Meaningful Market Update: Information You Can Trust!

Below is a synopsis of what is happening in the housing market right now. These statistics come from The Cromford Report, the Phoenix area’s most reliable source for data:

Headlines:

 

Overall single family home prices are now higher than 12 months ago:

•  The median sales price is up 8.3% from $115,000 to $124,500
•  Average price per square foot is up 4.1% from $81.07 to $84.36

Pricing has moved higher since reaching a low point in September 2011
Supply is down 42% compared with 12 months ago
Monthly foreclosure starts rose in February 2012 but were still down 9% from February 2011
Overall sales were 9% higher than in February 2011
Single family home sales increased for

•  New homes (up 26%)
•  Normal re-sales (up 63%)
•  Investor flips (up 71%)
•  Short sales and pre-foreclosures (up 34%)
•  HUD sales (up 9%)
•  Third party purchases at trustee sale (up 15%)

Single family home sales reduced for:

•  Bank owned homes (down 40%)
•  GSE (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.) owned homes (down 58%)

Foreclosure Starts:

 

We had a big month for foreclosure starts in February 2012, with a jump of 32% from January to 4,907 primarily due to a large batch of new notices issued by two of the larger banks. However, new notices of trustee sales were still down by 9% compared with February last year (for single family and townhouse /condo combined). Our worst month ever for new notices was March 2009 with 11,354, and we are still down 57% from that peak level.

Foreclosure Completions:

 

We can see a dramatic change in foreclosure results when we compare February 2012 with February 2011.

• The number of completed trustee deeds is down by 52%
• The number of homes reverting to lenders is down by 72%
• The number of homes purchased by third parties at auction is up by 18%

So the supply of REOs has been dramatically reduced while the number of homes being purchased by third parties at auction is at unprecedentedly high levels for this time of year!

These numbers show us why the housing inventory is being dramatically reduced in price points below $400,000. We are seeing new homes coming into the market (the majority by individual home owners) but sales are higher than those numbers.

If you want to know more about your specific neighborhood, call us!