Pinal County median home price drops in first quarter

Since 625 resale homes were recorded sold in third quarter 2007, the Pinal County resale market has consistently posted improvement, with 1,145 sales in the fourth quarter and 1,680 sales for the first quarter of 2008, well above last year’s 840 sales.

Housing activity was good throughout the quarter as shown by the monthly activity — 465 recorded sales in January, 600 sales in February and 620 sales in March.

This activity is fairly close to the record 1,785 sales in second quarter 2005. The Queen Creek area accounted for 39 percent of the resale activity followed by 18 percent in the Maricopa City area and 15 percent in the Apache Junction area.

Maricopa County reported 11,390 recorded sales in the first quarter.

“In Pinal County, there is a wide range of homes available from listed homes to foreclosures, but a key force is the rapidly declining prices,” said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies in the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus. “Homeowners and investors are buying with the expectation of strong appreciation in the future.”

The median price has steadily eroded from $220,000 in fourth quarter 2005 to $193,000 in third quarter 2007 and $156,160 for the current quarter. It was $204,600 for a year ago.

The median home price in Pinal County was 70 percent of the median price in Maricopa County ($222,450), while it was 78 percent a year ago. Although the thirty-year mortgage remained stable at 5.9 percent, a lower home price drove the monthly mortgage payment for the median price, based on an 85 percent loan-to-value, to decrease from $1,020 to $790. It would be $1,020 for the median priced home in Maricopa County.

Although affordability has improved, higher gasoline prices, more congested highways and limited employment opportunities continue to strongly hamper any potential recovery of the housing market in Pinal County.

To reduce inventories, new home builders are still aggressively pursuing buyers through incentives such as specially priced up-grades, free pools and gift cards. The new home has become a strong competitive and attractive alternative to the resale home in Pinal County. New home sales were 1,864 homes with a median price of $174,000, in contrast to last year’s 2,480 sales and median price of $219,315.

The median square footage for a resale home in Pinal County was 1,730 square feet, while a new home was 2,125 square feet. In Maricopa County, the resale home was 1,751 square feet and 2,370 square feet for a new home (median price of $253,505).

GREATER PHOENIX REAL ESTATE MARKET

Quarterly Resale Home Sales and Median Prices

Selected Cities in Pinal County

First Quarter 2007 First Quarter 2008

Resales Median Price Resales Median Price

Maricopa 90 246,500 310 170,000
Apache Junction 210 $235,000 245 $183,465
Arizona City 40 135,000 40 114,500
Casa Grande 95 180,000 170 146,000
Coolidge 35 125,900 55 119,950
Eloy 15 118,450 20 95,930
Florence 30 157,270 90 141,660
Queen Creek 200 207,170 660 153,000
San Manuel 15 100,000 25 100,000
Tucson (Saddlebrook) 50 395,000 40 340,000
Pinal County 840 $204,600 1,680 $156,160

Second Quarter 2006 Second Quarter 2007

Resales Median Price Resales Median Price

Maricopa 95 256,500 115 219,500 Apache Junction 305 $224,450 210 $217,500
Arizona City 65 139,900 45 137,450
Casa Grande 220 179,000 105 177,120
Coolidge 45 123,000 35 108,500
Eloy 40 89,000 30 130,000
Florence 25 170,000 45 170,000
Queen Creek 250 235,000 240 198,000
San Manuel 30 104.000 20 100,000
Tucson (Saddlebrook) 50 370,000 80 382,500
Pinal County 1,180 $211,000 970 $200,000

Third Quarter 2006 Third Quarter 2007

Resales Median Price Resales Median Price

Maricopa 70 217,625 55 215,000
Apache Junction 200 $224,000 125 $218,500
Arizona City 55 145,220 35 135,000
Casa Grande 170 175,000 45 157,995
Coolidge 30 107,500 30 140,000
Eloy 25 85,000 15 127,500
Florence 20 178,000 20 154,900
Queen Creek 180 220,000 195 193,050
San Manuel 35 98,000 10 103,000
Tucson (Saddlebrook) 35 350,000 55 335,000
Pinal County 850 $199,900 625 $193,000

Fourth Quarter 2006 Fourth Quarter 2007

Resales Median Price Resales Median Price

Maricopa 55 220,000 205 197,680
Apache Junction 165 $216,500 175 $195,000
Arizona City 35 139,900 40 116,000
Casa Grande 150 160,000 115 160,000
Coolidge 25 101,000 30 122,050
Eloy 25 106,000 15 110,000
Florence 15 169,000 60 155,000
Queen Creek 175 210,000 405 170,000
San Manuel 10 90,750 10 89,700
Tucson (Saddlebrook) 40 412,450 55 350,000
Pinal County 720 $191,500 1,145 174,000

REALTY STUDIES

Realty Studies is associated with the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus. Realty Studies collects and analyzes data concerning real estate in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

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