Phoenix Leads Home Price Increases

In a recent article in the Phoenix Business Journal, it was reported that home values in both the metro Phoenix and Arizona markets eclipsed the rest of the nation once again in June......by a long shot. 

Core Logic reported on August 7 that Phoenix area home values, including distressed sales, surged nearly 17 percent year-over-year in June----the highest percentage of any metropolitan area in the nation.  In second place was Houston at 4.5% and then Washington DC Market at 3.3%. 

Statewide, the number was 13.8% eclipsing Idaho at 10.4% and South Dakota at 10.1%.  This compares to Nationwide numbers of 2.5% year over year and 1.3% up from May.  The good news is that only 4 states showed year over year declines.

More and more evidence is pointing to a sustainable housing recovery. 

Phoenix Number 5 For Income Growth

On Numbers published a new study recently that shows that only four regions experienced greater income growth from 1970 to 2010.  Personal income in the area was $4.3b in 1970 ad $152.8b in 2010.  That is an annual growth rate of 9.35%.

We The Taxpayer Made a Profit on Mortgage Debt

Will miracles never cease?  In a surprising announcement, the Treasury Department recently reported a 25 billion dollar profit on the mortgage bonds purchased at the height of the financial meltdown.  Treasury had spent $225 billion on purchase over 16 months before it began selling the securities last year.  While this may be bad news for purists, it would suggest the government can unwind a rescue package without roiling the markets.  I think that no matter where your philosophy is on this matter, we all pray we do not have to ever see this tool being used again in the future.  However, it appears to be another arrow in the quiver should the need arise.  Now if Fannie and Freddie can ever get us paid back that would be even better news!

Phoenix Prices Gain as Foreclosure Resales Dwindle: DataQuick by Esther Cho

The following article is by Esther Cho regarding the Phoenix real estate market.

After being known as one of the hardest-hit cities, Phoenix has been gaining recognition for its rapidly rising prices.

Dataquick reported the median sale price of a home in the Phoenix metro area in June rose for the seventh month in a row to $152,000, the highest level since late 2008. The figure is a 23.1 percent yearly increase from $123,500 in June 2011. In May 2012, the median sale price was $150,000.

DataQuick, which tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records, still found that June’s median sale price was 42.4 percent below the all-time peak of $264,100 in June 2006, but 28.4 percent higher than the median’s post-peak low of $118,347 in August 2011.

DataQuick explained one of the reasons behind the boost in the median sale price is the area’s mid- to high-end markets have represented a larger share of total sales.

In June, 34.1 percent of all sales were for homes priced above $200,000, compared with 25.6 percent a year ago.

Additionally, the portion of foreclosure sales has been diminishing. According to DataQuick, foreclosure resales, defined as homes that were foreclosed on in the prior 12 months, fell to 21.2 percent of the resale market in June. The figure is the lowest level since January 2008, when foreclosure resales accounted for 18.6 percent of the resale market.

In May, the foreclosure resale level was 24.3 percent and 49.6 percent a year ago. In March 2009, foreclosure resales hit a high-point at 66.2 percent.

The Phoenix area lost 2,087 properties in June to foreclosure, which is a 13.6 percent decrease from May and a 56.5 percent drop from a year ago.

The number of homes lost to foreclosure between January and June numbered 14,591, down 54.1 percent from the same period in 2011.

While the metro has taken a break from foreclosures, downward pressure on home prices is inevitable if the backlog of foreclosures held by lenders are released into the market.

Short sales increased month-over-month, accounting for 13.7 percent of resale activity compared to 12.6 percent in May. Short sales were down compared to last year’s 14.2 percent.

With 9,556 properties (home and condos) sold in June, Phoenix experienced a decline in sales activity from the month and year before, when properties sold numbered 9,896 and 10,425, respectively.