Some Pinal home buyers being forced out of the market

Prices for single-family homes in Pinal and Maricopa counties continue to rise, according to April figures compiled by the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. That’s due, in part, to a 54 percent drop in overall supply from a year ago. The supply of distressed homes fell even more, 81 percent compared with the previous April, but foreclosure starts rose 1.7 percent from March to April and are 4.7 percent higher than in April 2011. The monthly report said sales were weaker than last year in the normally robust month of April due to the unusual lack of supply. And the type of transactions continued its dramatic shift, with far fewer sales of distressed homes than in April 2011. “April is normally a very busy month for home sales, but this year’s sales are weaker than last year’s due to the unusual lack of supply,” said Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice. “We’re looking at only about 8,800 single-family homes for sale in the Greater Phoenix area, and more than 25 percent are priced at more than $500,000. The inventory of single-family homes for sale under $250,000 with no existing contract is equal to only 21 days of supply.”

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