Real Estate
Author
Arizona Republic
Title
2006 housing market shows signs of stability in inventory, demand
Created
Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006
Link
www.azcentral.com
Content
2006 housing market shows signs of stability in inventory, demand Dec. 22, 2006 12:00 AM SCOTTSDALE No bubble burst in 2006. Still, it has not been a good year for Realtors or folks trying to sell their homes. But Scottsdale homeowners should find comfort that the bottom did not drop out of the market and prices are relatively stable. Unless of course they were counting on continued price appreciation and have an unfavorable adjustable-rate mortgage. Sales of existing homes in Scottsdale are on track to reach about 5,200 in 2006, down nearly 40 percent from last year's torrid pace. But the average monthly median home price this year is just shy of the median price of $595,000 from November 2005, evidence of the Northeast Valley market's stability, according to figures from the Arizona Real Estate Center at Arizona State University Polytechnic. Sales of existing condominiums and townhouses are on track to hit just over 2,900, down a third from 2005, but the median price in November was up 6 percent from last year. "The big-picture thing is that sales activity has returned to normal and prices have held," said Karl Stauffer, manager of Diamond GMAC Realty in Scottsdale. "The big fear was that prices would drop off the edge of the world." The entire Valley market is starting to absorb the glut of unsold new homes, and in Scottsdale the inventory of resale homes is declining, Stauffer said. Buyers cut into supply Scottsdale's inventory of existing homes priced under $1 million has dropped 9.5 percent since late September, said Stauffer, who has a real estate show at 3 p.m. Wednesdays on KFNX-AM (1100) with Scottsdale Realtor Mark Tait of Realty Executives. "It's getting back to supply and demand," Stauffer said, adding that the market is absorbing the oversupply of new houses and that will help the resale market. Home sales in the Valley are likely to top about 74,000 this year, which is shy of the 80,000 homes sold in 2003 according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. The market surged in 2003 by 24 percent to almost 99,000 sales, and topped off at 104,725 last year. New home permits fall Meanwhile, the latest issue of the Greater Phoenix Blue Chip Economic Forecast expects that new home permits will reach nearly 46,000 this year. That is down 14 percent from the June forecast of 53,371 home permits. Elliott Pollack, contributing editor of the economic quarterly, said that commercial construction has been good this year and is making up for some of the decline in the residential market. In the Scottsdale condominium market, dozens of residents have started to move into new condos at Optima Camelview and the Main Street Plaza project downtown. Look for thousands more to move in downtown by next spring when the first tower at the Scottsdale Waterfront is completed. Best wishes for the holidays and a peaceful New Year.
