An East Valley Tribune article, reports that while Valleywide home sales posted their first year-to-year increase since 2005 last month, sales in Scottsdale are still lagging. Experts say that's because available loans are mostly for lower-priced homes, which are more plentiful in the southeast valley than in Scottsdale, where median home values surpass the half-million-dollar mark. There were 330 resale homes sold in Scottsdale in April, down from 400 sales the same month a year ago, according to a report by Arizona State University's Realty Studies Office.

The median value for single-family home sales also dipped from $557,500 last year to $506,500. The biggest reason cheaper homes are selling is the kind of financing available to buyers, said Scottsdale-based real estate agent Karl Stauffer. There are lower interest rates and more money available for loans that are under $417,000 as opposed to larger loans, he said. But Scottsdale residents trying to sell homes in the $400,000 range or higher would have more trouble getting a loan to buy up to a more expensive house unless they have a lot of cash on hand, he said. According to Stauffer's analysis and own real estate deals, the lower-priced homes in Scottsdale are selling. For the number of buyers out there, there are fewer homes remaining on the market in the $300,000 to $400,000 range than there are in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, he said.

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