at a 26.8 month supply..... but there are signs that even the luxury market is improving!
Months of Supply in APRIL by area are as follows....(remember, the lower the number the HOTTER the market):
Queen Creek & San Tan Valley: 803 Active Listings, 1026 Listings Under Contract (AWC & Pending). 482 homes Closed. Average Time On Market = 47 Days. Months of Inventory = 3.8
Months of Inventory Valleywide:
East Valley 4.1
Central Corridor 7.9
Northwest 3.9
Luxury 26.8
Awhatukee 5.1
Apache Junction 4.2
Buckeye 3.1
Cave Creek 8.1
Goodyear Litchfield and Avondale 3.4
Fountain Hills 6.2
Glendale and Avondale 3.4
Paradise Valley (mostly luxury) 16.3
Scottsdale 7.5
Peoria and Glendale 4.0
If you're in the market to purchase a home in Arizona, now is clearly the time to buy! If you are considering short selling your home, now is the time to do a short sale! Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. The Bank Pays us to Short Sell your Home.
Want to find out more? www.shortsalemyphoenixhome.com
Jessica Sulliman & Randy Curnutt
602-677-7977
www.ShortSaleMyPhoenixHome.com
About the Author...
This article was provided by Jessica Sulliman, a Nationally recognized Realtor and Certified Short Sale & REO Specialist. Jessica can be reached via e-mail at jessica.sulliman@ashbyrealty.com by cell phone or text message at 602-677-7977. Jessica has helped thousands of people buy and sell their home. For Arizona real estate and homes see www.sunshinespecialists.com or www.jessicasshortsales.com. For more info regarding short selling your home, please visit www.shortsalemyphoenixhome.com.
Specializing in the following Metro Phoenix areas in Arizona: Queen Creek, Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Scottsdale, Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Tempe, Florence, San Tan Valley, Coolidge, Casa Grande, Eloy, Maricopa, Ahwatukee, Anthem at Merrill Ranch resort community in Florence AZ.
Check out my blog: http://jsulliman.activerain.com
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