Phil Sexton, also from John Hall & Associates, commented yesterday on the Inman Community area, in response to the question: “How’s the real estate selling in your area??????”
The question here in Phoenix: Is it improving or is it seasonal? We have been improving month over month since Jan – but that’s normal. The encouraging part is that our local MLS currently has over 7,000 pending sales (1st time in a long time) and we already have 2,500 closings in April. If April posts a bigger number than March it will be the first time since 2004 that we have had increasing sales 4 months in a row. That’s a good arguement that it’s improving!
An interesting point is that over half of the sales are properties that are vacant (normally 20%ish). Which means we aren’t converting as many sellers to buyers – we’re just absorbing the banks and other investors inventory. That will make it a slower recovery, but if we can couple that with ’steady’ we’ll be good!
And then today, Leif Swanson, also from John Hall, posted some of his comprehensive home stats.
Reports from around the country say that sales of existing homes fell by 2% in March 2008. How did the Phoenix area do in March? Well, there were 3445 resale home sales in February 2008 and 4303 sales in March 2008 in Phoenix. So…. sales of existing homes in the Phoenix metropolitan area rose by 25% in March 2008. Sales so far in April (as of 4-23-08) are 2894 (above pace from March 1-23, 2008 [2560] and February 1-23, 2008 [2148]). There are currently close to 7200 pending sales, which should lead to improved sales figures for April and May 2008.
And then on the John Hall & Associates company blog, an overview from the R.L. Brown presentation given today, was posted. The title - “We’re in the beginning stages of feeling better.” RL Brown. From what I read, we are seeing signs of improvement, yet Brown’s projections indicate that the housing recovery still has a way to go. At the same time, he confirms that each neighborhood needs to be looked at and treated individually.
Earlier this year, I completed a comparison of six Scottsdale neighborhoods, and came to the same conclusion that each neighborhood really has to be viewed individually. Price appreciation or depreciation varied dramatically from community to community.
So as you get ready to buy or sell your house, it’s really critical to have your agent take a good, hard look at what is going on in your neighborhood, and in the surrounding areas. This info will give you the upper hand in knowing how home sales and prices are really doing in the area that matters to you. As always, it’s important to do your homework. If you need help, call or email.
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Twitter: buytucsonlots
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I was shocked to see the high number of homes under contract in Anthem. Let’s see if it translates into closings.
http://www.arizonarealestatenotebook.com/2008/04/26/anthem-arizona-real-estate-market-tightening-up/
Twitter: drubloomfield
04.29.08 at 6:08 am
John, Thanks for sharing the Anthem numbers – they are a huge jump. We’ll have a pretty good sense of where things end up for the month by the weekend.
Dru,
I was worried we weren’t going to beat March’s 4,300, but yesterday we posted around 700 sales! As the dust settles, it looks like 4,800 sales for ARMLS in April. Next stop 5,000???
BTW – April was also the highest number of John Hall & Associates closings since May of last year.
Twitter: drubloomfield
05.01.08 at 12:26 pm
Phil – goods news on all counts.