The red line on the chart above shows the number of homes that were listed for sale through the Regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) each week since the beginning of the year. The blue line shows how many homes had offers made on them during the same week.
Some of the agents in the local real estate offices have been saying that business is getting better. There is more activity but it is normal for buying and selling activity to pick up this time of year. The good news is that year to date the numbers look better than they did last year at this time. The number of offers made is higher, than last year. The number of listings have gone up too but only by about 19% while the number of offers went up by 39%.
My gut hunch is that home prices are not going up, but continuing to decline.
We are seeing multiple offer situations again, mostly on bank owned properties that have been on the market for awhile. Some banks have started reducing prices.
To see numbers for prior months check Local market conditions and home prices
Hi Teresa – When you say, “the number of offers made is higher than last year,” do you believe those offers are as high as last year?
I’m guessing not, but I’d like to be pleasantly surprised.
Lucie – I will have an answer to that later in the month when i computer the average price by neighborhood. I can also calculate the difference between the aksing price and actual sale prices and compare them with last year. My own personal experience would lead me to conclude that offers are lower.
I have been tracking “foreclosures as a percentage of actives and sales” in Phoenix to help my clients figure out when we will get near the bottom. You may find this interesting, as they continue to rise on all fronts:
http://www.foreclosureexpert.info/2008/04/march-foreclosu.html