A new start and fresh year is one of the best times to take a look at our housing market. 2018 continued to be a very strong year with new recent highs hit throughout the Ranch. All types of homes were up, from condos to single family.
As you can see, the number of sales has been fairly consistent. We were down around 8% from 2017 but it was in line with 2016.
When looking at gains, 2018 was very healthy whether you look at price per square foot or just pure price. Single family, patio homes, and townhomes all grew at 6.3 or 6.4% year over year. Condo price per square foot was up a huge 9.8%
When looking at pure sales prices, single family was up 6.6%, condos up 9.4%, patio homes up 12.1%, and townhomes are up 9.0%. Patio homes had a very lackluster 2017 on paper so this is more just putting them back in line with the rest.
That's a solid year altogether!
Now, looking at the year end, we did see a little bit of softening in December and the 4th quarter. Interestingly enough, when looking at average sales price, the first half of the year was much stronger in price gains than the second half. Price per square foot still shows decent gains for most categories throughout the year, though. The lower number of sales is of more importance.
4th quarter sales totaled just 91 homes in 2018 compared with 126 in the previous year. There are multiple reasons that could be affecting this. First is the election. Elections tend to slow down sales due to the uncertainty. Second is the stock market. It is extremely volatile in the 4th quarter, which also brings uncertainty. Third is the doom and gloom news coming in about real estate all over. Once again, this creates uncertainty about what is going to happen in our local market.
Uncertainty. Uncertainty. Uncertainty.
It will take a little bit of time to see whether or not this will come to fruition and be a long term trend. The spring tends to be the busiest time of the year and this could flip extremely quickly. Interestingly enough, current inventory levels haven't risen much with the lower number of Q4 sales. So many of us are just holding tight and waiting to see what happens.
I'm fairly optimistic that we will continue to see gains into 2019. I expect they will likely be smaller than the previous years and be in the 2-4% range which is still very healthy. There is still a lot of demand coming from other states and Phoenix and Scottsdale population numbers are booming.
As always, please subscribe to see these updates delivered directly to your email.
Have a wonderful 2019!
Along with the great weather we are all enjoying comes the start of the festival season. Barrett Jackson, the Arabian Horse Show, and Spring Training are right around the corner!
To kick it off, this Saturday is the start of the Celebration of Fine Arts. This daily event starts on January 12th and runs through March 24th. It is open daily from 10 am - 6 pm.
You can visit painters, sculptures, jewelry makers, glass workers, photographers, and much more.
The event is held at the big white tents off of the 101 and Hayden. Admissions is just $10/adult or $8/seniors and military. Under 12 are free. Currently, their website is also showing a 2 for 1 special on tickets. And, the ticket you buy is good for admission for the entire two month show.
Get all of the details at Celebrate Art.
Happy New Year! I hope 2019 is a great year for all of my readers and everyone throughout Scottsdale and Phoenix!
After the Holiday blur, I think we could all use a little more caffeine right now. It can be hard to get back into the swing of things.
If you want a little refresher and to try some REALLY good coffee while doing so, check out Press Coffee Roasters class called Coffee 101.
From the event:
Based on the coffee cupping format that coffee professionals use to evaluate beans and roasts, Coffee 101 is an interactive experience of smelling, slurping and learning. Our coffee experts at Press will guide you through a brief history of each coffee and how their journey from seed to cup has created the flavors you taste today. At the end you’ll have a much better understanding of coffee regions and flavors. You’ll leave ready to join the coffee conversation with a better understanding of which types you love and why.
The class costs $20 and you'll receive a $10 gift certificate to Press afterwards.
It is held on Saturdays between 10-11 am. Get all of the details at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coffee-101-scottsdale-waterfront-tickets-52054601715?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
