Posted on Monday, 28th December 2009 by Anna Kulbinski
Fountain Hills is an interesting segment of the greater Phoenix area real estate market.
When area prices began to plummet in January of 2008, Fountain Hills home prices actually rose a bit, from an average of just under $650,000 to a new high of nearly $700,000 that lasted from March through August 2008. Only then did they begin the decline, ending 2008 at an average price of about $617,000.
2009 saw a steady decline – dropping nearly 18% to an average of only about $507,000 in November. Still, the overall percentage drop from the high in August of 2008 is only 27.5% – far less than in other areas.
This could be due in part to the desirability of the Fountain Hills location, and to the falling numbers of active listings. One year ago 518 homes were offered for sale in Fountain Hills, and today buyers have only 382 to choose from. In addition, the number of sales per month has increased dramatically.
Unfortunately, this increase in sales is being led by the distressed market.
Chart Courtesy of www.cromfordreport.com
While only 31% of the Fountain Hills homes offered for sale are bank owned or short sale offerings, they account for more than 56% of the sales. “Normal” listings are still suffering. Right now, non-distressed homes are taking the worst beating with regard to list price versus sell price.
And that brings me to a fascinating psychological twist to the Fountain Hills real estate market.
Bank owned properties are listed for the least dollars per square foot and selling for the least – but only about 22% less than list price.
In Fountain Hills, non-distressed homes are listed for the most dollars per square foot, but not selling for the most. In fact, they’re selling for a whopping 34% per square foot less than list.
Pre-foreclosures – or short sales – are leading the market in price. They are selling for 29.5% per square foot more than list price, and 40% more than non-distressed homes.
We could assume that short sale offerings are in better condition than lender owned properties. The sellers are still living in and maintaining the homes, while REO’s may be in need of care and may even have been vandalized or “trashed.” So it makes sense that short sale properties might sell for more.
But why are pre-foreclosure homes selling for more than non-distressed homes?
As of November, the average selling price of Fountain Hills short sale listings is only 7.7% less than the average listing price of non-distressed homes.
The only possible assumption is that the low list prices on short sales are creating a great deal of interest and leading to bidding wars, which are driving the prices up. Non-distressed homes listed for a higher dollar per square foot simply don’t generate the same kind of interest.
Tags: fountain hills foreclosures, fountain hills home prices, fountain hills homes for sale, fountain hills market statistics, fountain hills real estate, fountain hills short sales
Posted in Fountain Hills Real Estate, Market Report, Market Statistics, Neighborhoods | Comments (0)
Anna K. Kulbinski
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