May Miami Region Home Sale Press Release

Miami Region May Home Sales

June 30, 2014

Miami-area home sales held steady in May compared with both April and a year earlier as an increase in mid- to high-end activity compensated for a sharp drop in sub-$300,000 deals and fewer cash and absentee purchases. The shift in market mix, which included a pullback in condo resales, helped the median sale price shoot up to $195,300 - the highest level in nearly five and a half years, a real estate information service reported.

In May, 11,379 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the metro area encompassing Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. May sales dipped 0.4 percent from the prior month and were unchanged compared with a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm, which is now owned by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic, tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

Between January and May this year a total of 50,008 homes had sold in the Miami region, down 2.6 percent from the same period last year.

Sales usually rise modestly between April and May. On average, Miami sales have increased 3.1 percent between those two months since 1997, when DataQuick's complete Miami-area statistics begin.

This May's sales were 3.3 percent below the average number of sales for the month of May since 1997. May's condo resales were 26.0 percent above average for the month, while single-family detached house resales were 2.2 percent below the long-term average and new-home sales were 73.9 percent below average.

Condo resales fell 2.9 percent in May compared with a year earlier but continued to account for an above-average share of all activity. In May, condo resales represented 47.5 percent of total sales, compared with an historical monthly average of about 35.8 percent. However, the resale condo share of total sales in May was down from 50.0 percent in April and 48.9 percent a year earlier.

In May, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Miami area was $195,300, up 5.6 percent from the month before and up 11.6 percent from a year earlier. The May median was the highest since the median was $200,000 in December 2008. The Miami region's median has risen year-over-year for 29 consecutive months, and those gains have been double-digit for the past 22 consecutive months.

This May's median stood 32.7 percent below the Miami area's peak $290,000 median in June 2007.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

May sales activity varied a lot by price segment: The number of homes that sold below $100,000 dropped 18.3 percent year-over-year, while sales below $200,000 fell 7.9 percent. But the number of homes sold in the typical move-up range between $200,000 and $600,000 increased 13.9 percent year-over-year in May, while the number of homes that sold above $800,000 fell 1.4 percent from May 2013.

In the Miami region's multi-million-dollar luxury home market, 183 homes sold for $2 million or more during May, up from 150 in April and 181 in May last year. During the first five months of this year, 693 homes sold for at least $2 million, up 12.9 percent from the same period in 2013. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available.


To view other Miami region May highlights, visit DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

May Las Vegas Region Home Sale Press Release

Las Vegas Region May Home Sales

Las Vegas-area home sales held at a six-year low last month as buyers continued to face inventory, affordability and credit hurdles, and the share of homes purchased by cash and absentee buyers fell again. The median sale price edged up from April and was 12 percent higher than a year earlier, but that year-over-year gain was the lowest in nearly two years, a real estate information service reported.

In May, 3,904 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County). That was down 4.2 percent from the month before and down 22.3 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm, which is now owned by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic, tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

Las Vegas-area sales usually rise between April and May. On average, sales have risen 3.5 percent between those two months since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Las Vegas-area statistics begin. Sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for eight consecutive months.

Last month’s home sales were the lowest for the month of May since May 2008, when 3,688 homes sold, and they were 18.7 percent below the average number sold during all months of May since 1994. However, resales of houses and condos combined were 2.1 percent above average for a May, while sales of newly built homes were 66.1 percent below the May average. Last month’s condo resales were 7.3 percent higher than the May average, while resales of detached houses were 0.9 percent above average.

Home sales have been constrained by higher prices and mortgage rates compared with this time last year, as well as by credit challenges and a tight supply of homes for sale, especially in the lower price ranges. Some owners still can’t afford to sell because they owe more than their homes are worth. Also, foreclosures are down, further limiting the supply of homes for sale.

Las Vegas region buyers paid a median $185,000 for all new and resale houses and condos purchased in May, up 1.8 percent from $181,775 in April and up 12.2 percent from $164,864 a year earlier. Last month’s median matches the $185,000 median this March, which was the highest since the median was $190,000 in November 2008.

The median sale price’s year-over-year gains over the past 26 consecutive months have ranged from 1.7 percent to 36.5 percent. Last month’s 12.2 percent year-over-year increase was the lowest since the median rose 12.1 percent in July 2012. The median’s year-over-year increases have been double-digit for the past 23 months.

May’s median was 40.7 percent below the region’s peak $312,000 median in November 2006.

The run-up in home prices over the last year varies somewhat depending on price segment. In May, the lowest-cost third of the region’s housing stock saw a 23.9 percent year-over-year gain in the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses. The annual increase was 17.7 percent for the market’s middle third and 15.0 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

In May, the number of sales where the price was below $100,000 dropped 46.7 percent compared with a year earlier, the result of both higher prices this year as well as the tight supply of lower-cost homes for sale. Sub-$200,000 transactions fell 31.8 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, the number of homes that sold for $200,000 or more dipped 1.9 percent year-over-year. May sales of homes priced from $200,000 to $500,000 – a range that would include many move-up purchases – increased 0.4 percent from a year earlier, while the number selling for $500,000 or more fell 21.3 percent.

Investors' impact on the Las Vegas market continued to wane last month. Absentee buyers, which include investors and some vacation-home buyers, purchased 38.3 percent of the homes sold in May, down from 39.9 percent the month before and down from 47.4 percent a year earlier. Last month the absentee buyer share of total sales was the lowest since it was 36.2 percent in November 2009. The monthly average for the absentee buyer share since January 2000 is 35.4 percent, while the peak was 51.2 percent in March 2012.

In recent months the Las Vegas region has seen a downward trend in purchases by investors who buy multiple homes per month, and in purchases by investors based outside of Nevada.

In May, 87 buyers purchased two or more homes on the open market (excludes public foreclosure auctions) in the Las Vegas area, totaling 339 properties, based on analysis of buyer names in the public record. About half of those homes were purchased by those who bought five or more properties. In May last year more than twice as many multi-home buyers purchased more than twice as many homes. (Note: In some cases individuals and partnerships buy under different names).

Last month buyers based outside of Nevada bought 21.1 percent of all homes sold in the Las Vegas region, down from 27.9 percent a year earlier.

The decline in investment activity corresponds with a drop in cash purchases, in large part because many investors pay with cash. Last month cash was used to purchase 40.2 percent of all homes sold – the lowest level since 39.3 percent of homes were bought with cash in March 2009. Last month’s cash share was down from 44.4 percent in April and down from 59.6 percent a year earlier. The peak cash share was 60.1 percent in June 2013, while the monthly average since 1994 is 23.7 percent.


To view additional Las Vegas region May highlights, visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157


Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

May California Home Sale Press Release

California May Home Sales

June 12, 2014

An estimated 37,734 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide in May. That was down 0.7 percent from 37,988 in April, and down 14.4 percent from 44,087 sales in May 2013, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

May sales have varied from a low of 32,223 in 1995 to a high of 67,958 in 2004. Last month's sales were 18.3 percent below the average of 46,214 sales for all the months of May since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics begin. California sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than eight years.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $386,000, up 0.8 percent from $383,000 in April and up 13.5 percent from $340,000 in May 2013. Last month's median was the highest since December 2007, when it was $402,000. This May marked the 27th consecutive month in which the state's median sale price has risen year-over-year.

In March/April/May 2007 the median peaked at $484,000. The post-peak trough was $221,000 in April 2009.

Of the existing homes sold last month, 6.0 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was down from a revised 6.6 percent in April and down from 11.3 percent a year earlier. Foreclosure resales peaked at 58.8 percent in February 2009.

Short sales - transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property - made up an estimated 6.9 percent of the homes that resold last month. That was up from an estimated 6.3 percent the month before and down from 15.0 percent a year earlier.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that California buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,508, down from $1,523 the month before and up from $1,227 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month's payment was 35.8 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 47.9 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006. It was 61.1 percent above the January 2012 bottom of the current cycle.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. DataQuick was acquired in March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic.

Indicators of market distress continue to decline. Foreclosure activity remains well below year-ago and peak levels reached in the last six years. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, while down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright DataQuick. All rights reserved.

May Bay Area Home Sale Press Release

Bay Area Home Sales Constrained by Supply; Prices Continue to Rise

June 12, 2014

La Jolla, CA.----Bay Area home sales remained below long-term norms in May as potential buyers continued to struggle with a limited inventory, prices near or beyond pre-recession highs, and a home loan environment that, while improved, remains fussy, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 7,898 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 4.5 percent from 7,555 in April and down 7.5 percent from 8,541 in May last year, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Bay Area sales almost always increase from April to May. On average they have risen about 7.2 percent between those two months since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. May sales have ranged from a low of 6,216 in 2008 to a high of 13,567 in 2004. Last month’s sales were 17.4 percent below the May average of 9,558 sales since 1988. Bay Area sales haven’t been above average for any particular month in more than eight years.

“Virtually all the technical indicators are pointing in the direction of more market normalization. We are surprised that the rates of change in that direction remain so pitifully incremental. Right now we’re keeping an eye on prices. While some of the Bay Area counties have already re-reached or passed their pre-recession price peaks, the region as a whole is on pace to reach that point later this summer,” said John Karevoll, DataQuick analyst.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area rose last month to $617,000, the highest since it was $629,000 in November 2007. Last month’s median increased 1.1 percent from $610,000 in April, and rose 18.9 percent from $519,000 in May last year. On a year-over-year basis, the median has increased the last 26 months, with gains as high as 33.5 percent (last July).

The Bay Area’s median peaked at $665,000 in June and July 2007, then dropped to a low of $290,000 in March 2009.

The number of homes sold for less than $500,000 dropped 26.1 percent year-over-year, while the number that sold for more was up 3.3 percent.

A variety of market indicators are trending incrementally toward long-term norms.

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), an important indicator of mortgage availability, are slowly regaining their foothold in the market. ARMs accounted for 28.8 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans in May, up from a revised 28.5 percent in April, and well up from the 14.1 percent in May last year. Last month’s ARM use was the highest since it was 30.9 percent of all loans in April 2008. ARMs hit a low of 3.0 percent of loans in January 2009. Since 2000, ARMs have accounted for 47.0 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 56.6 percent of last month’s purchase lending, down slightly from a revised 56.9 percent in April, and up from 49.8 percent a year ago. Jumbo usage dropped to as low as 17.1 percent in January 2009.

Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 9.7 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in May, down from 9.8 percent in April and 9.9 percent a year earlier.

DataQuick was acquired in March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic. DataQuick provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

Last month foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 3.1 percent of all resales, down from a revised 3.6 percent the month before, and down from 6.5 percent a year ago. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52.0 percent in February 2009. The monthly average for foreclosure resales over the past 17 years is 9.8 percent.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 4.7 percent of Bay Area resales last month. That was up from an estimated 4.2 percent in April and down from 10.4 percent a year earlier.

Bay Area home buyers put $2.49 billion of their own money on the table last month in the form of a down payment or as an outright cash purchase. That number hit an all-time high of $2.64 billion in May a year ago. Home buyers borrowed $3.51 billion in mortgage money from lenders last month.

The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers in May were Wells Fargo with 14.1 percent of the purchase loan market, Bank of America with 4.4 percent and RPM Mortgage with 3.7 percent, DataQuick reported.

Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 20.5 percent of all Bay Area homes. That was up a hair from April’s revised 20.4 percent and down from 22.4 percent for May a year ago.

Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning no sign of a corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 22.9 percent of sales in May, down from a revised 24.6 percent in April and down from 27.6 percent a year earlier.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $2,411. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s payment was 16.7 percent below the typical payment in spring 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 38.5 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007. It was 88.5 percent above the February 2012 bottom of the current cycle.

Indicators of market distress continue to decline. Foreclosure activity remains well below year-ago and far below peak levels. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

To view the county-by-county chart, please visit DQNews.com.

Source: DataQuick, www.DQNews.com

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157
Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

May Southland Home Sale Press Release

Southland Home Sales Slow; Median Price Rises Again but at Slower Pace

June 11, 2014

La Jolla, CA---Southern California home sales lost momentum in May, falling from both April and a year earlier as investor demand fell and buyers continued to face inventory, affordability and credit constraints. Prices climbed again but at roughly half the year-ago pace, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 19,556 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 2.3 percent from 20,008 sales in April, and down 15.1 percent from 23,034 sales in May last year, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

On average, sales have increased 5.8 percent between April and May since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for eight consecutive months. May sales have ranged from a low of 16,917 in May 2008 to a high of 35,557 in May 2005. Last month’s sales were 23.0 percent below the May average of 25,393 sales.

“We expected rising prices to unlock more inventory this spring and that's happened. But the supply of homes for sale still falls short of demand in many markets, contributing to a rise in prices and a below-average sales pace. The drop in affordability has also hampered activity, helping to explain how sales could be lower now even though today’s inventory is higher than a year ago. The recent dip in mortgage rates will help fuel demand, adding pressure to home prices. But the sort of price spikes we saw this time last year – annual gains of 20 percent or more – are less likely today given affordability constraints, higher inventory and the drop-off in investor purchases,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the six-county region last month was $410,000, up 1.5 percent from $404,000 in April and up 11.4 percent from $368,000 in May 2013. Last month’s median was the highest since it was $415,000 in January 2008.

Prices are rising at a substantially slower pace than a year ago. In May 2013 the $368,000 median sale price was up 3.1 percent from the prior month and up 24.7 percent from May 2012.

The Southland median has risen on a year-over-year basis for 26 consecutive months. Those gains have been double-digit – between 10.8 percent and 28.3 percent – over the past 22 months. The 11.4 percent year-over-year increase in the median last month marked the lowest gain for any month since August 2012, when the $309,000 median rose 10.8 percent year-over-year. Last month three Southland counties – Los Angeles, San Diego and Ventura – saw single-digit, year-over-year gains in their medians.

May’s median sale price stood 18.8 percent below Southern California's peak $505,000 median in spring/summer 2007.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. DataQuick was acquired in March by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic.

Home prices continue to rise at different rates depending on price segment. In May, the lowest-cost third of the region's housing stock saw a 16.7 percent year-over-year increase in the median price paid per square foot for resale houses. The annual gain was 11.9 percent for the middle third of the market and 9.3 percent for the top, most-expensive third.

Last month the number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more fell 10.5 percent from one year earlier, while $800,000-plus sales fell 13.1 percent. Sales below $500,000 fell 27.6 percent year-over year, while sales below $200,000 tumbled 46.4 percent.

In May, 36.7 percent of all Southland home sales were for $500,000 or more, which was the highest level since it was 38.3 percent in December 2007. Last month's 36.7 percent was up from a revised 35.9 percent the month before and up from 31.9 percent a year earlier.

The impact of distressed properties on the market continues to fade.

Foreclosure resales – homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 5.0 percent of the Southland resale market in May. That was down from a revised 5.8 percent the prior month and down from 10.9 percent a year earlier. In recent months the foreclosure resale rate has been the lowest since early 2007. In the current cycle, foreclosure resales hit a high of 56.7 percent in February 2009.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 6.6 percent of Southland resales last month. That was up slightly from a revised 6.2 percent the prior month and down from 15.7 percent a year earlier.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 25.0 percent of the Southland homes sold last month, which is the lowest share since September 2011, when 24.6 percent of homes sold to absentee buyers. Last month’s figure was down from 26.7 percent in April and down from 29.5 percent a year earlier. The peak was 32.4 percent in January 2013, while the monthly average since 2000, when the absentee data begin, is about 19 percent.

Buyers paying cash last month accounted for 25.8 percent of Southland home sales, down from 27.6 percent the month before and down from 32.6 percent in May last year. The peak was 36.9 percent in February 2013. Since 1988 the monthly average for cash buyers is 16.6 percent of all sales.

In May, Southern California home buyers forked over a total of $4.49 billion of their own money in the form of down payments or cash purchases. That was down from a revised $4.77 billion in April. The out-of-pocket total peaked last May at $5.41 billion.

Credit conditions have eased over the past year.

In May, 14.8 percent of Southland home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) – the highest share in more than six years and nearly double the ARM level of a year earlier. Last month's figure was up from 14.1 percent in April and up from 8.0 percent in May 2013. ARM use dropped to as low as 1.9 percent of all purchase loans in May 2009. Since 2000, a monthly average of about 31 percent of Southland purchase loans have been ARMs.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 31.4 percent of last month’s Southland purchase lending – the highest jumbo level for any month since the credit crunch struck in August 2007. Last month's figure was up from 29.3 percent in April and 27.7 percent a year earlier. Prior to August 2007 jumbos accounted for around 40 percent of the home loan market. The Southland jumbo level dropped to as low as 9.3 percent in January 2009.

All lenders combined provided a total of $6.04 billion in mortgage money to Southern California home buyers in May, down from a revised $6.43 billion in April and down from $6.37 billion in May last year.

The most active lenders to Southern California home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 6.9 percent of the total home purchase loan market, Bank of America with 3.1 percent and Stearns Lending with 2.3 percent.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 18.7 percent of all purchase mortgages last month. That was down a tad from 18.8 percent the month before and down from 20.7 percent a year earlier. In recent months the FHA share has been the lowest since early 2008, mainly because of tighter FHA qualifying standards and the difficulties first-time buyers have competing with investors and cash buyers.

The typical monthly mortgage payment Southland buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,602, down a hair from $1,612 the month before and up from $1,353 a year earlier. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 34.1 percent below the typical payment in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 46.0 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to decline. Foreclosure activity remains well below year-ago and far below peak levels. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.

To view the county-by-county statistics, please visit DQNews.com.

Source: DQNews.com Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

April Portland Region Home Sale Press Release

Portland Region April Home Sales

Portland-area April home sales rose more than usual from March and sold at the fastest pace for an April in seven years amid strong condo resales and a signficant overall increase for mid- to high-end homes. The median sale price rose to a five-and-half-year high, although the gain from a year earlier was single-digit for the second consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 3,168 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during April in the five-county Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton metro area. Sales rose 18.8 percent from the prior month and rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm, which is now owned by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic, tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

April's increase from March was larger than normal. On average, sales between those two months have increased 3.7 percent since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Portland-area statistics begin.

Although April's sales tally was the highest for that month since 2007, it was 10.6 percent short of the average sales total for all months of April since 1994. Sales of existing (not new) single-family detached houses were 12.0 percent below the historical April average, while new-home sales were 32.0 percent below average. April's condo resales, which rose 26.6 percent from a year earlier, were 71.0 percent above the April average.

Investors aren't as active as they were a year ago but their market impact remains significant. Absentee buyers - mostly investors and some second-home buyers - purchased 27.9 percent of all homes sold in April, down from 28.3 percent the prior month and down from 28.2 percent a year earlier. The absentee buyer rate peaked at 31.7 percent in April 2012, and the monthly average for absentee purchases since January 2000 is 19.9 percent.

Sales of mid- to high-end homes continued to rise year-over-year, while lower-cost deals declined. April sales below $200,000 dropped 24.4 percent from a year earlier, while sales below $300,000 fell 7.4 percent. April home sales above $300,000 rose 20.2 percent year-over-year, while sales over $500,000 rose 21.4 percent.

The Portland metro area statistics in this report and in the tables below reflect sales in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos that closed escrow in the Portland region during April was $267,500, which is the highest since the median was $269,900 in October 2008. Last month's figure was up 2.9 percent from the month before and up 9.2 percent from a year earlier. The median has risen on a year-over-year basis for 26 consecutive months, including an 11-month string of double-digit increases as high as 18.1 percent between January 2013 and November 2013. In four out of the last five months the median's year-over-year gain has been single-digit.

This April's median sale price was 7.4 percent below the peak $289,000 median in October 2007, and it was 37.2 percent higher than the post-peak trough of $195,000 in January 2012. During the most recent housing bust the Portland area's median fell 32.5 percent from peak to trough.

To view additional Portland region April highlights, please view DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

Copyright 2014 DataQuick. All rights reserved.

April Phoenix Region Home Sale Press Release

Phoenix Region April Home Sales

The Phoenix area’s median sale price dipped slightly in April compared with March and the single-digit increase from a year earlier was the smallest in 26 months, the result of rising inventory, waning investor demand and affordability constraints. The number of homes sold was the lowest for an April in six years, a real estate information service reported.

Buyers paid a median $195,000 for all new and resale houses and condos sold during April in the combined Maricopa-Pinal counties metro area. That was down 0.5 percent from the prior month and up 8.9 percent from a year earlier. The year-over-year increase was the lowest since the median sale price rose 7.5 percent, to $129,000, in February 2012, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm, which is now owned by Irvine-based property information company CoreLogic, tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

The Phoenix-area’s median sale price has risen on a year-over-year basis for 30 consecutive months. Those gains were double-digit – as high as 32.2 percent – for 25 consecutive months ending this March. The April median was 26.2 percent below the region’s all-time peak median of $264,100 in June 2006.

Home price increases have moderated in Phoenix and other Western markets as the number of homes listed for sale has increased, and as higher prices and mortgage interest rates have priced out some potential buyers. In addition, demand from investors has eased and some would-be buyers are struggling with credit challenges. Early last year the combination of ultra-low mortgage rates, tight inventory and high investor demand fueled steep price gains.

In April, a total of 9,008 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the two-county Phoenix region, up 12.2 percent from the month before and down 10.8 percent from a year earlier. The month-to-month increase was higher than usual. On average sales between March and April have risen 3.5 percent since 1994, when DataQuick’s complete Phoenix region statistics begin. Sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for seven consecutive months.

This April’s total sales were 11.8 percent below average for the month of April. That's mainly because new-home sales were nearly 61 percent below the long-term April average, while resales of single-family detached houses were 0.5 percent below average and condos were 5 percent above the April average.

Between January and April this year a total of 29,761 homes sold in the Phoenix region, down 14.9 percent from the first four months of 2013. Condo resales during the first four months of this year fell 9.9 percent year-over-year, while single-family house resales fell 15.6 percent and sales of newly built homes fell 16.2 percent.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

In April, activity continued to fall sharply in the Phoenix-area’s lowest price ranges, while the middle and upper-price categories posted at least modest gains in sales volume compared with a year earlier. The number of new and resale homes bought in April for less than $100,000 dropped 31.2 percent from a year earlier, while sub-$200,000 sales fell 16.9 percent. Deals between $200,000 and $600,000 – a typical move-up range – rose 3.2 percent year-over-year, while the number of homes selling for $500,000 or more rose 6.0 percent from April last year.

In the Phoenix region’s multi-million-dollar luxury home market, 89 homes sold for $2 million or more during the first four months of this year, up 36.9 percent from the same period last year. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available.

The impact of investors, and especially large investors, on the Phoenix housing market has eased in recent months. Absentee buyers, which would include investors and vacation-home buyers, bought 29.6 percent of the homes sold in April, the same as the month before and down from 34.7 percent a year earlier. The monthly average for the absentee buyer share since January 2000 is 32.0 percent.

In April, 158 Phoenix-area buyers purchased at least two homes on the open market (excludes public foreclosure auctions on the courthouse steps). That was down from 258 multi-home buyers during April 2013, based on an analysis of buyer names in the public record. In April this year, buyers of two or more homes purchased 467 properties in the Phoenix area, which amounts to about 5 percent of all homes sold and represents a roughly 54.8 percent decline from the number of properties that multi-home buyers purchased in April last year. There were 15 buyers in April 2014 that each purchased five or more homes, and collectively they acquired 143 properties, or about 31 percent of all homes bought by multi-home buyers.

Buyers based outside of Arizona purchased 15.3 percent of all homes sold in the Phoenix region in April, down from 16.5 percent a year earlier. California-based buyers accounted for 2.5 percent of all Phoenix-area homes purchased this April, while buyers based in 46 other states collectively bought 12.3 percent. Buyers with a foreign mailing address accounted for about 0.5 percent of all sales this April. (Note: Some foreign buyers use a U.S. mailing address in public records, hence not all sales to foreign buyers can be tracked this way.)

To view other Phoenix area April highlights, please visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916)456-7157 or alepage@dqnews.com

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