After slumbering for more than a year the Phoenix real estate market is finally producing some cause for optimism. Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business, described the landscape for residential housing, both single family and apartments.
There has been little change in the Greater Phoenix real estate market for the last year, and the October numbers show a continuation of the trend, according to Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business. The median single-family-home sales price went up just 4 percent from last October to this October – from $200,000 to $208,000. Demand remains lower than last year, with sales of single-family homes down 5 percent from last October. With the New Year just days away, we asked Orr what it would take to give the market a strong start in 2015.
In the subdued Phoenix real estate market, demand continued weaker than normal, supply was tight and sales transaction volume well below normal. In contrast, the rental market is busy with construction projects in the works to increase supply. And, demand at the very top of the market remains stronger than usual.
A year ago the recovering Phoenix real estate market suddenly shifted to weak, and the market has remained down ever since. We asked Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business, what one word he would use to describe the market this fall. The word he chose was “subdued.”
The U. S. Census Bureau’s household formation report offers hope that the market is regain momentum again, says Mike Orr, director of the Center for real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
The housing data for April paints a picture of a quiet market, in sharp contrast to April of a year ago when buyers outnumbered sellers. And, the March rise in single family house prices did not hold for April, when prices were virtually stable. And demand remained weak, especially among first-time homebuyers. Think of it as a holding pattern until those who are recovering from foreclosures and short sales can qualify for mortgages again.
