Real Estate
Author
Arizona Republic
Title
Home sales fall, but prices rise
Created
Monday, Jan. 22, 2007
Link
www.azcentral.com
Content
Home sales fall, but prices rise Luxury market remains strong, distorts median figures Peter Corbett The Arizona Republic Jan. 11, 2007 12:00 AM SCOTTSDALE - Sales of existing Scottsdale homes dropped 40 percent in 2006 from the previous year while the median price edged up 13.3 percent to $595,000. The year-end figures released Wednesday by the Realty Studies at Arizona State University office show that Scottsdale accounted for 7.7 percent of the Valley's 67,035 sales of existing homes. That is down from 110,835 sales in 2005. Prices Valley-wide were up 8.4 percent, to a median of $260,600. Scottsdale Realtor Mark Tait of Realty Executives said Scottsdale's median price increase is misleading because it is skewed upward by luxury home buyers. "The luxury market is as strong as ever," Tait said, adding that prices dropped in other price spectrums and buyer traffic is off considerably. Tait said he rented out a remodeled home he owns near downtown because it would not sell at $425,000. The median price in south Scottsdale increased 14.3 percent last year to $320,000. It was up 13.3 percent in north Scottsdale to $682,000. Sales of existing condominiums fell 35 percent to 2,900 transactions, but prices climbed nearly 9 percent to $264,005. Paradise Valley's median price for existing homes increased 25 percent to $1.65 million, according to the ASU Realty Studies report.
