ResalesTempe Home Sales Shows Temperate Rise
A desirable Valley location and lack of much more buildable land is helping Tempe hold on to its seller"s market despite local tech layoffs.
"Tempe"s borders are full--there are not many more places for new construction of homes," says Realtor Bonnie Douglaux. "Tempe"s real estate market is very strong like much of the East Valley. It has held together during the times of uncertainty. Tempe has older and more established neighborhoods. Their prices continue to rise as their homes have direct access to I-10 an State Route 60 and the new 101 and 202 freeways.
She explains, "Tempe is within 15 minutes of the Sky Harbor International Airport and hosts ASU. More than 750 high-tech and manufacturing firms are located in Tempe employing more than 32,000 people. Fifteen percent of Arizona"s high-tech companies are located in Tempe. Tempe will always be a good investment. It"s becoming like a Scottsdale--higher price per square foot for the homes."
Says Realtor Pat Hune, "In Q3 2002 the Tempe resale home market improved slightly from last year"s 570 to 590 recorded sales and the median sales price increased from $152,000 to $156,750. The townhouse/condominium market remained at 255 sales but the median sales price increased from $97,000 to $102,000.
"Tempe continues to be a strong market especially for homes that are close to the university," says Hune. "An added plus is a fourth bedroom anywhere in the Tempe area. The construction on US 60 has made the Tempe area more desirable than ever as many people are tired of sitting on US 60 and are moving closer to Tempe. The completion of the 101 Loop North makes Tempe even more attractive due to the ease of getting to Scottsdale and North Phoenix.
"Continued layoffs by high tech companies like Intel, Motorola and Honeywell will likely increase the number of homes for sale in the East Valley and decrease the number of highly compensated potential home buyers for houses priced at $200,000 or higher," she says.
Hune advises, "The bottom line is if you are trying to sell a $200,000+ house, it cannot have any "objections" even in Tempe. Those objections include backing up to a busy street or freeway, close to power lines, outdated interior decorating or not being maintained. If the tile is robin egg blue, there are 4-5 colors or carpet or types of tile, the paint is dingy or specialized it will be a hard sell. If the seller is not willing to update or repair the home then the price must come down."
Realtor John Shurr says, "The sales reports for the month of September 2002 are in and the purchase price for a home in Tempe rose 6.5 percent from September 2001, outperforming most other communities in the Valley. While the events of September 11 probably affected the volume (113 units sold vs. 95 in 2001) the average price rose from $174,637 to $185,703."
"Tempe continues to demand a higher price for homes and the current economic downturn has not hurt the current trend of increasing prices and high demand," says Realtor Cecil Duarte, "but the market is getting a glut of inventory which signals the beginning of a buyers market after all these years."
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