The housing resale market in metropolitan Phoenix continued to improve in April but foreclosures remained a trouble spot.
There were 6,765 resales of detached single-family homes in the month, up nearly 2 percent from 6,640 in April 2009, according to the monthly Realty Studies report from Arizona State University.
The gain was a fraction of the gain reported during a blockbuster March when there was a 9.3 percent jump in resales from the prior year.
The median price for single family home resales in April was $144,000, up 15.2 percent from $125,000 a year ago.
The year-over-year gain trumped the 10.9 percent gain in March.
Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate at ASU and author of the monthly reports, called April a good month, with the positive sales and price trends of the past few months continuing.
Although down from March, foreclosures remain a major trouble spot.
There were 3,490 single-family home foreclosures in April, compared with 4,370 in March and 2,460 in April 2009.
Butler said the month-to-month decline was expected. He predicts foreclosure auctions to pick up again this month as school ends and families facing foreclosure decide it’s time to move.
“One month doesn’t make a trend,” Butler said of the drop in foreclosures. “We’ve got to see how this is going to play out. Hopefully we’ll see things clearly later this summer or early in the fall.”
by Dawn Gilbertson – May 12, 2010
The Arizona Republic
