Long largely immune from the fluctuations in the greater Phoenix market, Scottsdale has not been able to avoid the current adverse conditions. At one time the opinion that homeowners in the “Beverly Hills” of Arizona would lose property by foreclosure in significant quantities would have been laughed at. Fortunately the decline in values in Scottsdale has not been community wide, and the number of trustee’s sales are relatively low, justifying the area’s sterling reputation.
For example, in January of 2009 the number of completed trustee’s sales on single family homes in Phoenix equaled 1235, and that in Scottsdale totaled 90. Even when adjusting for Phoenix’s greater population, the Scottsdale figure is statistically lower. The number of resales in Scottsdale are also proportionately better. During that same month, sales of Phoenix homes were 1190 in amount, and that in Scottsdale numbered 165.
Nevertheless, the Scottsdale figures are sobering. Looking specifically at the condominium market for Scottsdale in January, sales volume fell 36% and prices dropped 27% to $195,000.00. The median price for sales of single family homes in January, 2009 was less affected, falling 31% or $170,000 from January 2008 to $380,000.00 – which is equivalent to the median sales price for 2004. Still that beats the decline to approximately the 2001 median price for other parts of the Valley.
The good news is that the decline in the median prices numbers mean that large numbers of people who were priced out of the Phoenix and Scottsdale market can now buy – whether renters or residents of other cities.
And there are still a lot of people in other parts of the country who want to move here. According to a recent national study by the Pew Research Center, the Phoenix area (which includes Scottsdale), is in the top five of major metropolitan places people said they would want to live. This encouraging news reinforces that Scottsdale will continue to have strong appeal to well-healed buyers looking to move to the area.
As a result, I would expect that residential properties in the Valley of the Sun should rebound and appreciate quicker than other metro areas. So if you are one of those people who always wanted to own in the Phoenix area, this is the time to buy, because the selection and low prices will not last forever. If foreclosed properties in Scottsdale interest you, see our list of single family homes and condos on our Freddie Mac page.
– N. Mark Kramoltz © 2015