Phoenix Home Prices Level Out In August

By Heather van Blokland
Published: Monday, September 24, 2018 - 8:33am
Updated: Monday, September 24, 2018 - 8:39am

The national housing market broke records in August with increasing home prices, but in Phoenix, home prices are leveling out, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Year over year, Phoenix home prices are still rising, by 7.4 percent. But month over month, prices showed very little change from July to August.

"You know it’s been an inventory shortage over the last year and nationally that has been the case as well, but again, it is not alarming ... It’s a pretty balanced market. It’s still leaning a little bit more towards a seller’s market than a complete buyer’s market," said Nate Martinez, a real estate agent with REMAX in Phoenix. "Back 13 years ago, we [saw] a lot of investors buying homes with really little money down, buying on speculation. And that’s not happening today."

Martinez said the Valley has seen these signs in the real estate market before pre-housing crash, and the difference is that in 2005, California investors pulled money out of homes there to purchase homes in Arizona. He is not seeing that kind of activity today.

Martinez said during September through the end of the year each year, home sales generally decline in the Phoenix metro area, and that’s when prices tend to rebalance a bit, he said. While there’s a lot of conversation about whether the real estate market is poised to crash again, the essential triggers are just not there.

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