Phoenix May Home Sales: Median Price Down 13%, Sales Up 2%

06-15-2011 • HousingDoom.com

Jay Butler of ASU’s Realty Studies has released his housing market report for the month of May. In spite of the fact that the median price in Phoenix has fallen so substantially, it fell another 13% YOY: The median resale price for a detached, single-family home in Maricopa County in May was $125,000, the same as it had been in April and March, but down considerably from the May 2010 median resale price of $144,000. Sales are up about 2% from last year: There were 6,580 existing-home sales in May, the report said, compared with 6,520 sales in April and 6,430 sales in May 2010. Foreclosures are running about 9% higher than last year. There were 3,505 Phoenix-area foreclosure transactions completed in May, compared with 3,745 foreclosures in April and 3,230 foreclosures in May 2010. Butler, who for years could be counted on for a positive spin on the market, is less than optimistic: The decline in foreclosures is encouraging, [There's been a slight MOM improvement the past few months.] Butler said, but a long-term trend won’t take hold until the area’s economic fundamentals improve – particularly the job market. Butler also pointed to other sources of uncertainty in the market: talk of even tougher loan-qualification guidelines, lower limits on U.S. Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages and higher down-payment requirements.