Monthly Market Update: APRIL ' 06 STATS

Here are the latest STATS for the Phoenix Area Housing Market updated with APRIL’s numbers:

# OF ACTIVE LISTINGS:
Feb 06 – 34,507 (residential only)
Mar 06 – 37,215 (residential only)
Apr 06 – 38,483 (residential only)

ACTIVE LISTINGS
Apr 05 - Average list price: $397,692
Apr 06 - Average list price: $417,901 ($400,212 last month)

PENDING LISTINGS
TOTAL # -- 7,729 (9,826 last month)
Apr 05 - Average list price: $276,003
Apr 06 - Average list price: $386,519 ($365,945 last month)

SOLD LISTINGS:
Total last month: 6,801 (7,485 in March; 7,064 in March 2005)
Apr 05 - Average SALES price: $280,986
Apr 06 – Average SALES price: $351,764 ($335,555 last month)

LIST TO SALES PRICE RATIO:
Apr 05 - Average: 99.28%
Apr 06– Average: 97.69% (97.56% last month)

DAYS ON MARKET
Apr 05 - Average: 45
Apr 06 – Average: 72 (61 days last month)

What does this mean for sellers? It means many things:
1. The number of homes on the market continues to increase.
2. Even though the market has slowed, the average sales price increased significantly to $351,764.
3. The average home that is priced according to the market will, on average, be on the market for about 2.5 months.
4. The home that is priced according to the market will, on average, sell for 97.69% of the asking price (this is a slight increase over March) 5. We currently have 38,480 homes on the market, 9,357 pending, and there were 6,801 sales in the month of April. This means that with the inventory we have right now, with no new homes entering the market, we have a supply of homes for the next 4.11 months AND that 73% of those homes under contract should close. If that follows, that means 27% of the homes under contract could either return to the market OR expire and leave the market.
6. Sellers need to understand there is greater competition from the new home market, as builders are offering higher incentives to lure in prospective buyers.

I will continue to make these figures available to you every month so that you can see how these numbers are changing. As has been the case, pricing a home competitively is becoming more and more important; however, we are seeing a little more activity this week in the market; with an increase in interest rates AND buyers starting to realize that the bubble has not burst, this may be a sign that buyers are becoming a little more active AND sellers are becoming more realistic in their expectations in this transitional market.

Stay tuned & Thanks for your time!