February Real Estate Update
The first month of 2021 saw 293 MLS listing sales closed in Glendale and 289 in Peoria. Today there are 117 active and available listings (not counting properties already under contract or pending close of escrow) in MLS in Glendale and 103 in Peoria. That's 40 % of one month's inventory in Glendale, up from 30% in December and 28% down from 34.3% of one month's inventory in Peoria. Today's Maricopa County inventory is 54.3% of January's closed sales, up from 49.6% in December. In Maricopa County, the days a listing spent on the market rose slightly from 41.39 to 43.62.
While it looks like Glendale and Maricopa County overall have seen an increase in available inventory, that data needs to come with a little perspective. According to Cromford Report data, the number of available Maricopa County listings in January 2021 was down 18% from December 2020 and over 50% from January 2020. And Cromford Report data continues to track month-over-month increases in the average final sale price per square foot, with January 2021 sale prices up 1.8% from December 2020 sales, consistent with the roughly 2% month-over-month increases we saw in the last quarter of 2020.
According to ShowingTime, the platform REALTORS use to schedule most of the MLS showings, Peoria listings in the $300,000-399,999 range had the highest number of showings for the 2nd straight month at 31.64 % of January traffic. Listings in the $200,000-299,999 range came in second at 26.2%, and listings in the $400,000-$499,999 range pulled in 21.07% of the showing traffic last month. Glendale statistics show traffic split almost evenly between the $200,000-$299,999 and $300,000-$399,999 segments, at 37.01% and 38.82% respectively. We should continue to see these shifts in showing traffic as prices and demand increase and low-interest rates afford Buyers more purchasing power. Not all showings are scheduled through ShowingTime, so actual numbers are typically higher.
According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates are beginning to increase slightly for a 30-year fixed loan. As of February 18, 2021, National Mortgage Rates reported the U.S. weekly averages of 2.81% for a 30-year fixed, 2.21% for a 15-year Fixed-Rate, and 2.77% for a 5-Year ARM.
January entry-level prices for a detached home with three bedrooms and two baths in the west valley dropped a bit for FHA Buyers, as Buyers using FHA financing saw minimums of $107,000 in Maricopa County, $217,000 in Glendale, and $214,000 in Peoria. Conventional Financing Buyers in Maricopa County saw a decrease to $136,225, as did Peoria Conventional Buyers down to $235,000, but Glendale Conventional Buyers saw an increase to $243,000. Maricopa County VA Buyers saw an increase to $230,000, and Glendale VA Buyers increased to $265,000, with a drop for Peoria VA Buyers to $278,000.
According to MLS statistics, the number of Maricopa County Buyers financing their purchases in January dipped slightly to 81.1% from 82.7% in December. Conventional financing made up 58.1% of those sales, FHA financing 9.8%, VA financing 5.7%, and the remaining sales used other financing methods. In January, only 8.9% of Sellers contributed to Buyer's closing costs.
If your finances need a fresh perspective, please know that you are not alone. If you're a Homeowner, contact your Lender to see what programs they are offering. If you're a Tenant, rental assistance is available through the Arizona Department of Housing website at www.saveourhomeaz.gov. If you're a Landlord, you can apply for aid at https://arizonatogether.org/grants.
As published in the March 4, 2021 edition of the Glendale Star.
