The Maricopa County real estate market extended its long track record of favoring sellers through the month of September, the latest figures show. Even though sellers are better positioned and largely remain in control, home values have not experienced any substantial increase in the past 18 months. The total number of properties which went under contract fell during the month of September, down from the August figure. For buyers, multiple offers are beginning to subside but homes listed under $200,000 remain popular. Traditional sellers represent the largest percentage of listings, a benefit to buyers when requesting repairs or contingencies.
Maricopa County Home Prices
The average sales price in Maricopa County during the month of September was $281,188, slightly up from August. Conversely, the average list to sales price ratio dropped a little, to 97.53, down from the August figure of 97.56, but an improvement over July's 97.47 and also shy of June's 97.58 average list to sales price ratio. It's important to note, the average list to sales price ratio has been at or over 96.30 since May 2013. The trend appears to stay strong and will hopefully continue through the rest of the year. (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.) In addition, the average sales price rose in September over August by an impressive $4,928. It's also higher than July's average sales price of $272,461. However, it's just under June and May's average sale prices of $282,289 and $282,420, respectively. This demonstrates a slight fluctuation but no real, discernible pattern.
Current Mortgage Rates
Although a lot of speculation and hints have occurred over the past several months, the Federal Reserve has not made any significant movement towards raising interest rates. Therefore, mortgage interest rates remain near to all-time historic lows. For instance, a traditional, 30-year, fixed rate mortgage is priced at just 3.83 percent, while more savings are attached to a conventional, 15-year term mortgage rate of only 2.85 percent. Right now, a FHA 30-year note stands at 3.35 percent, while a jumbo 30-year home loan is 3.68 percent. Additionally, a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage costs 2.90 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily. These rates show little change from the same mortgage interest rates attached to the same debt instruments in August.
September Sales by Loan and Transaction Type
During the period running from September 1st through the 30th, there were a total of 7,411 closed residential real estate transactions. Of those, the majority were conventional loans totalling 3,700, with 1,601 FHA, 1,523 cash sales, and 530 VA loans. This constitutes 96.16 percent of all settled transactions in Maricopa County during September, only 3.84 percent were distressed properties, which are made-up of short sales and REO/HUD foreclosures. A total of just 2.05 percent were REO/HUD foreclosures, while only 1.79 percent were short sales.
Maricopa County Real Estate Listing Statistics
Active listing are up 2.3 percent from August but down nearly the same from September 2015 by 2.1 percent. Pending listings also fell from August to September by 3.7 percent but top last year by 12.1 percent. The average days on the market also fell by 5.3 percent from August to September but represent an increase of 1.4 percent from September 2015.