National News
Arizona is a top five state for solar power usage, according to the new Greenest States to Move to in 2023 report.
Tempe ranked No. 79 overall and Tucson was No. 88. Both led the state with eight museums apiece.
Phoenix came in at No. 88 in this year’s 2023 World’s Best Cities Report, a comprehensive annual study by Resonance Consultancy.
From January through October of this year, the Maricopa County ZIP code had a median home sale price of $2.9 million.
The 100 most populous cities in the U.S. were ranked in several categories, including affordability, schools, safety, recreation opportunities and other socio-economic factors.
The 44th edition of the in-depth forecast report examined 80 cities to determine trends in the real estate industry for 2023.
Communities on the list were ranked based on economic opportunities, quality of life, diversity and where the best futures lie.
The markets cooling fastest are many of the same places that saw the biggest spikes in home prices during the last three years.
The price index dropped in Phoenix, too, declining 0.12% from June to July. Year over year, the Phoenix home price index is up 13.51%.
Sales of new homes in the U.S. jumped 28.8% between July and August, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The median single-family home price in the Phoenix metro area in 2011 was $115,500. Ten years later, it was $415,400, nearly a 260% increase.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $389,500, a 7.7% rise from the year before.
New-home construction posted a 12.2% month-over-month increase in August, thanks in large part to a significant jump in multifamily building.
A continuing combination of increased interest rates, supply-chain disruptions and high home prices has sapped homebuilder sentiment every month this year.
Norada cited the relatively lower cost of living and housing in the Phoenix area, attracting people from higher-cost cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle.
Mortgage applications declined 1.2% during the week ended Sept. 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.