New Home Sales Twice as Strong in the West

If you've been listening to recent news reports, no doubt you've been hearing how existing home sales have been picking up the last few months in our market. Inventory or supply of existing homes is down, as are prices, and those two factors combined have created a higher demand among buyers. We are experiencing this in the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas where certain parts of the valley are seeing price increases due to multiple offers and offers above list price.

Now today a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce says sales of new homes in 13 western states, including Arizona, rose 22.6 percent in June from the previous month, which is two times the national increase of 11 percent. This is the second highest level of new homes sales since last July.

While sales of new homes are still down from a year ago, the report shows that the decline is less severe in the western United States.

An estimated 103,000 new homes were sold in the West in June; that's up from 84,000 in May, 77,000 in April and 74,000 in March.

So the stats bear it out, existing and new homes sales are on the rise in the greater Phoenix/Scottsdale areas.