The string of "consecutive increases" in total homes sold in the Arizona Regional MLS came to an end today when sales for August 2008 were down 142 from July. There were 5,829 homes sold in August -- compared to 5,971 in July.
Reporting was made difficult last month when the ARMLS launched it's new and improved version. Sales figures were not reported correctly during the first few days, and the sales figures were not complete until a week (or so) into the month. Could publishing this information so quickly be a cause for future revision? Possibly, so I'll check again in a few days for consistency.
The number and percentage of foreclosure sales continued to increase in August 2008. August's 2,754 sales were 197 higher than July's sales. The percentage of "sold homes" that were foreclosures jumped from 42.8% in July to 47.2% in August. That percentage has steadily increased for 15+ months.
The 3 columns on the right side show sales by county. The ARMLS selling region is comprised of Maricopa and Pinal counties. However, MLS allows Realtors to list property from all Arizona counties and even areas across the U.S.
It is getting increasingly more difficult for "normal sellers" to complete against "foreclosure-type" sales.
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