Maricopa County Home Sales Drop In Numbers, Price

Home sales drop in numbers, price
from the Business Journal of Phoenix, reports that there were 5,220 homes sold in Maricopa County in May, about half the number sold in 2005, according to Arizona State University's Realty Studies Department. Year-to-date, about 24,000 homes have been sold. That's down 20 percent from last year and about half the number from 2005. The median home price also dropped to $262,000 in May, down $3,000 from the same time last year. "The general expectation is that the 2007 resale housing market should be a good year, but nowhere near the records," said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at ASU. In May, 16 percent of all recorded sales were for homes priced from $125,000 to $199,999, 42 percent were for homes in the $200,000 to $299,999 range and 39 percent were for homes priced at more than $300,000. Last year, the median prices trended higher across the board.

Existing home sales show slight bump in dragging market
from the East Valley Tribune, also reports on the recent sales and price report from ASU. It adds that the market is dealing with a huge overhang of housing inventory, which hit record highs in recent months-- soaring to more than 50,000. Many are investment properties. The slump has hit some areas harder than others. Those closer to freeways and jobs are holding steady, while prices in outlying areas continue to drop. Sellers in Pinal County and the West Valley are struggling to compete with builders offering larger homes, landscaping and other incentives at resale prices, said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at ASU. High energy prices and traffic congestion are also impacting sales, he said.

Most Resilient U.S. Real Estate Markets
"Other Bounce Backs: Like Tampa, Phoenix is similarly afflicted by high investor share (26.1%) and it has a vacancy rate over 3%. Good affordability rates and a surging job market suggest that once Phoenix bottoms out, price growth will be strong. Moody's projection model has Phoenix reaching its price trough in the fourth quarter of 2008 and then growing by 7.7% the following year."

Bay Area home sales drop, prices up
Bay Area homes continued to sell at their slowest pace in 12 years last month, as the median sales price edged up to a new peak. . . full story

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