Phoenix new home sales up 26 percent in August

New-home sales improved in August, according to the Phoenix Housing Market Letter produced by RL Brown Reports. There were 632 new closings in August, compared with 500 in August 2010. The numbers were down for the year to date, however: There were 4,186 new home closings from January through August, compared with 5,657 for the first eight months of 2010. The same trends held true for building permits. They were up from 504 in August 2010 to 692 in August 2011, but for the year to date they were down from 5,170 to 4,612. RL Brown also tracks resales, including homes not listed on the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. Resales were up for both the month and the year to date. There were 8,605 resales in August and 67,804 for the year to date, compared with 6,623 last August and 61,730 for the first eight months of 2010. The median price for new-home sales in August was $210,244, compared with the median resale home price of $109,000. As for the most active builders, Pulte closed escrow on 65 homes, including its Del Webb and Centex divisions. That was followed by D.R. Horton, with 62 closings, and Blandford Homes, with 47. Other builders with strong sales included Shea Homes, Meritage Homes, Fulton Homes, Taylor Morrison, Lennar Home, K Hovnanian, Beazer Homes and Richmond American.

Click here to view this article from its source.