Phoenix May 2008 Home Sales
Phoenix-area home sales rose last month to the highest level since the credit crunch hit last August, though it was still the weakest May sales total in 13 years. Price reductions continued to boost demand, with the median sale price dropping 16 percent from last year to the lowest point since March 2005.
The median price paid for all homes sold in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metropolitan area was $210,000 last month. That was down 1.9 percent from $214,000 in April and down 16 percent from $250,000 in May 2007, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla, Calif. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.
May's median was 20.5 percent lower than the peak $264,100 median in June 2006.
Another gauge analysts watch suggests sharper declines in Phoenix-area prices: The median paid per square foot for resale houses fell to $119 in May, down 26.5 percent from a year earlier and down 30.4 percent from a peak of $171 in June 2006. May's figure was the lowest since $118 in January 2005.
About 35 percent of the Phoenix-area homes that resold in May had been foreclosed on at some point in the prior 12 months. Price declines tend to steepen as more of a market’s homes are sold after or under the threat of foreclosure.
A total of 7,510 new and resale houses closed escrow in the Phoenix area during May, up 6.8 percent from 7,033 in April but down 25.7 percent from 10,112 in May 2007. May sales were the lowest for that month since May 1995, when 7,477 homes sold.
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Phoenix MSA |
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| Number of sales |
May '07 |
May '08 |
%Change |
| Resale houses |
5,490 |
4,912 |
-10.50% |
| Resale condos |
1,051 |
608 |
-42.20% |
| New homes |
3,571 |
1,990 |
-44.30% |
| All homes |
10,112 |
7,510 |
-25.70% |
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| Median sale price |
May '07 |
May '08 |
%Change |
| Resale houses |
$261,000 |
$212,500 |
-18.60% |
| Resale condos |
$185,000 |
$165,000 |
-10.80% |
| New homes |
$251,900 |
$212,921 |
-15.50% |
| All homes |
$250,000 |
$210,000 |
-16.00% |
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916)456-7157 or John Karevoll (909) 867-9534
Copyright 2005 DataQuick Information Systems. All rights reserved.