By Mike Bodeen · 9 December 2024
End of Week Shows Positive Mortgage Rate Movement
Before we look at current market trends, let’s catch up with November’s sales information as of December 1, 2024 compared with December 1, 2023 for all areas & types:
Active Listings: 21,593 vs 15,981 last year – up 35% – but up 1% from 21,368 last month
Under Contract Listings: 6,393 vs 5,867 last year – up 9.0% – but down 7.8% from 6,935 last month
Monthly Sales: 5,139 vs 4,629 last year – up 11.0% – but down 12.0% from 5,840 last month
Monthly Average Sales Price per Sq. Ft.: $289.69 versus $289.17 last year – up 0.2% – but down 0.3% from $290.65 last month
Monthly Median Sales Price: $450,000 vs $439,000 last year – up 2.5% – but unchanged from $450,000 last month
The good news for sellers is that our listings have seasonally peaked at 22,000 as of November 24th and have been tracking down since then. It was unclear if we were going to have this normal decrease in listings this year due to the consistent increase since July. According to the Cromford Report, this listing decline historically lasts 5-8 weeks.
Listings are now up 35% from last year, which is an improvement compared with 40% last month, at least from a seller’s perspective.
“Monthly sales have risen with an 11% increase over 2023. This is a positive sign that demand is no longer declining. This is reinforced by the annual sales rate which reached a low point of 69,527 at the end of September but has now crept up to the 71,000 mark. This remains low compared to normal, but at least the trend is upwards again,” reports Cromford.
Compared to last year “Under Contract Counts” look better than this time last year – up 9%, but they fell back almost 8% from last month and remain at a weak level.
Overall, buyers are still benefiting from more choice and sellers are suffering increased competition. Pricing remains stable, almost unchanged from this time last year. With the Cromford® Market Index below 90 and contract ratio hovering around 30, there is almost no upward pricing pressure and downward pressure in the outer fringes of the Greater Phoenix area.
Rentals Maintain Their Own Stable Pricing
In August of 2022, the monthly average lease price per square foot (PSF) had risen to $1.40 but then it dropped and has average $1.35 PSF since – 27 months straight. This is positive news for the rental market, where tens of thousands await affordability to purchase a home.
Mortgage Rates Move Lower
On Friday the sixth, mortgage rates dropped considerably now showing 6.68% for a 30-year fixed and 6.15% for an FHA 30 year fixed.
Also, conventional loan limits, as reported by, Regina Whelan of Fairway Mortgage, are now at $806,500, while FHA limits have increased to $546,250.
It’s nice to get double good news on these market killing rates. Now, can they continue? Well, we’re entering the season of hope, eh?
Hope. Good News. Tis the season, and may yours be extra special this year my friend.
Market data referenced in this article comes from The Cromford Report.