By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
The housing market has plenty of upside right now, according to regional real estate expert Jim Belfiore.
That came after a slow start for home sales earlier this year.
“Things have dramatically turned around,” said Belfiore, who is president of Belfiore Real Estate Consulting. He briefed home builders, mortgage brokers and other real estate insiders on the state of the Phoenix housing market at a quarterly event Thursday at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa.
Belfiore pointed to some encouraging market indicators. The number of prospective new home buyers is at its highest level since 2007. New home sales have seen jumps the past two months compared to last year after posting year-over-year drops earlier this year and in the latter half of 2017
New home sales per subdivision are now at their highest level since 2013. Subdivisions in the Phoenix metro area averaged 3.8 sales per month between mid-May and mid-June.
That is up from 2.9 per month the previous quarter and 3.3 per month a year ago, according to Belfiore.
Existing home sales are also up 10 percent year-over-year in June. There were 9,217 existing home sales for June compared to 8,416 a year ago, Belfiore said.
Belfiore expects there to 23,500 new home permits filed for 2019. That would be done slightly from the 23,553 new permits filed last year in the Phoenix region. But it would be up from previous years.
The Phoenix real estate market has performed well into the summer months even as some other housing markets across the U.S. have seen some pull backs in home sales and housing starts.
Buyers are showing interest in entry-level submarkets where they can find affordable prices and more house for their dollar.
“Buyers are fleeing all the higher prices,” Belfiore said pointing to optimistic housing and growth outlooks for Pinal County and the West Valley. Pinal and the West Valley were hit hard by the last real estate crash and crash.
Belfiore pointed to the Coolidge and Florence submarket as a growth point. The Pinal area is seeing job gains and planned transportation improvements.
“We are going to see that market come back,” Belfiore said.
