Phoenix home builds bring relief to tight housing market

It’s taking some time, but new home sales appear to be making a comeback in Phoenix.

Builder Shea Homes recently reported strong second quarter sales Valley-wide, taking credit for 137 new home sales between the months of April and June.

It’s a 57 percent jump in sales for the builder when compared with the 87 new builds Shea Homes sold during the same time period in 2014.

Communities in Surprise (Greer Ranch), Gilbert (The Bridges), San Tan Valley (Hideaway at Johnson Ranch), Peoria (Desert Intrigue) and Goodyear (Inspire and Estrella) saw plenty of ground covered this year with the Shea builds.

The new homes bring some relief to ongoing reports about the tight inventory in Phoenix’s housing market.

They also reflect what appears to be a national trend with new home development getting back on track.

New home starts are at levels not seen since 2007 – before the economic downturn — according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department.

The production of single-family homes saw the strongest jump nationwide in the month of July, rising 12.8 percent as the economy continues to grow.

“Our builders are reporting more confidence in the market and are stepping up production of single-family homes as a result,” said Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.

Woods did add, however, that builders are still reporting problems accessing land and labor, which could account, in part, for the slow return in single-family home starts.

Production of multi-family units, meantime, slipped by about 17 percent in July. But the NAHB said the drop was more in line with a return to the trend of multi-family builds after an unusually high volume in June.

Join Realtor Diane Brennan for That Real Estate Show on Sundays at 8 a.m. on KTAR News 92.3 FM.