Maricopa Housing Market Update – Weekly Report 25JAN
Every week I post the latest numbers for the housing market in Maricopa Arizona. Trends continue to develop but not necessarily the ones I am expecting.
ACTIVE: 754, down from 784. Inventory of subdivision homes for sale fell almost 4% in the past week. This is the tenth straight week that the vloume has decreased. The number of homes that have closed escrow or had contracts written on them continues to outpace new listings. The expected surge in foreclosures due to pent up inventory has yet to materialize.
SHORT SALES: 323, down from 342. With the decreased inventory, more buyers are turning their attention to short sales. Distressed homeowners appear to be still recovering from the Holiday season and have postponed decisions on their homes. The 30,60,90 delinquent list remains long so with a motgage payment due shortly, many “cash strapped” homeowners will begin to look for alternatives once again.
LENDER OWNED: 164, flat. As stated previously, shadow inventory has yet to be released and strong buying activity has kept this number stagnant.
AWC: 181, up from170. Offers on short sales are now at numbers now seen since the summer of 2010. Inventory is tight and, with seasonal buyers in town, the availability of certain types of homes (larger single levels, pool homes, prime subdivisions) is dimished. Buyers and their agents have had no choice but to turn to short sales.
PENDING: 265, up from 239. The dramatic increase of almost 11% in a week emphasizes that the “snowbird” migration is well underway. Personally, we have seen our buyer inquiries triple since the first of the year. With inventory tightening, they are aggressively pursuing homes that meet their criteria.
CLOSED: 23, down from 41. Given all of the other trends, this appears to be an anomoly. My best explanation is that, since most escrows take 30 – 45 days, most of these contracts were written during the peak of the Holiday season. Not only was buyer interest slightly diminished, but lenders and title companies were in “vacation mode” and escrows did not move along very quickly. I expect this number to rebound with enthusiasm in the coming weeks.
AUCTION: 19, up from 17. Maricopa homes available at Turstee sales have remained relatively flat. Given the number of homes that are subject to foreclosure, it will be interesting to see if more are released for the auction or if the lenders will “take them back” and list them. I have not been able to figure out any rhyme or reason on how they decide this but, given the huge backlog of foreclosures. it would seem logical that more will be released at auction. I also expect lower opening bids as the “comps” begin to catch up.
SUMMARY: The “wild card” continues to be the foreclosure inventory the lenders are holding onto. With no end in sight for the number of new distressed homeowners, foreclosures will continue to occur and the lenders will have no choice but to begin the release of the shadow inventory.
If the huge number of inquiries we are receiving is any indication, the hard winter throughout the U.S. coupled with the very strong Canadian dollar will fuel a buying spree not experianced in recent years. Prices remain relatively steady for now but lenders may have a say in that.
The Wild Ride continues. Check back next week!
Monthly home data spreadsheet
