Foreclosures still haunt Phoenix home market
Phoenix Business Journal
Foreclosures continue to plague the Phoenix home market preventing a recovery from taking hold.
Two-thirds of the homes sold last month were either new foreclosures or resales recent foreclosures, according to the September Realty Studies report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
“Although the level of activity appears strong, the market is being driven by either homes being foreclosed or being sold back into the market by the lender,” said associate professor of real estate and report author Jay Butler.
He likens the current market to the mindset that created a “hyper-market” from 2003-06, when investors bought up properties, looking for a great deal followed by a big appreciation in values. A real recovery can’t happen until owner-occupants take control again, Butler said.
About 6,100 Phoenix-area resales and 2,900 foreclosures were recorded in September compared with about 6,000 resales and 3,100 foreclosures in August. In September 2008, however, the market recorded only about 4,600 resales and 3,650 foreclosures.
Declining prices, especially in the lower end of the market, have piqued investor and homeowner interest, Butler said. The median single-family home price in September was $140,000, up from $138,000 in August, but below $180,000 in September 2008.
