Northern Arizona’s battered real estate market is seeing some signs of healing.
Home sales were up in the Flagstaff, Sedona and Prescott areas.
And prices between the first quarter of 2012 and 2011 were also up slightly in all areas except Prescott.
Does that mean prices have hit bottom?
“Prices have fallen 45 percent (in Sedona) and have only stabilized in the last three months,” says Andrew Brearley of Coldwell Banker in Sedona.
He points to another sign of life for the region – two homes over $2 million sold recently in Sedona.
The number of foreclosed and distressed homes on the market in the Flagstaff area – the ones driving overall prices down – is down.
Jerome Naleski of the Northern Arizona Associationof Realtors says the average sales price for the first quarter was $261,000 – about 100 grand less than six years ago.
“We’re seeing lots of first time home buyers just because that interest rate is so low,” he says.
The number of home sales also rose in Prescott by 8 percent, but prices still sagged with the average at $163,000.