Phoenix Home Sales Increase for the 10th Straight Month, Median Prices Increase for the 6th Month

1. A total of 9,153 new and resale houses and condos sold in the Phoenix metropolitan area in October, up 3% from September and up 20.1% from a year ago, according to DQNews. Total home sales have increased on a year-over-year basis for 10 consecutive months, while total resales (no new homes) have risen on an annual basis for 16 consecutive months. October’s total sales were the highest for that month since October 2006, when 11,584 homes sold.

2. The region posted its sixth month-to-month increase in the median sale price, which got a boost from lower concentrations of foreclosed homes selling in recent months. In October, 54% of the houses and condos that resold had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months, down from 56.5% in September and the lowest since such foreclosure resales were 49.8% in September 2008. Foreclosure resales hit a high of 66.2% of all resales this March. The median price in October for all new and resale houses and condos combined was $138,000, up 0.7% from $137,000 in September but down 21.1% from $175,000 a year ago.