By Catherine Reagor | Arizona Republic
Metro Phoenix’s median home price is expected to climb almost $12,000 in March after dropping most of the past six months.
Home sales jumped in February and are on track to increase again in March.
Both are indicators that the Valley’s housing market isn’t headed anytime soon for a repeat of the crash that rocked the economy during the Great Recession, contrary to what at least one Wall Street firm said would happen this year.
Sales and prices are still down across the Phoenix area compared to the first few months of last year, but so is supply. That’s keeping the market favoring sellers.
Interest rates are the wildcard.
“Mortgage rates are extremely volatile at the moment, making any future projections extremely thorny,” said housing analyst Tom Ruff with The Information Market, an Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service division.
When interest rates started climbing last spring, home sales and prices began falling.
But, he said, “recent reports of a crashing housing market in Phoenix have been greatly exaggerated.”
The first four months of the year are typically the strongest for the housing market in metro Phoenix. Super Bowl LVII was played in Glendale during February and likely gave home sales an extra boost this year.
Metro Phoenix home sales climbed to 5,583 in February, up 31% from January, according to ARMLS.
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