Existing-home sales increase slightly in 2nd quarter

Sales of existing homes in Maricopa County increased slightly in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, but home prices tumbled much lower, according to The Arizona Republic's latest quarterly housing snapshot.

The quarterly housing snapshot is based on numbers from the realty-studies program at Arizona State University and Mesa-based research firm Ion Data.

Existing-home sales increased by about 1 percent in the second quarter, from 20,080 sales in 2010 to 20,290 sales, according to ASU's realty studies at the W.P. Carey School of Business.

The median sale price for existing homes decreased by about 13 percent, from $144,000 in the second quarter of 2010 to $125,000 during the same period a year later.

Sales of new homes fell by about 37 percent, from 2,335 sales in the second quarter of 2010 to 1,465 sales a year later, according to ASU data.

The median sale price for new homes in the first quarter was $222,900, a 4.5 percent increase from the median price of $213,360 in the second quarter of 2010.

Home foreclosures decreased during the same period but only slightly, according to ASU. There were 10,525 foreclosures in the second quarter, compared with 10,560 foreclosures in second-quarter 2010.

According to Ion Data, pre-foreclosure notices issued to homeowners in the second quarter decreased significantly from the same period a year earlier.

Pre-foreclosure notices, also known as notices of trustee's sale, dropped by 16 percent compared with a year earlier, from 15,831 notices in the second quarter of 2010 to 13,331 notices in the most recent quarter.

by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Aug. 5, 2011 03:00 PM




Existing-home sales increase slightly in 2nd quarter