By Catherine Reagor | The Republic
Metro Phoenix home sales and prices were up in September
A few weeks ago, the number of Valley home shoppers appeared to dip
Metro Phoenix’s housing market hummed along during August and September. Sales picked up and prices hit a new post-crash high, despite the heat.
But then a few weeks ago, homebuyers seemed to get a little scarce. Owners of houses for sale started seeing fewer visitors. Some open houses began attracting a smaller number of buyers.
It could be election jitters, say some real estate agents. The housing market often slows around big elections as people turn their attention to political battles.
“Every national election I can remember had some people in the real estate industry suggest such a slowdown has occurred. Perhaps it is happening now, in a few areas with a certain segment of buyers, but the latest new home data show no such slowdown when all communities are considered. Data collected through last week reflect similar to seasonal patterns to last year and typical non-election years. Sales and traffic levels are flat to up year-over-year.”
~ Jim Belfiore, Belfiore Real Estate Consulting
