Phoenix Real Estate in December: Sales up 4%, Inventory down 8%

Wednesday:
• At 7:00 AM ET, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

• At 2:00 PM, the Federal Reserve Beige Book, an informal review by the Federal Reserve Banks of current economic conditions in their Districts.

• At 2:00 PM, The Monthly Treasury Budget Statement for December.

On Phoenix:

This is a key distressed market to follow since Phoenix saw a large bubble / bust followed by strong investor buying.

For the thirteen consecutive month, inventory was down year-over-year in Phoenix. This is a significant change from the prior year.

The Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) reports (table below):

1) Overall sales in December were up 4.3% year-over-year.

2) Cash Sales (frequently investors) were down to 23.9% of total sales.

3) Active inventory is now down 8.0% year-over-year.  

More inventory (a theme in 2014) - and less investor buying - suggested price increases would slow sharply in 2014.  And prices increases did slow in 2014, only increasing 2.4% according to Case-Shiller.

With falling inventory, prices increased a little faster in 2015 (something to watch if inventory continues to decline).   Prices are already up 4.6% through October according the Case-Shiller (about double the pace for 2014).

December Residential Sales and Inventory, Greater Phoenix Area, ARMLS
	Sales	YoY Change Sales	Cash Sales	Percent Cash	Active Inventory	YoY Change Inventory
Dec-08	5,524	---	1,665	30.1%	53,7921	---
Dec-09	7,661	38.7%	3,008	39.3%	39,709	-26.2%1
Dec-10	8,401	9.7%	3,939	46.9%	42,463	6.9%
Dec-11	7,843	-6.6%	3,635	46.3%	24,712	-41.8%
Dec-12	7,071	-9.8%	3,211	45.4%	21,095	-14.6%
Dec-13	5,930	-16.1%	2,053	34.6%	25,511	20.9%
Dec-14	6,475	9.2%	1,893	29.2%	25,052	-1.8%
Dec-15	6,756	4.3%	1,617	23.9%	23,053	-8.0%
1 December 2008 probably includes pending listings

from Calculated Risk http://ift.tt/1JJjFhF
via YQ Matrix