Phoenix real estate dominated by Phoenix foreclosures

Record Setting December 2009 Fueled by Phoenix Foreclosures

Yes, it's true. December saw7,670 residential sales in metro Phoenix. Foreclosures dominated those sales numbers, though the sales total wasn'tquite the all-time high. December 2004 was the only month in this last decade that had higher sales, and that was by less than 200 homes. Is that an amazing feat for Phoenix,foreclosures sales included? Definitely, considering that December is historically one of the lower sales months in the entire year as people turn towards holiday shopping and parties. It's also an impressive feat considering all of that doom and gloom reporting on the national (and local) economy seen in the Az Republic newspaper, Phoenix. Foreclosure sales made up 65.6% of December 2009 sales.

Take a look at these numbers from the Arizona Regional MLS. Sales include metro Phoenix foreclosures and normal sales.

MONTH - SALES
2009 - 7,670
2008 - 5,630
2007 - 3,347
2006 - 5,311
2005 - 6,527
2004 - 7,829
2003 - 6,311
2002 - 5,954
2001 - 4,531
2000 - 3,907

Additionally, 2009 recorded the third highest residential sales in the last decade. 2004 and 2005 (boom years) were the only two years with higher residential sales in the Phoenix real estate market. Phoenix foreclosures accounted for 69.7% of all sales in 2009.

33,014 more homes were sold in 2009 than in 2008, or a 55.7% increase!

YEAR - SALES
2009 - 92,292
2008 - 59,278
2007 - 54,231
2006 - 74,106
2005 - 104,133
2004 - 98,294
2002 - 68,411
2001 - 62,523
2000 - 55,400

There are currently 33,278 homes for sale in Metro Phoenix. Foreclosures account for 42% of all active listings. Sales are off to a pretty good start in January 2010 after a great December 2009.

Foreclosure homes in Arizona

Phoenix Foreclosures for Sale

Phoenix Foreclosures

Active Phoenix foreclosures exceeded 41% of all homes for sale to begin January 2010. This information is seen in the orange color on the first chart. I've defined Phoenix foreclosures as both bank owned property and real estate short sales, though;short sales are typically considered to be "pre-foreclosure." This is the first time since April 2009 the percentage has exceeded 40%, as the months of May through December 2009 averaged 38%.

The primary reason for the higher percentage is the increase in bank owned properties, as indicated in blue on the second chart. 5,380 bank owned Phoenix foreclosures mark the highest level since May 2009. Is this the beginning of more bank owned properties on the market? It does appear so, as the second chart indicates a four month increase. 2010 marks the year that many of the 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages will have rate increases and many interest only loans will revert to principle and interest loans. Expect Phoenix foreclosures to increase during 2010, but the effect will not be as devastating as was felt in 2007 and 2008 with the 3/1 ARMS. Having said that, the state of the economy in 2010 will probably have a greater effect than adjustable rate mortgages if unemployment continues on its current course.

Another statistic not shown by these charts is the number of days listings are currently on the market. The normal listings (not Phoenix foreclosures) on the market have been there for an average of 183 days. Phoenix foreclosures have been on the market for average of 106 days. The latter number would be smaller if not for the extended sale time of short sales.

The second chart indicates 5,380 bank owned properties (38.9% of all Phoenix foreclosures in red) and 8,445 short sales (61.1% of all Phoenix foreclosures in green). Watch for further increases in 2010 for both categories of Phoenix foreclosures.

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Phoenix Foreclosures Sales November 2009

The Phoenix foreclosures "sales %" dropped to a 12 month low in November 2009. 60.2% of all residential sales were foreclosure type sales. Phoenix foreclosures are defined as bank owned (REO, or real estate owned) properties and short sales.

That chart indicates that 7,586 residential properties were sold in the Phoenix real estate market in November 2009. 3,018 (or 39.8%) were normal sales while 4,568 (60.2%) were Phoenix foreclosures. The last time the percentage was near 60% was last December 2008. The peak in the sale of Phoenix foreclosures was 75.9% in March 2009. They have continued on a slow and consistent decline since that time.

Although the actual number of sales for Phoenix foreclosures follows the same basic trend as the %, the highest number of foreclosure sales was in May 2009. The number of foreclosure sales has decreased for two primary reasons: 1.) there are less foreclosures for sale and 2.) the price gap between normal sales and Phoenix foreclosures has shrunk, making normal sales more attractive than they have been in a long time.

Here's a look at how several cities in the Phoenix real estate market compared to the 60.2% average for all Phoenix foreclosures :

• Maricopa - 69.8%
• Glendale - 64.4%
• Phoenix - 63.6%
• Nov 09 - 60.2%
• Mesa - 59.7%
• Queen Creek - 57.8%
• Gilbert - 52.7%
• Chandler - 52.2%
• Scottsdale - 47.9%
• Tempe - 41.1%
• Ahwatukee - 39.5%

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Phoenix Arizona Foreclosures - December 2009

Active Phoenix Arizona foreclosures increased to begin December 2009. Foreclosures are defined as both bank owned properties and real estate short sales. The increase was 803 properties in the Phoenix real estate market from November 2009.

The increase has been mounting since July 2009 when the total foreclosure-type properties were 11,868. You can also see by the chart that July 2009 had one of the lowest totals of Phoenix Arizona foreclosures in the last 18 months. The total increase in foreclosures since July has been 1,474 (seen in yellow). However, the percentage of foreclosures in the Phoenix, Arizona area compared to total listings has remained at the 38% level over the last six months (seen in red).

The physical condition of many Phoenix Arizona foreclosures has been improving over the last six months. In many cases the banks have been more liberal in spending some money to improve the looks and functionality of their foreclosures.

You can also see by that chart is that the increase in Phoenix Arizona foreclosures has been similar to the increase in the total active listings. In other words, the increase in listings is due primarily to the increase in foreclosure listings - not any increase in "normal" listings.

The second chart illustrates a breakdown of foreclosures in the Phoenix Arizona real estate market. The breakdown is between bank owned properties, also known as REO property, and real estate short sales. Phoenix foreclosure listings totaled 13,342 to begin December 2009. 4,816, or 36.1% are bank owned properties. 8,526 are real estate short sales, or 63.9% of all Phoenix area of foreclosure listings.

Real estate short sales continued to gain popularity in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Click here to search Phoenix Arizona foreclosures.

Arizona Foreclosures | Phoenix | Scottsdale | Tempe | Mesa | Glendale

Phoenix Foreclosures Snapshot - November 2009

Phoenix foreclosures comprise 30.8% of all real estate listings in the metropolitan area. Foreclosure listings are comprised of REO property (bank owned) and short sales. REO property used to be the majority of active listings in the foreclosure arena. However, bank owned properties have been on a decline for most of 2009. They are being replaced by short sales because more distressed homeowners are seeing short sales as a better alternative to foreclosure. The chart indicates 12,539 foreclosure listings in the Phoenix real estate market to begin November 2009. Since there are 32,351 total listings in the Phoenix market (seen in my last post), foreclosure listings make up almost 39% of all listings in the area. Of that 39%, 35.2% (4,417) are REO listings and 64.8% (8,122) are short sales. There are several reasons for the decline in REO property listings over the last year:

• the federally mandated foreclosure moratorium
• banks for selling more properties in bulk to large-scale investors
• banks are taking chunks of foreclosure properties and turning them into rentals
• more properties are being sold at public-type auctions

Homeowners are increasingly seeing short sales as a viable alternative to foreclosure. Although the short sale process can take between three and five months to complete, buyers in the Phoenix area real estate market are paying much more attention to short sales. The percentage of completed short sale transactions continues to grow each month in the Phoenix area.

Days on Market for Phoenix Foreclosures

Foreclosure listings have been on the market for an average of 80 days less than their counterparts -- "normal" listings -- during 2009. The second chart indicates that current foreclosure-type listings have been on the market for 105 days, while normal listings have been on the market for 182 days. The obvious reason is the difference in price between two categories of listings. REO property and short sales are always priced much lower than normal sales making them much more attractive to home buyers.

It can also be seen by the chart that overall days on the market has been steadily trending downwards for Phoenix area foreclosures. However, if we were to isolate REO properties we would find that the average sold home would be on the market for less than 60 days. The longer selling cycle for short sales is what keeps the foreclosure "days on the market" higher. Short sale your home