Phoenix housing market appears poised for recovery

While a recent Forbes article declared that Phoenix is still in an economic free fall, indicators in the housing market point to the beginning of a recovery, according to a recent report by Metrostudy, a national housing data and consulting firm that conducts a count of 100 percent of all new housing units in subdivisions within the market area each quarter. ”Marshall Vest, an economist at the University of Arizona, has declared the Arizona recession to be over. It will take a while to undo the damage of the recession, but the recovery has begun,” said Ben Sage, director of Metrostudy’s Arizona division. “According to Metrostudy data, several factors point to a recovery, including that resale volume is up, supply is down, and home prices are up,” said Sage. “The return of affordability to the Phoenix-area housing market continues to drive demand for resale homes.” During the year ending March 2010, single family MLS sales rose to an annual rate of 92,246 units, which is up 43 percent from one year ago and nearly double the rate from two years ago. Total listings are down 40% from 2 years ago, and the median price of a home sold through MLS in March equaled $130,000, up from the low of $117,000 11 months before.

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