PHOENIX β April just might have been the best month for metro Phoenixβs housing market in a decade.
A look at key indicators and some national rankings show why the Valley of the Sunβs housing market appears to be stronger than itβs been since the boom and crash.
Foreclosures fell to the lowest level since 2006. Homebuilding continued to rebound. Phoenix kept its spot as one of the most affordable big metro areas for homebuyers. And a national moving survey shows the Valley is one of the top 10 U.S. areas where people are moving.
Also, many of the buyers needed for the Valleyβs housing market to finally fully recover are here.
An April Street Scout survey of Valley homebuyers and sellers found millennial and boomerang buyers who lost houses to foreclosure during the crash are buying metro Phoenix homes at a pace the market hasnβt seen before.
Home sales in metro Phoenix climbed to 9,041 in April, an almost 8 percent jump from last April, according to data compiled for this column by Arizona housing expert Mike Orr of The Cromford Report. Condominium sales reached 1,637 last month, up 1,514 from April 2015.
The Valleyβs median home price rose to $235,000, up from $215,000 a year ago. The median condo price reached $146,500 last month, compared with $142,000 a year ago.
Banks foreclosed on only 231 Phoenix-area houses in April, the lowest level since December 2006, according to The Information Market.
Homebuilding in the Valley is up 25 percent from last yearβs pace, according to RL Brown Housing Reports.
Despite home-price increases, metro Phoenix is still the eighth most affordable big U.S. metro area to buy a home, according to the latest quarterly ranking from national mortgage firm HSH.com. The Valley has held that spot for the past year.
And finally, moving company U-Haulβs annual survey for the most one-way rentals in 2015 came out last week. Metro Phoenix ranked 10th nationally for the most popular place for people to move.
