By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
When the heat rises in Phoenix, the volume of home sales usually falls.
That hasn’t happened yet across metro Phoenix with new home sales seeing a surprising early summer jump, according to Jim Belfiore, president of Belfiore Real Estate Consulting.
“The number of sales has moved up,” said Belfiore of new home sales demand through June 22.
Belfiore said new home sales are now up approximately 18 percent for the current 30-day time frame compared to a year ago.
Belfiore, a regional real estate and housing expert, has seen 30-day year-over-year sales figures moving up the past several weeks.
The year-over year monthly home sales figure was up 16 percent from mid-May to mid-June. That was the largest monthly gain since 2007, Belfiore said. That reversed a downward trend that dated back to September.
Belfiore said the latest sales jump was helped by volume at subdivisions in the West Valley and submarket to the north and northeast of Phoenix.
“The West Valley is hopping,” Belfiore said.
The latest gains also include high-end condo sales at the Optima Kierland development near Scottsdale Quarter and Kierland Commons as well as active adult communities.
Belfiore said there have been sales boosts at Trilogy at Verde River in Rio Verde and Sun City Festival in Buckeye.
Sun City Festival — which has homes from Del Webb / Pulte — has been the top selling active adult housing community the past two months, Belfiore said.
He said sales growth at active adult developments, which are typically for residents 55 and older, is showing a surprising early summer jump.
Belfiore said active adult buyers, which often include a number of part-time residents and ‘snowbirds’, are usually in Arizona’s homebuying market from mid-October to April.
“This time of year is typically when sales are tapering off. They’re not increasing,” Belfiore said.
June hasn’t been awful heat wise in Maricopa and Pinal counties though there have still been 22 days with high temperatures of 100-degrees or more through June 27, according to the National Weather Service.
The real estate analyst and expert said active adult communities often do better when they are on their own geographically and not surrounded by competitors. “In some market areas we have had an oversaturation of communities,” Belfiore. “It splits demand. It waters it down. It just dilutes the number of buyers.”
