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Clear Title of Arizona is pleased to provide its clients with the Clear Connections Monthly Market Update. This report will provide you with the latest real estate trends.
Our business is built around the concept of educating and providing the personal service that Real Estate Agents and Lenders have come to depend upon. We want to provide accurate data to our clients, associates and friends. It is intended to keep you informed on critical market trends that affect our businesses.

SINGLE FAMILY HOME

sales increased year over year in all three nondistressed sectors while trustee sales to third parties did not change:
• Normal re-sales (up 6%)
• New Homes (up 30%)
• Investor flips (up 8%)
• Third party purchases at trustee sales (no change)
Single family home sales decreased year over year in the remaining four distressed sectors:
• Bank owned homes (down 55%)
• GSE – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc. (down 36%)
• HUD sales (down 58%)
• Short sales / pre-foreclosures (down 32%)
The change in total dollars spent on homes was more favorable than the change in the unit count.
• Total dollars spent on single family homes rose by 11% over June 2015.
• Total dollars spent on townhouses & condos rose by 11% over June 2015.
During June, average single family pricing moved a little higher again, reaching $292,900, up from $291,486 last month and $280,147 in June 2015. Average new home prices were 3.5% higher than last year but the average new single family home size has declined by 2.9% over the past 12 months.

MEDIAN SALES PRICE

The median sales price rose 7.8% from $225,000 in June 2015 to $242,500 in June 2016.

NEW HOME SALES

June was yet another strong month for new home closings. Newly-built single family homes saw 1,358 closings in June, up 30% from 876 in May 2015. The total dollar value of single family new homes closed in June was up 35% from $363 million in 2015 to $489 million in 2016.
The average sq. ft. of a new single family home in June was 2,466, down 2.9% from 2,538 in June 2015. Some builders are starting to offer more options at the entry pricing level, although many of these are a long way from the center of the valley. The average sq. ft. of a non-distressed resale was 2,064, so new single family homes are still 19% larger on average than existing homes.
The market share for new single family homes has climbed from 11.2% in June 2015 to 13.7% in June 2016.

DEMAND

Total single family, townhouse & condo sales were up 6% in June from a year earlier. Single family sales were up 6% to their highest total since August 2011. Townhouse / condo sales were up 1% compared to June 2015 and 2% lower than last month.

Single family homes priced over $500,000 took 23% dollar market share, down from 24% last year. There was 7% growth in dollar volume and it was all concentrated in the range below $2 million, while the amount spent on homes over $2 million was down 56% compared with June 2015. Demand remains weaker than last year in most luxury areas while supply is excessive. Entry level single family homes under $200,000 lost market share from 21% to 17%, due to very low supply. The mid range between $200,000 and $500,000 has robust demand and adequate supply and grew market share from 54% to 59%.

Total price for single family homes sold in May

Total units for single family homes sold in May

AVERAGE PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT

Average price per square foot gained 3.9% from $133.50 in June 2015 to $138.66 in June 2016.

SUPPLY

The number of active single family listings without an existing contract was 15,613 for the Greater Phoenix area as of July 1, 2016. This is down 1.7% since June 1. The inventory of single family homes under $150,000 stands at a mere 28 days, although up from 27 days a year ago. Overall we have seen 6.0% more new listings created in 2016 than at the same stage in 2015. We expect active listings to decline for the next two month before starting to rise again in September. New supply has been excessive at the upper price points but inadequate below $200,000. In the mid range between $200,000 and $500,000 we are seeing plenty of supply but demand is more than strong enough to cope with the new listings.

CHANGES IN TRANSACTION MIX

We saw growth
in non-distressed transactions (7%), with investor flips up 8%. New home sales were up sharply by 30% but distressed transactions fell 30%. We saw no change in third party purchases at trustee sales, but new notices of foreclosure are at very low levels. Reversions to lenders declined by 11%.