Maricopa Market Stat Update For March 2008
The Maricopa real estate market remains very active. March 2008 data shows some dramatic changes. Sales Volume is at a record level for the area. Foreclosure sales account for 50% of all home sales in Maricopa according to MLS data. Price indicators are mixed with the median dropping significantly while the Average Price Per Square Foot increased slightly. Short Sales remain very low with a total of 3 closing escrow in the month of March. New homes sales saw a healthy increase in transactions. The regular resale market remains very slow accounting for only 10% of the Maricopa MLS sales in March 2008.
Active listings have also shown a slow decline. The active listings are around 910 down from the peak of approximately 1175. Pending Sales have also spiked to record levels for the City of Maricopa. The Days on Market indicator has also dropped and is amongst the lowest in the Phoenix-Metro area.
The market is currently being driven by both investors and primary home buyers. Lending standards have tightened significantly especially for investment purchases. Many lenders are requiring a significantly higher down payment on investor loans. Finding loans with less than 30% down for investors has been very difficult. Loan programs and guidelines are changing rapidly. For primary home buyers the lending conditions are not nearly as difficult. FHA loans have filled a lot of the void left with the collapse of subprime lending. The biggest change is that the majority of borrowers will have to use “Full Doc” loans that require income verification. This scenario bodes well for Maricopa as home prices are much more in-line with prevailing incomes compared to higher priced areas of the valley. The Maricopa market is moving quickly once again. Conditions will likely change again once the inventory from Bank Owned homes begins to subside. It is hard to determine exactly how long it will take to move through the distressed inventory however if the pace of sales continues it will likely be sooner than later. The Maricopa real estate may have very well hit bottom in January of 2008. We shall see if this hold true. So far the data is starting to indicate this.
Click here to view Maricopa Market Stats - March 2008