Scottsdale home sales for April 2008 fell 17% compared to April 2007, while the home sales for the rest of the valley increased by 15% over the exact same period. The median price of a Scottsdale home sold dipped 9% over the exact same period (this doesn’t mean that houses definitely dipped 9% in value — it could just mean more cheap houses sold and less expensive houses sold — but it is a strong indiciation that prices may have gone down around 9%).
Meanwhile, on a national level, foreclosures have skyrocketed 65% between April 2007 to April 2008.
I personally do not have a problem with this real estate crash, and I think it should continue further. Homes in Scottsdale are ridiculously priced, and even a successful family making $150,000/year would struggle to buy a nice home anywhere in Scottsdale. I am guessing that the Scottsdale market will bottom out about 15% lower than it currentl is priced, at around the end of 2009. Of course, that will represent an effective 25% drop in real estate value since real estate typically should rise 5-6% per year, to make up for the interest rates people need to pay to own property.
