Arizona real estate listings
Arizona Real Estate Listings
Are Enticing Purchasers
Arizona real estate listings are disappearing like never before! Back in the month of January of 2001, at the height of the real estate bubble, there were 114,402 Arizona real estate listings. The following year, as builders kept making new upscale residences, that number had risen to 125,738. Over the next few years, housing stock fluctuated: up to 133,424 in 2003, back down to 127,625 in 2004, up to 143,988 in 2005, up to 173,363 in 2006 and down to 165,615 in 2007 and 162,181 in 2008. Then, in 2009, something strange occurred : Arizona real estate listings dropped sharply to an amazing 62,653! Despite the recession and all the tales of “doom and gloom” across the nation, the Phoenix MLS was reporting nonstop house sales. From January to February, 1,095 homes sold. Housing inventory began to creep back up from February to March, but March to April witnessed more than 3,000 Arizona real estate listings disappear! The latest figures from June exhibit that houses are still moving by the hundreds.
So what gives? What makes Arizona real estate listings and Phoenix real estate listings such hot commodities? One would logically assume that builders and sellers are simply slashing prices to easily entice buyers into foreclosed properties. However, the Arizona Real Estate Multiple Listing Service reports that prices have remained stable. In March 2009, the average price of new listings in the Phoenix MLS was $247,507 and in April 2009, the average Arizona real estate listings price had actually gone up to $251,019! By May, the average price had dropped back down to $247,508, which shows that surely list price cannot be the primary motivator for these unbelievable sales. (Although it should be noted, the prices have come down a modest $18,102 since 2001.)
Despite the list prices, the average sales price of Arizona real estate listings have been tardily, but steadily, rising since the March low of $159,080. In April, sale prices crept to $159,681 and in May, they skipped up to $163,486, which shows a market on the rebound. The majority of houses in the Phoenix MLS are selling between $150,000 and $350,000, indicating a balanced market.
There are many possible reasons for the rise in sales of Arizona real estate listings. One is the low mortgage interest rates, which are well below historic averages, alluring purchasers to “get in while the getting’s good.” Another reason is that big home auctions are getting desirable properties into the public’s eye. Thirdly, in April, Arizona received $121 million in funding to aid bolster its housing market, renegotiate mortgage loans and stop real estate foreclosures. The Phoenix real estate listings region received the most cash, with $39.4 million going to aid homeowners. Some homeowners are saving as much as $20,000 off the price of their Arizona real estate listings through a program called “Your Way Home AZ.” Lastly, the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit offered through the federal government until December 2009 is exciting new homeowners. Arizonans are realizing that Phoenix real estate listings offer stable prices, fair market values and excellent opportunities.