Arizona Real Estate Notebook

Dr. Jay Butler of Realty Studies at ASU came out with his Phoenix area residential real estate sales and median price numbers for May 2009. Realty Studies is associated with the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus.

Phoenix – Median Home Price

(Excludes repossessions but includes sales by banks after they repossess. ASU calls these “Traditional Sales”)

May 2009: $130,000
May 2008: $224,000

From May 2008 to May 2009 the median home price fell $94,000.

From April 2009 to May 2009 the median home price INCREASED $5,000. The median home price increased in 8 of the 14 cities detailed by ASU.

If we were going to see any increase in the median home price in Phoenix we would expect to see it in May. The overall price trend, however, may still be down. The median home prices in the next few months will tell the story.

Even if prices continue to fall, one thing is certain, the extremely strong downward momentum in the Phoenix median home price has been broken.

Phoenix – Number of Homes Sold

(Excludes repossessions but includes sales by banks after they repossess. ASU calls these “Traditional Sales”)

May 2009: 6,945
May 2008: 4,315

The number of homes sold in the Phoenix area in May INCREASED 61% over May 2008.