The number of Phoenix foreclosed homes in September is still high compared to foreclosures in other cities despite a drop of nearly 5 percent, based on foreclosure data from Information Market.
Foreclosures dropped to 3,759 units in the Valley area, compared to foreclosures in August. It was the second consecutive drop since the crisis started. Pre-foreclosures also fell, prompting predictions of lower foreclosures in October. There were more than 7,800 default notices and trustee sale notices filed, marking a drop of 11 percent from August.
Housing analysts said that loan modification efforts by nonprofits and government agencies in the Valley could be driving the decrease in foreclosures, as the federal government has been pushing lenders to step up their foreclosure prevention efforts.
Based on the Cromford Report on home price data from Mike Orr, the median home sales price in the Phoenix metro area has risen to $130,000 from $127,000 in August. Orr said that house prices throughout the Valley have been climbing up, based on prices in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service that he monitors.
In another report, analyst RL Brown said that the prices of new homes in the Valley also increased. The median home sales price rose to $197,948 in September after falling to $183,750 last July, its lowest level in recent months.
In a nationwide report on foreclosures in 203 metro areas in the country in the first 6 months of this year, more than 74,000 distressed homes in the Valley including Phoenix foreclosed homes were counted. The metro area covered by Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa was ninth in foreclosure rates in the first half.
The same report showed that 4.44 percent of all housing units in the Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa metro area were in various stages of default and foreclosure. The pace of foreclosure marked a nearly 11-percent increase from the area's foreclosure rate in the July to December 2008 quarter and an almost 52-percent increase from the rate in the January to June 2008 quarter.
Despite the increase in home prices, the pace of new home construction slowed in September after showing some improvements in recent months.
Across the Valley, a total of 696 permits were issued for the construction of single-family houses and overall home sales declined slightly compared to overall August home sales. Total home sales nonetheless still were higher than total sales in the same month last year.
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