east valley
Volume 2 Issue 21 Mesa, AZ
December 15, 2019
Top 3 hottest housing markets in EV, survey �inds BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
T
IN THE BIZ
hree East Valley municipalities have the top three the hottest housing markets in the country and Gilbert tops them all, according to the home-andcondo-sale website RealtyHop.com. The data that the website used to declare Gilbert number 1 with Chandler and Mesa occupying second and third place, respectively, is good news for sellers but heaps more bad news on other data that make a gloomy outlook for people looking to buy a home in the East Valley. RealtyHop analyzed 300,000 home listings to determine the one-month change in sale price from asking price between October and November, noting “in theory, stronger markets should exhibit fewer price drops and smaller percentage discounts, while weaker markets would show the opposite.” And in Gilbert, that change was a low average 1.57 percent discount off the original price, followed by Chandler with a 1.69 percent drop and Mesa’s 1.89 percent price decrease. Calling Gilbert “the hottest housing market in the country,” RealtyHop said, “Gilbert’s amenities and family-friendly atmosphere have made it a particularly strong city for net positive migration.” It said Chandler’s price discount “while still very healthy” was deeper than the previous month of 1.44 percent while Mesa jumped up four spots in one month on the site’s 10 hottest housing markets in the country. Rounding out the top �ive were Stockton, California, which saw a list price drop of 1.9 percent “as it continues to be desirable for those seeking refuge from high real estate prices in the Bay Area,” and �ifth-place Glendale in the West Valley, which climbed Public Notices ............... page 3 © Copyright, 2019 East Valley Tribune
into �ifth place from number 8 with an average 1.92 percent price drop. The ratings come as Cromford Report, which closely analyzes the housing market in Maricopa and Pinal counties, came out last week with a startling declaration: “We have a situation that favors sellers to an almost alarming degree.” “Supply is down 25 percent compared to this time last year when it was already well below normal,” it continued. “Demand has retained strength much later into the season than normal.” At the same time, the monthly median price of homes in November was $281,000 – up 7.9 percent from the median price of $260,500 in November 2018. But despite that increased price, homes were �lying off the market, Cromford said. It said under-contract listings last month totaled 9,572 – a staggering 23.7 percent increase over November 2018 sales. Cromford also warned that price increases are only just beginning. “Pricing has moved higher over the last two months, but we are only at the beginning of the latest leg upwards,” it said, adding: “Things will not get easier for buyers in the weeks ahead. Supply always falls during December as many sellers take their homes off the market for the holiday season. Even without this effect, we have wholly inadequate supplies for the current level of demand. “The real test will come in January when we see which ramps up faster from the low point of Jan. 1, 2020: will it be active listings or the under-contract counts? … At the moment it looks as though sellers will be �irmly in control.” Cromford’s analysis reinforces nationwide reports by both Marketwatch.com and Realtor.com. “The housing inventory situation will (USPS 004-616) is published weekly
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(480) 898-6500 Steven Strickbine, publisher Paul Maryniak, executive editor
remain a major hurdle for the housing market and home-buyers alike moving forward,” Marketwatch said. Added Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors: “We still need to address and, more importantly, correct inadequate levels of inventory across the country. There is no shortage of buyers seeking homes, but a lack of available units continues to drag down the nation’s housing market and overall economy.” Marketwatch said recent data suggests “builders are ramping up construction of new homes, which should alleviate the supply crunch.: But Yun doubted the pace of that new construction could make up for the growth in population the nation will see in coming decades. The trend is hitting younger families the hardest, Realtor.com said, citing data indicating that the median age of U.S. homebuyers is now 47 – far above the median age of 31 in 1981. “Notably, the median age has increased by eight years since the �inancial crisis,” Realtor.com said. “Much of this rise can be attributed to the disappearance of young, �irst-time homebuyers from the housing market.” Meanwhile, RealtyHop doesn’t offer much consolation for buyers looking to bargain their way into a cheap homestead. The least healthy housing market in the nation, it said, is Detroit, Michigan, where the average price discount between October and November was nearly 9 percent. That was followed by Buffalo, Cleveland, San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey. San Francisco place fourth because it “continues to be the most expensive housing market of any city in the United States,” RealtyHop said. Subscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ 85026.
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