The December 2014 Phoenix real estate market report provides the following key points: - Housing sales were down 20% from October but this was expected due to fewer working days in November. - Active housing listings have started to fall slightly although demand indicators like pending sales and contracts are starting to rise again. - The author remains cautiously optimistic that the market has stabilized and December sales should improve if contract activity continues to rise, but the economic recovery still needs to drive further improvement in the housing market.

1. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
December 2014
Phoenix Real Estate
Market Report

2. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – All MLS
Market Summary for the Beginning of December There are those who will look at the sales count for November and assume the month was dreadful. Sales were down more than 20% compared with October. However we think this was a pretty good performance. November contained only 17 full working days because of Veterans Day and Thanksgiving plus weekends at both the start and the end of the month. This is the lowest number of days we ever get in a calendar month. In contrast October had 23 working days, the highest we ever see. With 26% fewer days in which to close them, 20% fewer sales is not bad at all. It is disappointing that November 2014 was down 2.4% compared with November last year, but November last year had 18 working days, which is a 6% advantage over 17, so again November looks more reasonable in that context. There are a few other good news straws to grasp.
•active listing counts have started to fall (though not in all areas). We are down 1% from a month ago and only 2.3% higher than in 2013.
•pending listings are UP from last month, as are listings under contract. These are the first small signs of an improvement in demand that we have seen for a long time, although it would be foolish to claim either is strong signal. At the moment we are willing to take what we can get. The annual sales count has stabilized and if the number of listings under contract is an indicator, December should be quite a reasonable month for closings. It is not time to celebrate but it is time to start feeling a little hopeful that the worst is behind us.

3. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – All MLS
Here are the basic ARMLS numbers for December 1, 2014 relative to December 1, 2013 for all areas & types:
Active Listings (excluding UCB): 24,593 versus 24,043 last year - up 2.3% - but down 1.0% from 24,846 last month
Active Listings (including UCB): 27,427 versus 26,817 last year - up 2.3% - but down 0.5% compared with 27,561 last month
Pending Listings: 5,497 versus 5,965 last year - down 7.8% - but up 3.9% from 5,293 last month
Under Contract Listings (including Pending & UCB): 8,331 versus 8,739 last year - down 4.7% - but up 4.0% from 8,008 last month
Monthly Sales: 4,992 versus 5,117 last year - down 2.4% - and down 20.4% from 6,269 last month
Monthly Average Sales Price per Sq. Ft.: $129.07 versus $123.48 last year - up 4.5% - and up 1.2% from $127.59 last month
Monthly Median Sales Price: $192,000 versus $185,000 last year - up 3.8% - but down 0.3% from $192,500 last month
Pricing has benefited from easy comparisons because November was weaker than expected last year. The opposite will be true when we do the market summary at the start of 2015.
Compared with a month ago, supply has been growing most in the luxury sectors and in the areas focused on active adults and the retired. Examples include Gold Canyon, Arizona City, Sun City, Sun City West, Sun Lakes and Paradise Valley. Many of the low and mid- range areas have experienced a significant drop in supply, especially Gilbert, Glendale, Avondale, Tolleson, Laveen, Chandler and Phoenix.
Despite the slight improvement in a few indicators, we would still describe the market as subdued, awaiting an economic recovery that improves the earnings potential of those who depend primarily on a job rather than capital gains.
The for-sale housing market is unlikely to drive the economy forward at this stage; it is more likely to be the other way round.

4. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – All MLS
Cromford Demand Index™ is a value that provides a short term forecast for the demand for resale homes in the market. It is derived from the trends in pending and sold listings compared with historical data over the previous four years. Values above 100 indicate more demand than usual, while values below 100 indicate less demand than usual. A value of 100 indicates the demand is close to normal.
Cromford Market Index™ is a value that provides a short term forecast for the balance of the market. It is derived from the trends in pending, active and sold listings compared with historical data over the previous four years. Values below 100 indicate a buyer's market, while values above 100 indicate a seller's market. A value of 100 indicates a balanced market.
Cromford Supply Index™ is a value that provides a short term forecast for the supply of resale homes to the market. It is derived from the trends in active listings compared with historical data over the previous four years. Values above 100 indicate more supply than usual, while values below 100 indicate less supply than usual. A value of 100 indicates the supply is close to normal.

5. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – All MLS

6. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Cromford Index – All MLS

7. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – All MLS

8. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– All MLS

9. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– All MLS

10. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Mesa

11. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Mesa

12. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Mesa

13. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Mesa

14. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Mesa

15. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Gilbert

16. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Gilbert

17. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Gilbert

18. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Gilbert

19. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Gilbert

20. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Chandler

21. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Chandler

22. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Chandler

23. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Chandler

24. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Chandler

25. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Tempe

26. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Tempe

27. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Tempe

28. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Tempe

29. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Tempe

30. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Queen Creek

31. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Queen Creek

32. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Queen Creek

33. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Queen Creek

34. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Queen Creek

35. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Scottsdale

36. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Scottsdale

37. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Scottsdale

38. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Scottsdale

39. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Scottsdale

40. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Gold Canyon

41. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Gold Canyon

42. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Gold Canyon

43. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Gold Canyon

44. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Gold Canyon

45. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Apache Junction

46. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Market Snapshot – Apache Junction

47. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Active Listings – Apache Junction

48. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Sales Per Month– Apache Junction

49. December 2014 Phoenix Market Report
Average Sales Price– Apache Junction