Home prices in the Apache Junction area surged more in the second quarter of this year than anywhere else in the Phoenix metropolitan area, but it remains the most affordable area in the Valley.
In the Maricopa County portion of zip code 85120 in the East Valley in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains, median home prices rose nearly 125% in April, May, and June.
The median price in the region, which had 18 sales, rose to $212,500, according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.
That’s less than half of the $443,000 median for metropolitan Phoenix.
Charlie Wise, partner of Lost Dutchman Realty, said families with pre-approved FHA loans and veterans with VA mortgages are coming to Apache Junction from other parts of the Valley at higher prices. He said he was. The area has manufactured homes and mobile homes, as well as single-family homes built on site.
“Last week we put our Apache Junction home on the market for $359,000 and got five or six more offers,” Wise said. “Many of the sub-$400,000 homes are growing rapidly.”
Home prices recovered in many areas of the Phoenix area in the second quarter. An analysis of ARMLS data for the Republic of Arizona showed that the 85120 area was one of about 100 postal codes that experienced price increases.
Nearly 100 zip codes in the Valley saw median price declines in the fourth quarter of last year, while about 45 areas saw price increases in the first quarter of 2023.
New housing boom at Apache Junction
District 85120 is poised for rapid growth south of Pinal County, with new homes being built on Apache Junction land that was annexed from the Arizona Department of Lands several years ago.
Builders have obtained permits for 300 new homes on the Pinal side of 85,120 since February, according to RL Brown Housing Report.
A new community called Radiance at Superstition Vista is born on a large lot, close to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and Eastmark, one of Arizona’s fastest-selling new home communities. is expected to change.
At the end of the second quarter, the median home price on the Pinal side of 85120 was $324,000, up 8% from the first quarter.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Integrity All-Stars team real estate agent Rebecca Hidalgo Raines said the Superstition Vistas land could be a big investment in the East over the next decade, partly because Queen Creek is not currently focused on water issues. He said it would be where development would take place in the Valley.
Where prices have risen the most
The area with the largest increase in home prices in the second quarter is located across the street from the Phoenix metropolitan area and includes Queen Creek zip code 85142.
And the top zip codes with rising median prices range from affordable to luxury.
Northwest Phoenix, Uptown, Midtown, and West Central neighborhoods make the list of the top 10 Valley ZIP Codes with the biggest price increases.
Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, and north-central Glendale also saw significant increases in home prices.
where prices are falling
In the second quarter, home prices fell in about 30 zip codes in the Phoenix area.
About 75 zip codes in the Phoenix area saw median home price declines in the first quarter, while about 100 zip codes saw declines in the final quarter of 2022.
The area where the price fell also spans the valley, and the price is also diversified.
Home prices also fell by double digits in Downtown Mesa, Phoenix and Scottsdale.
In Glendale, Sun City, Carefree, and the rest of Phoenix and Mesa, home prices fell by single digits in the second quarter. In Paradise Valley, Maricopa County’s most expensive area, the median price fell about 5%.
Prices in the Valley’s five zip codes were flat in the second quarter of the year.
Have prices peaked in 2023?
Rising interest rates began cooling the overheated housing market in the Phoenix metropolitan area late last spring. Mortgage rates continue to hover around 7%, more than double what they were in the second half of 2021.
The metro-phoenix housing market has almost always slowed due to warmer summer temperatures, and now rising interest rates are also having an effect.
Still, the median price in the Phoenix area rose to $443,000 in June. From $435,000 in May, according to ARMLS.
The increase came after home sales fell 8% in June and the supply of homes for sale fell more than 4%.
However, the median price in July is expected to fall to $430,000.
According to Tom Ruff, a housing analyst at Information Market, a division of ARMLS, the Valley’s home buying season runs from early February until high temperatures outside deter buyers and sellers.
July was the hottest month in Phoenix history.
Ruff said the Valley’s home prices could hit a high in June in 2023.
Contact information for reporters is: catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com and olakunle.falayi@gannett.com.
