Well, maybe. But there’s more to it than that. The article is not so much about the west as it is about Phoenix, where for a long time distress sales accounted for a staggeringly high percentage of overall home sales – like 50 - 60% and more.
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Home Prices in the West Are Rebounding as Inventory Shrinks
PHOENIX — Prices for existing homes here and in surrounding areas climbed by 25 percent during the 12-month period that ended in April, pointing to a decisive shift in the market realities of a place where foreclosed signs, abandoned properties and deserted neighborhoods became one of the most enduring symbols of the nation’s crippling real estate bust.
But hold off on the fireworks for a moment.
The rise in prices may be driven less by a resurgence in the local economy — real as it is — than by an inopportune dearth of houses for sale, as well as a steep decline in the number of bank-owned bargains hitting the market.
I think Professor Mayer hits the nail on the head;
Christopher J. Mayer, a professor of real estate at Columbia Business School, said the price increase happened because foreclosed homes, which were usually among the cheapest, were no longer widely available. In the Phoenix area alone, the number of distressed homes on the market fell by 81 percent in the year ended in April, and the number of foreclosures fell by 62 percent, the report showed.
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Here in the Tucson Foothills distress sales topped out at maybe 20% of overall sales, at their peak. And for the period March 1 – May 31 for 2011 they accounted for 16% of overall single family sales while for the same period this year they inched up to 17%. A pittance of Phoenix’s numbers.
And as a result, unlike Phoenix, which is recovering from a deluge of distress sales, our prices have not risen. But they also never declined to anywhere near the extent they did in Phoenix.
During the March 1 – May 31 period last year average/median sale prices in the Foothills were $495,550/$419,000 – while this year they’re $466/074/$375,000.
see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home
