Monthly Flagstaff Market Report -- Single-Family Home Sales

A brief history of March in Flagstaff home sales:

The numbers shown above are for single-family, “stick-built” homes in the greater Flagstaff area – meaning inside and outside the city limits, any home with a Flagstaff mailing address. (The figures represent sales as reported in the multiple-listing-service of the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors^® and may not reflect all sales in the area.) Of the 42 homes sold in March, 23.8% were foreclosures (bank-owned) homes. Another four of the sales were short-sales, and one was of a home owned by a relocation company. In other words, 35.7% of these home sales were distressed property sales.

Perhaps of greatest interest to Flagstaff home buyers and sellers is that, with roughly the same number of Flagstaff single-family-residences on the market 2009 (624) as in 2008 (632), the absorption rate dropped from over 19-months of inventory in 2008 to 14.86-months’ worth of homes in 2009. On the one hand, this market still gives a very large selection to buyers, and provides substantial bargaining power for them. On the other hand, if that trend in Flagstaff home sales continues, it is moving in the right direction for sellers. Of course, April and May are the heaviest months for entry of new listings onto the Flagstaff real estate market, so we’ll see if this is a trend, or a one-month blip.

More significantly for Flagstaff home buyers is the fact that the buyer/seller bargaining balance at $300,000 and less reflects more evenness. If you are thinking of buying, don’t be deluded by overall market numbers which include many high-priced homes. The inventory of Flagstaff homes at $300,000 and less was 8.6 months’ supply at the end of March and only 2.6 months’ supply for single-family homes at $250,000 and under.

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, please contact Team Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.