As the market continues to adjust itself to new fluctuations, February residential real estate numbers showed slight improvement in key areas compared to January figures, according to a report released by Phoenix REALTORS.
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Home sale closings increased in February from January by 31.7% to 5,341 homes sold last month. Similarly, the average sales price increased month-over-month moving from $539,617 to $544,906.
“We are seeing some improvements in month-over-month numbers from January to February of this year, which is important given the numbers we saw as we closed out 2022,” said Butch Leiber, president of the Phoenix REALTORS board of directors and active market agent. “Inventory is higher than at any time in the last four years, giving buyers more homes to choose from. However, since demand has also fallen, days of inventory has stayed steady since the first of the year.”
The inventory of sales, which hit 16,619 homes currently listed for sale, is up by 168.5% since February 2022. This has brought the inventory up 300% to 2.8 months’ worth of housing on the market. The supply of inventory also held steady from last month.
While the inventory is robust, last month saw 6,605 homes newly listed for sale, reflecting a 22.9% decline from February 2022, when the market added 8,562 new listings to home buyers.
Despite new listings and available inventory, homes are not selling as quickly. A newly listed home can expect to sit on the market for 79 days, up from 34 days in February 2022, which gives both buyers and sellers a chance to take better stock of their options and prepare themselves for sales respectively.
Additionally, as the market fluctuates due to a variety of economic variables, pending sales are also seeing a year-over-year decline going from 8,266 in February 2022 to 4,510 this year.
“It’s important to hear these numbers within the current state of the market. For the past several years, the Phoenix – and largely statewide – market has been red hot, so seeing huge fluctuations in the market may be nerve wracking,” said Leiber. “In reality, the residential real estate market is closer to the ‘normal’ of where it should be.”
Though the market may be giving sellers and buyers breathing room and a wider selection of inventory, Phoenix REALTORS still sees a robust market where groups on both side of the spectrum can benefit.
Learn more about Phoenix REALTORS.