The Maricopa County real estate market statistics for April 2016 reveal a continuation of conditions favoring sellers. One factor is there has not been a significant inventory increase over the course of the past twelve months. While local inventory remains low, increased buyer activity is occurring across the county. Homes listed below $200,000 are attracting multiple offers and sellers can take advantage of this current dynamic.
Maricopa County Home Prices
Because the market is favoring home sellers, the average list price to sales price ratio remains high. For the month of April in Maricopa County, the average list price to sales price ratio reached 97.35; but, this represents a slight decrease from March, when the ratio was 98.08. However, this is an improvement from April 2015, when the average list price to sales price ratio stood at 96.66. The average sale price in the local market climbed slightly, up to $271,302, besting the March average sale price of $269,929.
Current Mortgage Rates
Currently, mortgage rates are still under 4 percent, but are expected to steadily rise. For a 30-year, fixed, conventional mortgage, the rate is 3.62 percent; while a 15-year fixed rate mortgage stands at 2.91 percent. FHA 30-year fixed rate mortgages are 3.25 percent, and jumbo 30-year home loans have a rate of 3.61 percent. A mortgage for a 5/1 year adjustable rate mortgage is 3.02 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily's latest figures.
April Sales by Loan and Transaction Type
There were a total of 8,438 closed transactions in the month of April in Maricopa County. Of those, 3,694 were conventional mortgage sales, 2,029 were cash sales, 1,997 sales were FHA loan transactions, and 646 were VA loan sales. Traditional, non-distressed property residential sale transactions dominated the percentage of real estate statistics, accounting for 95.27 percent. Only 4.73 percent of sales in Maricopa County involved distressed properties, combined of 2.9 percent REO/HUD foreclosures and 1.83 percent short sales.
Maricopa County Real Estate Listing Statistics
In the month of April in Maricopa County, there were a total of 21,886 properties activity for sale on the local multiple listing service. This represents a small increase from April 2015, when there were 21,639 active listings. However, it is a decrease from March 2016, when there were 22,761 active listings. Pending listings in April totaled 10,415, a rise from the March total of 10,158. Also in April, there were 8,437 closed transactions, slightly up from April of last year, when closed transactions totaled 8,384 completed sales. The average days on the market for the month of April dropped to 76 days, down from March's DOM of 80 days. Pending listings rose in April by 2.5 percent, along with an increase of 0.6 percent in average sales price, over the month of March. Contrasting these gains are a drop in active listings, down by 3.9 percent, sold listings decreased by 1.4 percent, and the average days on the market fell by 5 percent from the month of March. Clearly, the Maricopa County real estate market remains healthy and is very active. For more specific details about these statistics or for information about market conditions in a particular community or neighborhood, please contact us.