Inventory report
There were some positive signs last week with regard to inventory. A local Title rep gathers these figures a provides them to me. (Thankfully, as it saves me a lot of time that I can spend helping my clients more directly) So, here it is.
Weekly Inventory Level comparison
As of Friday, 2/22/08
Current rate of closings has jumped by over 8% in the last week! Closes in the previous month were up to 2668, which gives us a supply of 17 /4 months, a substantial improvement over the previous week
Current Pendings also continue to increase dramatically. They have increased over 50% in the last 6 weeks from 3323 on 1/11/08 to 5309 this week. They are at the highest level that I have seen since early July 2007, PM (Pre-Meltdown). This will translate in to more closings in the next month. Total Listings remain unchanged at 46069.
Best markets in the Valley continue to be Scottsdale under $1M at a 13 1/2 month supply, followed by the SE Valley at 14 1/4 months supply.
Luxury Markets, by contrast, are at 42 1/4 months of supply in Scottsdale $1M+, and 40 1/2 months in Paradise Valley.
The comparison of current active listing change is based on the previous week s inventory. Supply numbers are based on the number of closings in the previous month, divided in to the total number of active listings. This data is for Single Family Detached homes only and does not include patio homes, condos, or town homes.
Entire MLS (Maricopa and Northern Pinal county), listing inventories are unchanged from last week. Total of 46069 active listings. Based on current rate of closings, about a 17 1/4 month supply.
200 s area (Central Phoenix). Listing inventories are up 1% from last week. Total of 6539 active listings. About a 19 1/4 month supply.
300 s area (West Valley). Listing inventories are unchanged from last week. Total of 15125 active listings. About an 18 month supply.
400 s area (NE Valley), Listing inventories are up 1% from last week. Total of 7792 active listings. About an 18 3/4 month supply.
500 s area (SE Valley), Listing inventories are unchanged from last week. Total of 11549 active listings. About a 14 1/4 month supply.
Scottsdale over $1m. Listings inventories are up 1% from last week. Total of 1645 active listings. About a 42 1/4 month supply.
Scottsdale under $1m. Listing inventories are up 1% from last week. Total of 2628 active listings. About a 13 1/2 month supply.
Paradise Valley. Listing inventories are up 1% from last week. Total of 446 active listings. About a 40 1/2 month supply.
I hope this information is helpful. In addition, it is interesting to note the strength of the under $200K market. This market is leading all others in terms of listings and sales. This is driven by both the investors and first time buyers who can once again find affordable homes. Still, lenders are more strict with their policies (as they always should have been) so people need to properly qualify. There is definitely money to lend, it's just there are more hoops to get through to get that money. The investors are looking at short sales and foreclosures. In these cases some tremendous deals (or steals) can be made. Unfortunately it has a negative impact on the market as a whole regarding pricing. These homes are truly being bought below market, but when enough of that occurs, that below market price can eventually become the market price. It used to be that distressed sales had little effect on market pricing, as they were typically seen as an abberation. When there are significant numbers of those distressed situations, it becomes much more noticeable and part of the overall pricing equation.
Adam Tarr PC, ABR,ePro
RE/MAX Excalibur
Scottsdale, AZ
Your Phoenix Area Real Estate Source
480-483-3333
adam@WeAreAZRealEstate.com
www.WeAreAZRealEstate.com