Phoenix Real Estate Listings - April 2010

The number of active listings in the Phoenix real estate market remained relatively constant for yet another month. The drop in the number of listings was only 587 listings from March 1st to April 1st. The big news expects to be the total number of homes sold for March 2010. It looks as though home sales may approach the 9,000 mark, making March the biggest residential sales month since last July.

Read the chart this way:
"Residential listings in The Phoenix area totaled 34,461 to begin April 2010, a drop of 587 from March. 14,087 of those listings are foreclosure listings (bank owned or REO properties and short sales). Foreclosures make up 40.9% of the total listings.

Talk of "shadow inventory" still looms on blogs and in the news.

The second chart shows the breakdown between the normal listings and the foreclosure listings. Read the chart this way:
"20,374 listings are "normal listings that have been on the market for an average of 172 days. 14,087 listings are foreclosure listings that have been on the market an average of 102 days."

Short sales have dragged that number higher as bank owned homes slip off the market much sooner than short sales in Metro Phoenix. Real estate with short sales continues to be an adventure.

Short Sale Roulette

Phoenix Real Estate February 2010

Phoenix Real Estate sales were up 14% in February 2010.

February only had 28 days, but that was enough time to beat January's total home sales in Metro Phoenix. Real estate residential sales increased from 5,812 in January to 6,613 home sales in February 2010. Need we ask why? The answer continues to be last minute shopping for the tax credit fueled by low interest rates. Expect more of the same during the next few months.

Read the chart in this manner: 6,613 homes sold in February in Metro Phoenix . Real estate defined as "normal" sales (not bank owned property or short sales) accounted for 2,463 sales, or 37.2% of the total. 4,150 sales were foreclosure related which comprised 62.8% of the total.

Here's another interesting statistic. Year over year sales, commonly known as YOY (a common industry comparison standard), have been up for 21 consecutive months (not completely shown by the chart ). YOY essentially compares the sales in February 2010 to the sales in February 2009, the sales in January 2010 to the sales in January 2009, and so on. In other words, Phoenix real estate sales have consistently been improved from the previous year.

It's also interesting to note that foreclosures (bank owned or REO property and shorts sales) officially accounted for over 1/2 all sales in the Phoenix real estate market beginning in October 2008. They have surged as high as 75.9% but have yet to drop below the 50% mark. My chart goes back to June 2007 for anyone who wants a longer term perspective.

My next post will evaluate the number of foreclosure sales and their makeup in terms of how many were lender owned properties and how many were short sales.

Phoenix Real Estate Forum

Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, Gilbert, homes

Listings remain stable in Phoenix Real Estate Market - March 2010

Phoenix Real Estate Market remains dominated by Phoenix foreclosures.

The number of active listings in and around metropolitan Phoenix remained virtually unchanged from February to March of 2010. As depicted in the chart, property listings hit a several year low in September 2009.  They have been slowly on the rise since that time.  The chart also indicates the dramatic difference since 2008 when listings were over 50,000, thereby accounting for the swing in the market from a complete buyer's market to a market that has occasionally been referred to as a seller's market in Phoenix.  Real estate listings in some locations around the Valley have sparked a seller's market because of extreme competition for low priced Metro Phoenix foreclosures. It's no real surprise because real estate prices in the Phoenix housing market are at their lowest levels in 10-years AND interest rates are still low.

The chart also shows that 41.2% of all listings in the Phoenix area are foreclosures. I am defining foreclosures as bank owned homes and short sales.

Phoenix Luxury Homes

Phoenix MLS Syndication

Google Fiber

Phoenix Real Estate - Record Setting December 2009?

Phoenix Real Estate Market- Record Setting December, 2009?

Yes, it's true. We had 7,670 residential sales in the Phoenix real estate market last month, though it wasn't quite the all-time high. December 2004 was the only month in this last decade that had higher sales, and that was by less than 200 homes. Is that an amazing feat for the Phoenix real estate market? Definitely, considering that December is historically one of the lower sales months in the entire year as people turn towards holiday shopping and parties. It's also an impressive feat considering all of that doom and gloom reporting on the national economy.

Take a look at these numbers from the Arizona Regional MLS.

MONTH - SALES
2009 - 7,670
2008 - 5,630
2007 - 3,347
2006 - 5,311
2005 - 6,527
2004 - 7,829
2003 - 6,311
2002 - 5,954
2001 - 4,531
2000 - 3,907

Additionally, 2009 recorded the third highest residential sales in the last decade. 2004 and 2005 (boom years) were the only two years with higher residential sales in the Phoenix real estate market.

33,014 more homes were sold in 2009 than in 2008, or a 55.7% increase!

YEAR - SALES
2009 - 92,292
2008 - 59,278
2007 - 54,231
2006 - 74,106
2005 - 104,133
2004 - 98,294
2002 - 68,411
2001 - 62,523
2000 - 55,400

There are currently 33,278 homes for sale in Metro Phoenix. Real estate sales are off to a pretty good start in January 2010 after a great December 2009.

Phoenix real estate blog

Phoenix homes and foreclosures

Phoenix Real Estate Listings January 2010

Phoenix real estate listings - 7 months of stability - January 2010 The number of listings on the Phoenix real estate market has remained relatively stable over the last 7months. The chart indicates 33,278 active listings on the Phoenix real estate market to begin January 2010, just 319 less than during the beginning of December 2009. Active listings reached their peak near the middle / end of 2008. The decline began in early 2009, reaching a low point in September with 30,995 active listings on the Phoenix real estate market. The period of relative stability began in July, and the 7 month average since July has equaled approximately 32,000 active listings. The decrease in listings was due primarily to 2 factors: the moratorium on foreclosures and the number of "normal" sellers that canceled their listings or chose not to put their home on the market. Here is a snapshot of active listings in some of the more popular cities around the Phoenix real estate market.

City	Active Listings	% of Total
Phoenix	5,485	16.5
Scottsdale	2,473	7.4
Mesa	2,275	6.8
Gilbert	1,323	4.0
Chandler	1,149	3.5
Glendale	1,046	3.1
Queen Creek	733	2.2
Maricopa	585	1.8
Tempe	571	1.7
Ahwatukee	427	1.3

These 10 cities are some of the more popular and well known within the Phoenix real estate market.

Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, Gilbert

Phoenix real estate housing market, tracker

Phoenix Real Estate Market | 7,586 sales November 2009

Phoenix real estate market closes 7,586 sales in November 2009

The 7,586 residential sales recorded in November 2009 are 559 sales less than those recorded in October 2009. This reduction in sales is considered both normal and cyclical in the Phoenix real estate market. Sales peaked in June 2009 when 9,358 home sales were recorded.

The chart indicates a steady increase in home sales beginning in February and lasting until the peak in June. The steady decrease began in July and continues to date. Although not indicated on the chart, the year over year (YOY) sales in the Phoenix real estate market have now increased for two consecutive years. Sales in October 2007 were 3, 421 and sales in October 2008 were 5,267.

The Town of Maricopa was the only municipality in the Phoenix real estate market that was contrary to the decline in home sales. The Town of Maricopa experienced a slight increase in sales from 224 home sales in October to 235 homes sales and November 2009, a 5% increase.

Around the Phoenix real estate market, Scottsdale was the only other city with home sales consistent with October 2009. Scottsdale experienced a decrease of just under 2%.

I've been on other projects and slow to update these reports. Merry Christmas to all!

More about the Phoenix real estate market

Arizona Relocation

Phoenix Real Estate Prices Increase -- December 2009

Phoenix real estate prices continue to rise - December 2009

Yes, believe it or not Phoenix real estate prices have continued on an eight month increase. The chart you are looking at below indicates the appreciation (and depreciation) rates for Phoenix real estate over the two year period from November 2007 through November 2009.

The chart assumes a baseline price per square foot in November 2007, then shows how the price per square foot has declined for Phoenix real estate until a bottom was hit in March 2009. Prices for Phoenix real estate have continued to increase over the last eight months since the bottom in March of 2009.

This Phoenix real estate chart was obtained courtesy of the Cromford Report. They are experts in the Phoenix real estate market and devote a considerable amount of time to producing accurate reports. Their reports on the Phoenix real estate market are every bit as accurate as the Case-Schiller index, but much more timely.

The data I personally keep from my own research on the Phoenix real estate market coincides with this data. My data shows that Phoenix real estate appears to have bottomed out in March 2009 at a price per square foot of $66.00 for residential resale homes. The current price per square foot for Phoenix real estate is $84.00 per square foot according to my statistics.

My statistics for Phoenix real estate are based on single-family residences, townhomes, and patio homes that are over 1,000 square feet and sell for less than one million dollars. I believe this helps to "level out" the data by removing the "extremely low" and "extremely high" prices for Phoenix real estate.

There have been pessimistic reports about a dreaded "double dip" of depreciation for Phoenix real estate. In other words, the current price of Phoenix real estate may go downwards again. The operators of the Cromford report had not found any signs the indicate that a double dip is imminent.

Surrounding Phoenix market conditions