Arizona
home prices were up again in August, according to the home data provider
RealtyTrac. It says median home prices
were up 20-percent from a year ago, putting the state in the top five in the country
for increasing prices. But, RealtyTrac Vice President Darren Blomquist says
sales volume was actually down in Arizona
last month, putting the state in a group of only four states with such a
decline.
Blomquist says institutional investors, those groups and
individuals that have purchased ten or more homes in the last twelve months are
beginning to leave the state.
“I actually think the institutional investors starting to
back out of the Arizona market is a
good thing, because that means its becoming a more broad based recovery, as
opposed to based just on the backs of these institutional investors,” Blomquist
said.
Phoenix
was among the top metro areas for price increases in August. RealtyTrac says the median price in the metro
area was up 25-percent from August of 2012.