Lorraine Ryall
What is really happening in the real estate market today, and where are we headed?
The answer usually depends on whom you listen to, which news channel you watch, or what data source is used. While everybody has their own opinion, the best way to really find out what is going on is to look at the numbers—the data of the current market compared to previous years.
Supply and demand is one of the best indicators. If there is an abundance of homes on the market, such as there was in 2010, it’s a buyer’s market, and prices will decline. However, if there is a supply shortage, as in today’s market, it becomes a seller’s market, and prices will increase.
My clients, friends and family always ask me two questions. “Are home prices still going up?” and “Is the inventory still low?” To help answer these questions and indicate where the market is today, I have created three charts, which will be featured in this article each month. The charts are the Median Price, Inventory and Supply vs. Demand vs. Median Price. The Median Price and Inventory charts are for Mesa only, and the Supply vs. Demand vs. Median Price is for the Phoenix Metro Area.
The statistics used for these charts will be taken from the most reliable of sources, the Arizona’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS), The Cromford Report and CoreLogic.
What is happening in our market today? Home prices still continue to climb albeit at a slower pace than previous months. The median price increase from January 2012 to July 2012 was 26 percent. For this year, it’s 16 percent. The slower pace is to be expected after the median sales price has soared. With a 52 percent increase in the past 18 months, demand is lower, and inventory is slightly higher.
July median sales price increased 2.2 percent from the previous month, and 20.8 percent from July 2012.
In August, supply was down slightly—3 percent from the previous month, but up 4.9 percent from 2012. Just to show what a crazy housing market this has been, today’s inventory is a staggering 82 percent from the peak supply of June 2008 when we had 352 days of supply.
Visit my Web site to view the Local Market Report video. Go to www.Homes2SellAZ.com.
Call me at (602) 571-6799, or send an e-mail to Lorraine@Homes2SellAZ.com. Visit the Web site at www.Homes2SellAZ.com.
Get an Instant Home Value Report at www.InstantHomeValueAZ.com.