Our Phoenix housing tracker reports 7,297 homes were sold in the Phoenix real estate market during February 2012. That's 833 homes more than January in a month that had 29 days. You can see the complete details here:
Phoenix home sales. Here is the sales breakdown:
- 3,538 homes were normal sales, which accounted for 48.5% of total sales
- 3,759 homes were foreclosure-type sales which accounted for 51.5% of total home sales. Foreclosure-type properties consist of bank owned homes (also known as REO's) and short sales
Going further into these numbers you will see the percentage of foreclosure-type sales is on a decline. The chart I referred you to above indicates October of 2008 was the last time the percentage was that low. To drive the point home a little further here's 2 more interesting facts (okay, I admit they're interesting to me though you may be starting to yawn):
- During the 3 year period beginning January 2009 until December 2011 the percentage of foreclosure sales averaged 66.1%
- January 2009 through June 2009 experienced the highest percentage of foreclosure sales at a whopping 74.1%; each of those 6 months were over 70%
51.5% foreclosure-type home sales in February 2012 is a good illustration of what's happening in our local real estate market. Foreclosure sales have been on a steady decline for the last 14 months -- not because home buyers don't want them -- but because the supply of foreclosures is drying up.
There were 15,989 active listings in the Arizona Regional MLS to begin March 2012. Check the details here:
Phoenix MLS report. You have to go back about 6 years to find another time they were that low. The declining listings began in November 2010 and have continued for the last 17 months.
The brisk demand for homes coupled with the very low inventory is keeping us in a seller's market. This is most evident for homes under $250,000, but extraordinarily true for homes under $150,000. Homes over $500,000 are still in a neutral market. This is apparent in Scottsdale where it takes 4 months to turn over the housing inventory. Compare that to most other cities in the Valley where it takes only 1.5 months to turn over the inventory of homes.
Another sign that the housing market is recovering is the average price per square foot. At $87 it's at the highest point since July 2010 when the average was $90 per square foot. For more details go here:
Phoenix housing tracker. This $87 per square foot was derived by taking the average sales price for all the sold homes in February and dividing it by the average size for all the sold homes. Here are a few more facts that I personally find interesting:
- At $77 and $78, the months of March and April of 2011 represent the lowest price per square foot in well over a decade
- Prices in July and August have steadily risen over the last 6 months to the above mentioned $87
Numbers are one thing and sometimes practical experience can be another. However in this case they match up. Case in point: we have been in a "multiple offers" situation with every property buyer we have represented over the last 6-9 months. Not in every single case but in a very high percentage.
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