Traditional Sales on the Rise in the Phoenix Area

One can't listen to the news these days without hearing about short sales or foreclosures of homes. But if the numbers are any indication, there is good news on the horizon in the Phoenix area housing market.

According to data provided by First American Title Agency, traditional sales accounted for 40% of all Phoenix area home sales last month. That's up 18% from March of 2009. Of the 7,568 homes sold in Phoenix last month, 3,043 were traditional sales, meaning neither a foreclosed/bank-owned property nor a short sale. A short sale is a pre-foreclosure where the lender has to agree to sell the home for less than the amount owed. In March of 2009, traditional sales accounted for 22% of all home sales.

Of the 7,568 home sales in March, 40% were REO or bank-owned properties and 20% were short sales. Seventy two percent of sales were priced at under $200,000 and 21% were priced from $200,000 to $399,999. That means 93% percent of homes sold were priced under $400,000.

March of this year also saw an increase in sales of 27% over February, when 5,499 homes closed. Compared to March of 2009, sales were up just under 10% from 6,828.

We are seeing an increase in the number of short sales and a decrease in the number of bank-owned properties. And even though "traditional" or "normal" sales are on the rise, we still have a long ways before we're out of the woods.

As of this morning, there were a total of 34,637 single family homes for sale in the greater Phoenix area and a total of 13,740 "pending" which means there is an accepted contract on the home and it should "close" shortly. As the inventory goes down, demand increases, which is what we want if we want to see home values rise. Unfortunately, the short sales often take months to close while the seller waits for a response from the lender, so that keeps the inventory from being depleted in normal time frames.

If you have any further questions or comments on the Phoenix area housing market, please don't hesitate to contact me.