The Maricopa County real estate market continues an established trend of favoring sellers although residential property values have not notably increased the in last 18 months. The number of new pending transactions dropped once again from July to August, an indicator of an impending shift. Therefore, sellers are advised to price their homes in-line with truly comparable properties sold recently. Buyers are less likely to encounter multiple offer scenarios, even with homes listed under $200,000 in the last remaining months of the year. Such conditions mean sellers must be realistic in asking prices. Because near historic interest rate lows are still available, buyers are encouraged to enter the market before rates are raised.
Maricopa County Home Prices
In August, the average list price to sales price ratio in Maricopa County remained relatively the same since May 2013. During this period, the average list price to sales price ratio has stayed above 96, with the previous three months in the mid 97's. The August Maricopa County average list price to sales price ratio rose to 97.56 from 97.47 in July, but is slightly below the June number of 97.58. (The average list price to sales price ratio is the disparity between what a home seller's initial asking price and its final agreed purchase price.) It's worth noting, the Maricopa County real estate market average list price to sales price ratio has not fallen below 96.30 since 2013. The single strongest month in this category was March of this year. The average residential home sales price rose from $272,461 in July to $276,260 in August. This figure is short of the June number of $282,289. It is likewise under the May price of $282,420, but significantly above the April and March average sales prices of $271,302 and $269,929, respectively.
Current Mortgage Rates
Current mortgage rates continue a long trend of hovering near historic lows. However, rate hikes are now becoming eminent. Atlanta Federal Reserve chief Dennis Lockhart recently said an rate increase warrants "serious discussion." Currently, a 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage stands at 3.46 percent, while a 15-year fixed rate conventional mortgage is at 2.80 percent. The interest rate for a 30-year FHA home loan is 3.25 percent, while a 30-year jumbo is at 3.60 percent. The interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage currently stands at 2.90 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily.
August Sales by Loan and Transaction Type
August sales continued a long-standing trend of overall market recovery as all transactions involved traditional properties or non-distressed properties. In the month of August in Maricopa County, 95.6 percent of all closed transactions were traditional or non-distressed homes. Only 2.4 percent were foreclosures REO/HUD sales and short sales. Short sales accounted for just 2.05 percent of August closed transactions, while 2.35 percent involved REO/HUD foreclosed homes. The total number of completed transactions in Maricopa County in August totaled 7,968 residential home sales. Of those, 3,903 involved conventional mortgages, 1,732 FHA loans, 1,641 cash sales, and 616 VA home loans. The total number of August sales were above the July figure of 7,778 closed transactions. However, this is down from the June total of 8,969 transactions.
Maricopa County Real Estate Listing Statistics
The number of active listings increased in August to 19,741 from 19,723 in July. However, pending listings fell to 8,290 from 8,515 and 8,880 in July and June, respectively. Active listing in August rose by 0.1 percent, an improvement of 2.0 percent over the same month last year. The number of sold listings rose by 2.4 percent, which is also an increase of 11.3 percent over August 2015. The average days on the market also increased, rising 4.0 percent from July or 1.4 percent from August 2015.