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Home resales drop in Valley
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Some 4,280 resales were recorded in February, down from 5,460 in the same period last year, a report released Thursday by Arizona State University’s Realty Studies department shows. That’s also down from 7,935 in February 2005 and is the lowest number of sales for that month since 2003.
February is traditionally a slow month, said Jay Butler, who heads up the Realty Studies program.
Some people are asking, “When will the market recover?” and are expecting prices to soar again like during the housing boom, Butler said.
But the market has recovered, he said. It won’t keep rising at the same frenzied pace, he said.
A total of 8,800 existing home sales were recorded in the first two months of 2007, a 17.9 percent dip from the same period the year prior.
Meanwhile, the Valley’s median home price has remained stable in recent months at about $260,000. That’s down from $265,000 in February2006. The Valley won’t likely see a big overall increase in the median home price this year, though some areas will fare better than others, Butler said.
Tempe and other, more established areas that are close to schools, freeways and shopping will stay popular, he said.
Butler said he expects that sales numbers in March, when the real estate market typically picks back up, will be an indicator of what’s to come for the rest of the year.
Also in February, 16 percent of sales were for homes priced from $125,000 to $199,999, 43 percent were for homes ranging from $200,000 to $299,999 and 39 percent cost $300,000 or more.
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