Valley home sales continue on record pace

LATEST NEWS
July 24, 2005
Valley home sales continue on record paceMike Padgett
The Business Journal
Residential construction in metro Phoenix and south into Pinal County remains strong and likely will set another record by year's end, according to R.L. Brown, publisher of The Phoenix Housing Market Letter.
Permits issued in June for new homes totaled 6,531, up nearly 10.9 percent over the 5,890 recorded in June 2004, while the year-to-date 2005 total of 33,200 permits was nearly 15.6 percent over the 28,731 issued during the same period last year, Brown wrote in his newest monthly report.
If the trend continues through the rest of 2005, Brown believes "this market is headed for another all-time record year."
Brown also said:
The median closing price for a new home in metro Phoenix was $224,605, up 24 percent from a year ago.
Resales totaled 13,570 in June, up 19 percent from 11,410 recorded in June 2004.
Year-to-date resales through June totaled 68,719, up 30 percent from 52,861 sold during the same time in 2004.
"Builder after builder that we have talked to say there is no letup in the parade of consumers to sign up for the lottery to purchase a new home," Brown said.
Brown has been a vocal critic of other analysts in the real estate industry commenting that central Arizona could be headed for a housing bubble. He said the 6,531 permits for new houses issued in June, as well as increases in prices sparked by strong demand, are clear signs "that the mythical bubble about to burst that some babble about is not yet on the horizon."
For more: www.rlbrownreports.com