Apr. 1, 2009 12:00 AM
Paradise Valley’s housing market didn’t do as well as the area’s 2008 median price might indicate.
The Valley Home Values’ analysis of home prices tracked by ZIP codes showed the median home price only fell about 1 percent in 85253, which spans all the upscale neighborhoods of Paradise Valley. That small price decline looks pretty good compared with those in many parts of metropolitan Phoenix, where prices plummeted more than 20 percent last year.
But several Paradise Valley real-estate agents say the median home price doesn’t tell the real story for the high-priced home area.
The 85253 ZIP code definitely has the most expensive homes, with a median price of $1.74 million. Considering that one house in the area sold for $14 million last year, Paradise Valley also has the largest range in home prices. A wide range in prices does make it more difficult to track an area’s home values with one measure.
Here are some other Paradise Valley home-price statistics from real-estate agent Walt Danley’s group at Coldwell Banker.
• Average list price per square foot for roughly the first quarter of this year is $371. That compares with $544 during the same period in 2008.
• Average sale price per square foot for this year is $323. Last year, it was $490.
Danley, who has been selling homes in Paradise Valley for more than 30 years, estimates the area’s prices are down about 30 percent from the peak in 2005-06.
He said foreclosure properties owned by lenders have hurt Paradise Valley’s housing market, as they have harmed the rest of the Valley. But now, as in many other parts of the Valley, activity and buyer interest is picking up in Paradise Valley.
“We are at the bottom or very close,” he said. “In the past two weeks, we have received multiple offers on homes priced about $5 million.”
