Arizona Real Estate Notebook

Dr. Jay Butler of Realty Studies at Arizona State University came out with his Phoenix area residential real estate sales and median home price numbers for October 2011.

Greater Phoenix – Median Home Price

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

October 2011: $125,000
October 2010: $135,000

No change from September 2011.

According to Dr. Butler’s dataset, the median home price in Maricopa County bottomed out in April 2009 at $125,000 and rose 15% to peak at $144,000 in April and May 2010 before falling again to $125,000 in December 2010, January, March, April and now September 2011. It sure looks like the Phoenix median home price is bouncing along its bottom, $125,000.

I should point out that last August I said “I strongly doubt we’ll ever see $125,000 again” but we did just see $125,000 again for September and October 2011.

Nevertheless, I still think the median Phoenix home price could quickly pop up to $144,000+ again by June 2012. Stay tuned.

Greater Phoenix – Number of Homes Sold

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

October 2011: 5,315
October 2010: 4,695

So Phoenix home sales were 13% above last October.

Conclusion

For most parts of Maricopa County, if you’re thinking of buying a home, I would strongly suggest buying sooner rather than later.

Call me at (480) 463-4475 for details, if you’re looking for a knowledgeable real estate agent, I or a colleague, would be honored to help you.