The Business Journal of Phoenix reported today in an article that Homes sales climb, but lag boom years, & reports that according to Arizona State University's Realty Studies program, there were 5,385 resales in March 2007, compared with 4,520 in January and 4,280 in February. It was the strongest month since 5,685 were recorded in August 2006. There were 7,265 sales in March 2006 and 10,035 in March 2005. The March 2007 numbers were similar to 2002 levels. So far in 2007, there have been 14,185 resales, compared with 17,980 for the same period in 2006. "While the resale market is tracking near historical norms, the levels should be well below those of the last few years, because the current market lacks the market frenzy to own and/or invest at almost any price and reasoning," said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies. "The general expectation is that the 2007 resale housing market should be a good year, but no where near the records, assuming that there are no negative geopolitical events and that the sub-prime problem remains fairly contained," he added. The median price in March was $265,470, compared to $260,000 for February.
My personal assessment from this bit of news only reinforces what the pundits have been saying about our market. Phoenix remains a city people want to move to, make a home, buy a home and live their lives. The economy is good, home prices are relatively cheaper than in the East Coast and West Coast cities and much of the Midwest (Chicago, Minneapolis etc.) Do we want another maddening "boom" - personally NO. I'd rather see sustainable growth and steady appreciation. People want to retire here, we've got world class golf, fantastic restaurants, culture, diversity, and the geographical benefit of being close to Vegas and the city of Angels. We've got hiking, miles of trails, plenty of lakes for the outdoorsy types and if you've been noticing the number of cranes popping up everywhere from downtown Phoenix to Scottsdale, Chandler and Tempe you know that the urbanites have something for them as well.
I want people to continue to make Phoenix and the surrounding metropolitan area their home. For short term or long term as long as the Valley attracts people the housing market will remain steady and ouch, I'm still recovering from the after taste of the immediate "investor pull out" mess so no, thank you pundits but I'd prefer if home sales climb and not at the pace of boom years.
Cheers,
Uzi Husain
Arizona Realtor, serving Goodyear & The Phoenix metropolitan area
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