Phoenix Metro Real Estate Market Report for March 2008
March is now over, so it's time look at the numbers and how it all shaped up for the month. (Note: This data has been pulled from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. These numbers encompass the entire ARMLS listing area).
Here's how it looked for March 2008:
Number of New Listings: 14,020 (Up 461 from February)
Number Sold: 4,295 (Up 853 from February)
Average Days on Market: 144 (Up 8 days from February)
Average Listing Price: $318,571 (Up $2,286)
Average Selling Price: $304,963 (Down $3,365 from February)
% Difference Between List Price & Selling Price: 94.8% (Mostly unchanged from February)
What's nice is that not too many more new listings came on the market from February...and better yet...there were 853 more homes that sold in March vs. February. Listings still out pace solds by over 3:1. Interestingly, the average list price went up in March by nearly $2,300, but the average sale price came down nearly another $3,400, so we're obviously jumping the gun trying to get more from homes when the market is not yet supporting it. Days on market compared to February is now another week longer.
And what about the overall inventory for March (The numbers below are based on single family dwellings - 45,707 (does NOT include patio homes, condos, and town homes):
Total Market Supply: Down 1% to 12 months of inventory
Best Markets: SE Valley at 13 3/4 months supply and then Scottsdale under $1M at 13 1/2 months supply
Luxury Markets: 27+ month supply
Yes...it's getting better, but still will take a while to turn around...but we must keep in mind that home prices rose 86% from 2000 - 2006 and priced a lot of people out of the housing market, so for buyers this is a good thing...and even for sellers. You may take a haircut on the initial sale of your home, but the discount when you buy another home will be even greater than what you lost. 
As always, thanks for "hanging out" with us.