Good news for Arizona real estate.  According to the National Association of Realtors, the largest sales gain for the third quarter of 2008, among all 50 states (28.3% over the second quarter), took place in Arizona!  The Feds are now working hard to keep interest rates low, and the financial institutions are working to renegotiate loans of troubled borrowers.  The first quarter of 2009 could fore-tell a correction in the market.

Current conditions in the Phoenix Market:

Today there are 45,139 active single family detached listings in MLS.  That is a decrease of 309 listings from last week.

Total listings (Including condos, town-homes, and patio homes) in MLS today 54,917, which is a decrease of 369 listings.

The decrease in listing inventory is of importance due to the laws of supply and demand.  If we can melt the supply, we will see stabilization.

The interest rates for conforming loans have declined again this week, thanks in part to the Federal Reserve.  Again, low interest rates are always good news for the market.

The statistical review of the same time period last year indicates that for the second week in a row, "pending" contracts are up 13% and sold volume is up 6% over the same time period last year.

The overall absorption rate (the number of listings going pending versus the number of active listings) has remained at 11% this week, which may not seem encouraging, unless you consider that during this same time period last year, the absorption rate was at 5%.