How Hot is the Phoenix Market? HOT.

I keep talking about how fast paced the Phoenix Real Estate Market is and how it is a Great Time to Sell Your House in Phoenix.  Here are some numbers from our office that really put it in perspective:


Price:                             No. Of Homes         Avg No Sold/Mo     Mos. Inventory           
$0-$150,000                  2,029                        5,766                        10 Days (!) - Heavy Sellers Market
$150,001 - $300,000     4,111                        1,929                        2 Months - Sellers Market
$300,001 - $450,000     1,899                        562                           4 Months - Sellers Market
$450,001 - $600,000     883                           182                           5 Months - Balanced Market
$601,001 - $750,000     466                            79                            6 Months - Balanced Market
$750,001 - $1 Million     526                            64                            8 Months - Buyers Market
$1 - $1.5 Million             396                            41                            9.5 Months - Buyers Market
$1.5 - $2 Million             247                            19                            13 Months - Buyers Market
$2 Million +                    435                            10                            43.5 Months - Heavy Buyers Market

I keep talking about Sellers Markets and Buyers Markets being important to the Market's recovery.  Sellers Market means that a Seller can ask almost anything they want and can get it.  We are seeing very little being contributed by Sellers to Buyers closing costs, Multiple Offer Scenarios and houses selling for 99% of asking price.  A Buyers Market is a situation where the Buyer has all the power.  These come about when there is very little inventory moving monthly and very few buyers in the marketplace looking for that type of product. Buyers have a better chance of bringing prices down and having Sellers concessions during the transaction.

Since the vast majority of homes in Phoenix are still within the Seller's Market we will continue to see prices rise with demand as buyers struggle to find and win the contract on homes.  We have had a 4% decrease in active listings year over year.  We have seen an increase in Equity Sales or Flips from 13,308 this time last year to 15,174 for this year.  Equity Sales are now controlling 86% of the marketplace.  That is great news as we continue to move toward stability and push the distressed properties out.  Short Sales only account for 6% of the marketplace while REO and HUD homes are 8% combined.

For Maricopa County, the numbers are even lower.  We are dealing with 10,992 active single family homes for sale.  9,481 are equity sales which again account for 86% of the marketplace.

For January 2013, we closed 10% less than we did in 2012.  We saw 5,797 homes close vs. 6,414 in January of 2012.  We can attribute this drop in activity to the shortage of supply in the marketplace.  January brought the fewest new listings to the marketplace since the MLS began recording data in 2000.  Many consumers believe that a "Shadow Inventory" exists that the banks are getting ready to release into the marketplace - this does not exist.  Large hedge funds have been buying up homes by the thousands at wholesale prices on the back end. There is no "Shadow Inventory".


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