August Market Update

VALLEY’S NEW HOME MARKET SEES DEMAND SURGE

© Phoenix Business Journal. Used with permission.

After eight months of lower activity, homebuilders have seen a rebound around the Phoenix region with a major uptick in sales — especially in the West Valley.

From mid-May through mid-June, new home sales shot up 16% year over year, said Jim Belfiore, founder of Phoenixbased Belfiore Real Estate Consulting and author of KnowledgeBase Current & Future Market Insights reports. That’s typically a time of year when demand softens.

New home sales also jumped by 16% through mid-June from a month earlier. By contrast, two months ago, from midMarch to mid-April, sales were down 18% for metro Phoenix homebuilders, Belfiore said, continuing a streak that had been in effect since last fall.

“Now the latest 30 days, they are up 16%

year over year,” he said. “It just skyrocketed. Not only have they increased year over year but we have hit a peak we haven’t hit since mid-2007.”

Andy Warren, president of Scottsdalebased Maracay Homes, said the late blooming spring market may be a result of consumer confidence bouncing back. “My guess is once consumers realized that ‘Oh maybe it is a good time to buy

despite what I see on the nightly news of what’s happening in Seattle,’ they have come around,” Warren said. “I think it’s a combination of just good market fundamentals and probably some pent-up demand.”

As an indicator of that demand, Maracay unveiled its Avance 400home gated community in South Mountain on May 11, when 3,000

people showed up for the grand opening weekend, Warren said.

“We have sold 65 houses within the last four to five weeks,” Warren said. Home prices start in the mid $300,000s.

Belfiore’s report also noted that the West Valley had nine of the top 10 selling new home communities from mid-May to mid-June.

Jordan Rose, attorney and founder of Rose Law Group in Scottsdale, said she was elated to hear the turnaround in new home sales. Her practice focuses on business consulting, land use and government relations.

“After living through the Great Recession you sort of temper your enthusiasm for big fast numbers, but here since the real homebuyer demand is racing past our supply, I feel pretty good exhaling a little shout of joy,” Rose said.