Buyers binge on resales , Housing market keeps climbing
arizonarepublic.com
By Catherine Reagor
The Arizona Republic
May 10, 2001
The economy may be slowing, but Valley home buying is soaring.
Sales of existing homes jumped nearly 24 percent in April, and are ahead of 1999's record pace.
Arizona State University's Real Estate Center counted 6,025 houses from Surprise to Queen Creek changing hands last month, compared with 4,870 in April 2000.
"Many people still feel upbeat," said Jay Butler, Center director. "Layoffs aren't affecting everyone, and those who are losing their jobs are getting severances and seem to be optimistic about finding new ones."
Low interest rates have helped buyers' optimism. Thirty-year mortgage rates have hovered around 7 percent since January, making monthly mortgage costs cheaper.
What also helped, real estate analysts say, is the drop in the median price of an existing Valley home. The typical house cost $134,900 in April, down from a record price of $136,500 in March.
The resale market is already ahead of last year's near-record pace.
For the first four months of the year, sales of existing homes across the Valley reached 19,295. Through April 2000, there were 17,235 resales. Nearly 16,650 resales occurred in the first four months of 1999, when annual sales of existing homes reached nearly 60,000.
Butler said April is traditionally one of the slowest months of the year for home sales, so last month's pace of resales was either a "last hurrah" for the market or a sign that the housing boom is far from over. |
