Phoenix Housing Prices a Steal but for How Much Longer?

March 6, 2012 - PRLog -- Phoenix Housing Prices a Steal but for How Much Longer?

Phoenix is not your type of place that releases happy housing reports. That’s why everybody pays attention at news stories talking about a positive Phoenix real estate market. In June last year, Phoenix saw the liveliest resale movement in six years.  It helped raise total property sales. In June alone, there were over 10,500 sales of existing and new houses, including condo units, in the metropolitan areas of Maricopa and Pinal counties. The figures were 8.3 percent from May and 1.5 percent from June. Starting in 1994, sales have been rising at 1.8 percent at the average from those months.

How long will this rosy Phoenix properties picture last? The future looks bright, so far. But until when nobody knows. What’s sure as of now is that Phoenix real estate investors are taking advantage of the boom, whether in the market for new homes, condo units or in Phoenix second homes.

Must Buyers Wait A Little Bit Longer?

The news is uneven as far as prices are concerned. In June, buyers in the Phoenix area paid $122,900 median for all resale and new condo units or houses. This is up 2.4 percent from the previous month 12 percent off from last June. This seems to support the argument suggesting that buyers must wait a bit longer before making a purchase. A sobering fact, however, is that the Phoenix’s June median was close to 54 percent lower than the $264,000 peak in June of 2006. It was the time when property buyers were willing to pay any price for a home.

As everybody predicted, distressed sales played a big influence in increasing the data, with investors and buyers even from abroad were rushing to grab properties at huge discounts. It was a good time for both the buyer and the Phoenix realtor. What’s distressed sales? They are short sales and foreclosure resales comprising 64 percent of the resale market in Phoenix.

First-Time Buyers Falling Behind

The share of Phoenix real estate investments bought fell from the early part of last year, but it has been up since last June. The cash buyers’ share showed the same trend, at 41 percent last June. Continuing to fall behind are the first time buyers, with small down payment mortgages with the backing of the Federal Housing Administration. But despite reports of distressed sales, there is high possibility of a slight rise in prices, although a falling inventory seemed to be a factor – it was 11 percent down in Phoenix in June from May. Filings for foreclosure in Phoenix and other cities are also falling. This is either because of saturation in the market or due to some legal problems. This could change, however. Phoenix brokers all say that competition is increasing for distressed deals.




Phoenix Home Buying Made Easy

Whatever the future of the Phoenix real estate industry is, buyers need tips to make it easier for them to pick their dream vacation home.

Think of how you will benefit from the new home. What’s the reason you want to buy a home in Phoenix? Is it for family use only? Do you plan to rent it out on days that you are not using it? Do you want a villa type or one with a modern design that reflects your personality? Although you can buy a Phoenix property by yourself, you will save a lot of time and effort if you get a realtor because of the every-dynamic real estate trends in Phoenix. A realtor knows the ins and outs of the real estate business. She knows where to go and whom to approach. She can also help you with looking for prices that are within your budget.


Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com/city/phoenix.htm
Posted by Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com

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Maureen has been in the real estate industry for 39 years as an agent and broker/owner of her own company. She prides herself in successful negotiation for both buyer and sellers and in building successful portfolios for investors. She is proud of her Agent friendly office environment that is her own creation and the calibre of real estate agents she has working for her. Maureen goes beyond fulfilling the needs of the real estate client and entrenches herself in the needs of Children in Need