We gave you our Phoenix area real estate market predictions at the end of 2008. We feel it is time to give a little update.
Let us know if you have any questions or want stats on a specific subdivision or zip code in the Greater Phoenix area and we'll be happy to provide.
____________________________________
Sales are up in most areas of the Valley… the number of sales, not the prices. Single family homes are selling better than condos and townhouses in most areas.
In February there were 5476 sales recorded on ARMLS verses 3081 a year ago… a welcomed 77% increase. 75% of the sales were homes priced under $200,000. Bank owned (foreclosures) properties accounted for a bit over 65% of all sales. Here is one more wild statistic… only 147 of the 5476 homes sold in February went for more than $600,000.
Sadly, foreclosures are on the rise again. Our predictions for 2009 foresaw an increase in foreclosures during the first two quarters of 2009 and so it is. We really wish we would have been wrong on that one; Very sad for a lot of people.
The foreclosure numbers for the end of February and early March came in higher than we’ve seen in many months. High foreclosure numbers indicate prices will continue to fall. We know you don’t want to hear this, but the banks tend to price at lower than market value to get them off the market quickly.
If you viewed our predictions for 2009, you know we did not anticipate prices to stabilize until the end of 2009. Nothing has changed on that front. A big unknown is the affect of the various bail-outs, artificially interest rates set by the FED and lack of viable data on the asset markets.
However, we’ll be watching unemployment, foreclosure stats and a few other economic indicators closely and adjust this prediction if needed.
Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
Predictions are simply that... a best guess. We deem the information to be reliable and can not guarantee such. ARMLS is a trade mark of the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.
