Flagstaff median home sale prices reached an eight-year low for August as smaller homes continued to move briskly while sales of larger, higher-priced homes remained sluggish.
Realtors blamed the dearth of high-end sales on tighter credit standards, both for bigger mortgages and for buyers of second homes, who in the past have been a major part of the Flagstaff summer home sales market.
The median price for new and existing single-family homes in the greater Flagstaff area was $250,500 in August, down 8 percent from the same period last year and the lowest August median since 2004, according to information compiled by the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.
The August median price — half the homes sold for more, half for less — continues a trend of hovering between $230,000 and $265,000 for the last 10 months.
Sellers are, however, getting more for their money, with the price per square foot increasing steadily for the last four months. The $142 per square foot is also a 6 percent increase from the August 2011 figure.
Overall, sales were basically flat in August compared with last year.
The biggest concern for many Realtors is the general lack of inventory during one of the busiest times of year.
The current president of the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors, Jerome Naleski, said the inventory for all homes, including single-family houses, is much lower than he has seen in recent years.
Currently, there are 812 single-family homes listed on NAAR’s Multiple Listing Service, down roughly a third from the typical number listed during the summer.
“There is not much out there,” said he said.
He cites the low inventory as a reason the Flagstaff market is not seeing the recovery in sales prices like the one seen in the Valley,
Stephen Brighton, a Realtor with Century 21 Flagstaff Realty, believes there are two reasons why the local housing market hasn’t bounced back
He said he believes that the tight lending standards introduced after the real estate bubble burst have made it more difficult for some second-home buyers to enter the Flagstaff market.
The 2010 U.S. Census reports at least 1,900 homes in Flagstaff that are self-identified by their owners as second homes.
Brighton also believes there are a number of “Plan B” homeowners who are renting out their homes for the next few years rather than lose perceived equity by selling now.
He said most real estate offices in town have begun to offer a new service to meet the needs of these Plan B homeowners.
“Every shop in town now has a property management division,” he said.
Joe Ferguson can be reached at 556-2253 or jferguson@azdailysun.com.