I decided again this month to look to Trulia to help me give you a more a detailed analysis of what's going on in the Phoenix and Scottsdale real estate markets. A couple of notes:

• Median sales price, recently sold, and foreclosures numbers are based on public records

• Average listing price, homes for sale and open homes numbers are based on Trulia listings

Phoenix

The median sales price of homes in Phoenix during the June-August period was $97,448 (based on 10,200 home sales). That's up 4.8% from the May-July period, but still 39.9% lower than the same period one year ago. But while the median price is much lower than last year, the number of sales is much higher - up 40.2% over 2008. There are currently 19,293 homes in the pre-foreclosure, auction, or bank-owned stages of the foreclosure process.

Phoenix Recently Sold Homes

Phoenix Recently Sold Homes

Scottsdale

The median sales price of homes in Scottsdale during the June-August period was $307,000. That's 22.2% lower than the same period one year ago, but still 2.3% higher than 5 years ago. And while the median price is lower than last year, the number of sales is higher - up about 16% over 2008.

Scottsdale Recently Sold Homes

Scottsdale Recently Sold Homes

Phoenix housing market analyst R.L. Brown said that, overall, "it is obvious from the data that we collect and analyze on the Phoenix metro housing market that the market indeed continues to improve in almost all sectors." Specifically:

• "New home permits in July continued to show strength, and we expect this pace to continue as builder bring newly-positioned product on line and as spec inventories continue to decline."

• "The resale market also continues at a strong pace, up 59% over the same month last year. Real estate investors and bargain hunters shop the bank owned offerings and "normal" sellers have become more realistic re-pricing their offerings to meet the market. Multiple offers are typical for the good properties and locations."

Those are the numbers. What's your view? Click on the "Comments" link below and join the discussion!