Buyers have begun to snap up homes in Chandler, shown by a decreasing supply of homes on the market. There were 1,591 homes listed for sale on March 24 compared with 1,725 on Dec. 24, according to Mike Orr, publisher of the Cromford Report, an online daily analysis of real estate transactions.

A supply of 4.4 months exists in Chandler, compared with a six-month supply in December in Chandler. That’s slightly lower than the overall supply in metropolitan Phoenix.

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A steep decline in prices between June last year and February this year has brought more prospective buyers into the market, Orr said. Rentals are becoming more difficult to find, and occupancy rates are particularly high in Chandler compared with the rest of the Valley, Orr said.

Median home prices fell in Chandler in 2010 compared with 2009, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of data from the Information Market.

In ZIP code 85224 in the north central area, the median price last year was $140,000 compared with $156,750 the previous year, for a drop of 10.7 percent. In northeast Chandler’s ZIP code 85225, the price was $138,000 compared with $146,760 in 2009 or a decrease of 6 percent.

And in west Chandler’s 85226, the price dropped 11.1 percent from $202,500 in 2009 to $180,000 in 2010. The highest median price in that ZIP code during the bubble was $292,750 – in 2006.

In ZIP code 85286, the median dropped from $250,000 in 2009 to $233,000 last year.

The median price in the ZIP code 85249, southeast Chandler, went from $284,750 to $275,000.

However, Sun Lakes (ZIP 85248) showed an increase of 10 percent from 2009 to 2010. The median went from $253,643 to $279,000.

Chandler is faring better than some cities, especially those in the West Valley, Orr said.

“Chandler has been getting a lot of demand this year; the city is doing quite well from attracting jobs at Intel and other technology companies,” he said.

He predicted prices will rise. If a purchaser decides to buy in Chandler now, it could take several weeks to find a home, and the price wouldn’t be recorded for three months or so. At that time, records probably will reflect an uptick, he said.