The prices of homes in the Phoenix area are not expected to return to levels seen before the housing crash for another seven years. However, many people are seeing this as a good, rather than a bad, thing. The city of Phoenix and its housing market have experienced a more rapid recovery than some other parts of the country. Recently, Clear Capital, a real estate data firm, released new information that supports the idea that home prices now are right in line with long term averages. It is a situation determined as healthy for the housing market as a whole. At a national level, home prices are rising at a rate of 1.2 percentage points per year. Per Clear Capital’s January report, this places the average in a historic range of 3-5 percent per year. With that type of growth, it will be 2021 when homes reach the peak values seen in 2006.
While some may view this as a negative, analysts say that it is actually a good thing for the housing market. The housing market in Phoenix is rebounding and showing moderate growth like the rest of the country. What this equates to is a market that shows no signs of another housing bubble burst and long term stability for the region in general. “With the majority of metro markets still so far below peak prices, it's time for conversations surrounding price trends to shift away from the 2006 peak as the point of reference, and back to current trends and forecasts," Villacorta said. "While there are certainly investors and homeowners holding real estate assets that will be underwater for seven years or more, the current housing market is positioned to behave very similar or even below historical norms, given the current economic climate."
Phoenix has seen a significant turn of the housing market in recent years. The current slowing of pace for home sales is a positive sign that stability for homeowners is also here to stay.