Maricopa City Council to hear presentation on housing market during work session tonight. Jake Johnson photo
Foreclosures are down. New home sales are up. And an increase in housing permits is expected.
A report prepared by a Scottsdale-based real estate and consulting firm shows Maricopa keeping a positive pace in a housing market still on a path to recovery.
“I think everything points to continuing recovery,” said Danny Court of Elliot D. Pollack & Company, the firm that prepares the city’s housing reports.
The foreclosure rate in Maricopa currently is lower than many Valley cities, according to the report. The rate has dropped from nearly 83 percent in June 2009 to about 30 percent last month. The March percentage is lower than rates recorded in Phoenix, Casa Grande, Gilbert and Glendale.
The report also points out an increase in new home sales during the past year with an average of 18 sales per month. This is up from 13 sales per month, reported in February 2012.
According to a March report prepared by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, a short supply of resale homes in Pinal and Maricopa counties priced below $150,000 is forcing buyers into the new home market.