2015 Fountain Hills Real Estate Market:  “Slow and Steady Wins the Race”

The following is a portion of the Executive Summary of Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate’s “Fountain Hills 2015 Year End Market Report”

Aesop’s Tortoise and the Hare fable has a few lessons for the Arizona real estate market.  And it seems Fountain Hills’ buyers and sellers are paying attention!  Overall there were 775 total sales of Homes and Condos, an increase of 7% year-over-year 2014, with prices increasing in the range of 1% across the board.  Of course, there are some variations in pace and appreciation, depending on which product or price strata you’re in.

As we enter 2016, one price range we’re watching is the inventory and sales pace of homes over $1 million.  During 2015, there were 32 sales in this category, vs. 47 sales in 2014 (a 32% decrease Year-Over-Year), accompanied by a 27% increase of inventory at the end of 2015 over 2014.  The 2016 selling season will tell the tale, as it always does, but the fact that there were 32 sales in 2015 with a current inventory of 60 homes available in this price range might indicate a need for better pricing.  The decrease in the amount of purchasing power of the Canadians and those involved in the farming industry from American’s Midwest might have an impact on pricing strength, although our market is bolstered by other buyer profiles, not the least of which is the retiring Baby Boomer from across the country.

On the other end of the pricing spectrum, it might look the same…but not!  Sales of homes less than $400,000 totaled 236 in 2015 and account for 46% of the local market; the 2015 rate of sales is a 13% decrease from 2014’s rate of 271 units.  Yet, this decrease is due to a shortage of inventory!  To understand this, consider the current inventory of homes under $400,000 with only 67 homes at the end of 2015, while the end of 2014 saw 76 homes available…a 12% decrease Y-O-Y.  We are likely to continue seeing this trend as inventories of homes shift upwards and the “bottom of the market” disappears.

To read the balance of this executive summary, and to  review the Tables and Charts, Check out the Fountain Hills 2015 Year-End Market Report.  For an even more detailed report–or for a custom report for your property–contact your Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate pro!  Find them at http://www.sonoranlifestyle.com/our-agents/