By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
New home sales were up 46% from mid-October to mid-November compared to a year ago, according to Belfiore Real Estate Consulting.
Regional real estate expert Jim Belifore also reports that year-to-date new homes sales are up 23% through mid-November versus a year ago.
Belfiore reports there have been 24,698 new homes sold in the Phoenix market through mid-November up from 20,044 a year ago.
“Despite the pandemic, the protests and the election, the 2020 housing industry has been nothing short of booming,” said Belfiore in his November market insights report.
Low mortgage interest rates have driven the strong demand for homes.
That has also pushed up prices, according to Belfiore. The median price for a new home in the Phoenix area came in at $356,900 in Belfiore’s November report.
That is up from $325,695 a year ago — a 9.5% increase.
High demand, long-term labor shortages and dwindling lot numbers of finished lots are all contributing to lower supplies of new homes, Belfiore said.
The 60-day inventory of new homes for sale regionally currently stands at 411 homes. That is down from 1,455 homes a year ago.
There are 501 active new communities in the Phoenix metro area compared to 568 a year ago.
However, there is an extremely limited supply of resale homes in part because homeowners are worried about holding open houses during the coronavirus.
The number of resale listings locally is down 25% compared to a year ago.
“Builders with supply are going to continue to benefit from the lack of resale supply in coming months — if they can find a way to open communities faster and deliver more homes,” Belfiore said.
