In the current market there is still plenty of negativity to go around. However there are always some bright spots in any market if you know where to look. In this page we highlight Good News as and when we discover it.
The following section features positive trends and strong statistical readings. For full background and details you will probably need to access the Analysis section, but maybe just the headlines can improve your day?
For earlier Good News items please see the Good News Archive page.
For the first time since we started measuring them separately in 2008, we can report a monthly average sales price per square foot ($/SF) increase from one month to the next for all three listing types:
Greater Phoenix - All Dwelling Types: (November 6 to December 6)
- Lender Owned Properties: up from $69.85 to $70.88
- Pre-foreclosures & Short Sales: up from $86.80 to $88.18
- Normal Sales: up from $114.38 to $114.96
While lender owned property sales $/SF has been increasing since hitting a low almost eight months ago, the pricing for normal sales has been declining until very recently. The current lowest monthly average $/SF figures recorded are:
- Lender Owned Properties: $62.59 on April 27
- Pre-foreclosures & Short Sales: $84.11 on September 3
- Normal Sales: $112.86 on November 16
We are seeing strong evidence of price stabilization in all three categories. Although normal sales is the category which has been slowest to stabilize, the outlook is actually stronger for normal sales $/SF based on average pending sales pricing:
- Lender Owned Properties: $69.40
- Pre-foreclosures & Short Sales: $85.20
- Normal Sales: $128.20
We have already seen established turn-round points (bottoms) set for the following:
- All ARMLS Areas & Types: $82.09 on April 6, 2009 (now $91.00)
- Greater Phoenix - All Dwelling Types - All Listing Types: $81.74 on April 6, 2009 (now $90.72)
- Greater Phoenix - Single Family Detached - All Listing Types: $80.35 on April 6, 2009 (now $90.42)
- Maricopa County - All Dwelling Types - All Listing Types: $86.16 on April 6, 2009 (now $95.52)
- Maricopa County - Single Family Detached - All Listing Types: $84.63 on April 6, 2009 (now $95.54)
- Pinal County - All Dwelling Types - All Listing Types: $53.59 on June 13 (now $57.15)
- Pinal County - Single Family Detached - All Listing Types: $53.55 on June 16 (now $57.15)
All the above are based on measuring monthly average sales prices on a dollar per square foot basis. For those who prefer their pricing expressed in medians, here is a monthly median chart for Maricopa County single family detached sales over the last two years: