Phoenix moving activity reaches 14-year low

Depressed home sales continue to hound the Phoenix housing market, and now the state has seen its lowest volume of relocating homebuyers in 14 years.

The Phoenix metropolitan area saw 7,113 new and resold home sales in August, a 6.5 percent decrease from the previous month and down 17 percent on a year-over-year basis, reported MDA DataQuick of San Diego. That total was also 29.5 percent below August's average of 10,124. A particularly weak return in the new home sales market drove total sales volume to its lowest point in 14 years, said the report.

Average and median home prices in the area also shrunk, but many of the people purchasing these properties were not families moving into a new home. The report said that investors were drawn into purchasing discounted properties, many of which they could find for under $100,000. In fact, 34.7 of total home sales in August were for homes that cost less than $100,000, compared with 32.5 percent the previous month and 32.6 percent a year earlier.

Some relocating families nationwide have seen their ideal homes scooped up by investors before they could even take a look. To fight this trend, government sponsored entities like Freddie Mac began offering First Look programs, which give ordinary homebuyers and local nonprofits priority in purchasing discounted foreclosed properties, allowing them the chance to consider moving into the homes before investors can bid on them.
 

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