While running an MLS listings report for Anthem last weekend, I was stunned by the high number of homes under contract in Anthem.
ARIZONA 85086 – INCLUDES ANTHEM
MLS Resale, Single Family Homes Under Contract to Buyers on April 26, 2008: 165
Not all of those homes under contract are going to close and not all of the ones that will close will close in May.
Nevertheless, for 85086 which includes Anthem it looks like May 2008 could very well have the highest number of sales for a single month since 2005.
3 reasons for the increase in homes sales in Anthem;
1) Spring is the strongest season for home sales.
2) Canadians are buying a lot of homes in Arizona and many Canadians look for newer, inexpensive homes on the outskirts of metro Phoenix in places like Anthem. In addition, it’s looking like Canadians may buy later in the season than most – that they tend to buy during their spring not ours. (This is really just a semi-educated guess.)
3) Look at what has happened to home prices in 85086 (Anthem).
The median home price in 85086 is now similar to mid-2004!
It looks like lower home prices are finally starting to cause resale home sales to increase in Anthem and in 85086 overall.
Is this happening elsewhere?
I don’t have charts for Pinal county zip codes so I looked in the MLS and found that Johnson Ranch currently has a 6 month inventory of homes. Six months is in the range of a normal amount of inventory of homes for sale.
In Johnson Ranch, the average sold price in the last three months (since January 26) was $151,675 and the average sold home had 2,133 square feet.