Maricopa Arizona Weekly Housing Report – 7MAR
Sorry I missed the update last week but I was out of town for the weekend and not a lot had changed other then the inventory dropped AGAIN. If you want to catch up you can view my spreadsheet at the bottom of the page.
ACTIVE: 559, stable from 559. For the first time since my report on 1 NOV the number of active listings did not decline. I will go into more detail on this in the rest of the report but, since none of the other numbers are “out of whack”, it would appear that the flow of homes onto the market is beginning to keep pace with the demand.
SHORT SALES: 233, down from 248. This number continues to decline as buyers are being forced to consider short sales due to decreased inventory of Maricopa subdivision homes. This also reflects that homeowners are not making any decisions about short selling their distressed properties.
LENDER OWNED: 98, down from 103. Though this number continues to decline, the pace has slowed. This is a sign that lenders have begun to release more of their inventory.
AWC: 208, stable from 205. I expected to see an continued increase here but apparently there were more lender owned homes to choose from so buyers migrated towards them and left this number realtively stable.
PENDING: 373, up from 356. As expected, pending sales have been on the rise since the first of the year. The continued strength of seasonal buyers is the largest influence. An increased number of short sales moving from AWC to Pending has also most likely contributed although the way agents seem to randimly use AWC and PENDING with short sales makes this hard to pin down. I would expect March and April to be very strong months for closings however.
CLOSINGS: 48, stable from 47. This number is remaining very consistant for the past 30 days. I expect to see it move upward until the bulk of the seasonal buyers “migrate” back home in May.
AUCTION: 25, up from 21. The number of homes released for bidding at the Trustee sale has remained relatively steady the past 30 days. I do, however, notice that more of these homes are being priced at an opening bid that is attractive to inestors and are, in fact, being purchased. Bidding has been intense and, in my opinion, the prices being paid are too high to justify a decent return. A number of these homes have been relisted at prices I feel are way too high for this market. We shall see!
SUMMARY: The fact that the inventory has, at least for this week, slowed it’s downward pace is encouraging. We’ll have to see if it turns the corner and begins it’s journey upwards. I was hoping for higher sale numbers from seasonal buyers but many of the ones we talk to are being influenced by the economy and the housing market in their home state. Most can afford to purchase a second home but are worried about selling their present one. That being said, we are still experiencing an extremely high amount buyer calls though our internet leads are subsiding a bit. It would seem to suggest that the seasonal buyers that plan on purchasing (or considering purchasing) a home are already here and engaged. This is firther evidenced by the low inventory of “turn key” single level homes in the favored subdivisions. Pool homes have been particularly sought and are commanding prices well above the comps.
If what I fear is going to happen, it sets up for a difficult summer. The combination of most seasonal buyers returning home coupled with the expected release of shadow inventory could swell inventory numbers. On the bright side, many buyers will be looking to relocate during the school break and the declining values of Maricopa homes will be very attractive to them.
View the spreadsheet at Monthly home data
