Phoenix real estate market falls out of the top 10
PHOENIX — For the fifth straight month, the Case Shiller index for the Phoenix market has fallen.
Even with the most recent fall, home prices are still higher than at the same time last year.
In November the Case Shiller index for Phoenix fell almost 2% from the previous month. The index fell almost 6% in a three-month period.
Year over year the index is up 6%, which takes Phoenix out of the top ten of the nation’s largest metro real estate markets.
Phoenix ranks 11th.
Markets in southern states top the list with Miami and Tampa, Florida having the highest year-over-year price growth.
Real estate markets on the west coast are faring the worst. Los Angeles is up 4% and Seattle 1%. San Francisco recorded an annual drop in prices of 2%.
One predictor of market trends shows downward pressure on home prices will continue.
Permits for new housing structures in Arizona fell to an eight-year low, according to the most recent data.
Permits are down 74% since their most recent peak in May of last year. During the same time, the Case Shiller index is down 8%.
This does not mean housing prices will drop 70%, but it does indicate prices will continue to fall.
Under current market conditions, only 30% of households in Phoenix are above the income threshold to afford a home priced at $493,000, the median for Maricopa County.
A household would need to make over $110,000 a year, according to Zillow’s affordability calculator.
The median household income in Maricopa County is $75,731. At that income level, the recommended home price is $272,890, nearly half the value of a median-priced home.
