Price (green line)
The median home price was essentially flat at $209,900 in April after $210,000 in March.
Sales (blue line)
Homes sales in metro Phoenix in April were surprisingly strong.
There had been some talk in Realtor circles about strong sales of existing homes in the outlying areas (where prices have fallen so much). See my post last month about the market tightening up in Anthem and Johnson Ranch. Now, we’re seeing hard numbers.
However, home sales are not higher in all areas. You can study this press release from ASU Realty Studies to figure out where sales are still slower than last year.
Home sales in Scottsdale, for example, where lower in April 2008 compared to April 2007 while home sales in Avondale more than doubled.
Listings (red line)
The uptick in home sales drew down the inventory of homes for sale. We are probably also seeing the lower median home price discourage some homeowners from trying to sell their homes.
The correction continues. The number of listings available for sale fell 2.3% from mid-April to mid-May. Last year, listings increased nearly 2.8% over the same month.
Conclusion
Clearly, we are seeing the beginning of the end of falling median home prices, although it could be many months before we see the end of the beginning.
“MLS Listings” are measured at one point in time, usually the 15th day of the current month. “Median Price” of homes sold and the total number of home “MLS Sales” are for the entire preceding month.