Flagstaff Real Estate Annual Market Trends

The chapters for 2023 have been written and are in the books. It was an interesting year for the Flagstaff real estate market. Compare below the numbers from 2023 to other years’ performance dating back to 2005.

SALES VOLUME

The most significant change in the Flagstaff real estate market was the decline in sales volume. There were 683 single-family homes sold in the Flagstaff area in 2023. This is 182 less than the 865 sold in 2022 and 606 less than the all-time high of 1289 homes sold in 2020. High-interest rates impacted both buyers and sellers throughout the year. Many sellers who had mortgages in the 2-4% range were reluctant to list their home if they wanted to find a replacement home and had to finance their new purchase at a much higher rate.

Affordability was the major concern for buyers in 2023 who had to deal with the increase in interest rates and historically high sales prices. At the beginning of 2023, we predicted our market would see a decrease in sales and would probably remain lower than in past years unless interest rates started to drop. Our prediction became a reality throughout the year.

It is important to note that while we did see a drop in the total number of sales, we do believe there is still a strong demand for buyers looking for homes to purchase in our market.

MEDIAN SALES PRICE

The Flagstaff market experienced a modest increase in the year-over-year median sales price in 2023. The median sales price for single-family homes came in at $735,000, up $20,000 from $715,000 in 2022.

Supply levels remained low and there was enough buyer demand to keep prices from dropping. Although modest, prices held steady in 2023, much to the disappointment of those who thought we were headed for a correction in 2023.

We will continue to track the median prices throughout 2024 and share the market conditions and the relation to the anticipated drop in mortgage rates. We are optimistic the drop in rates will be beneficial for buyers and sellers alike.

MEDIAN APPRECIATION/DEPRECIATION YEAR OVER YEAR AS A PERCENTAGE

This is a new matrix we are providing for additional insight into the Flagstaff real estate market. This chart tracks the year-over-year comparison of the appreciation or depreciation of single-family home sales. The percentages you see in the graph correlate to price changes from the previous year as a percentage. We have had several clients over the years ask for this information and we are happy to add this information in our yearly report.

The numbers show that the Flagstaff market has been in positive growth since 2012. We saw the smallest annual increase in appreciation since 2012. While there are many factors impacting your individual home appreciation, it is nice to see the market as a whole.

AVERAGE PRICE/SQ. FT.

The average price per square foot for single-family homes came in at $399 for 2023. Similar to the other stats we have provided, we have seen a year-over-year increase in the price per square foot every year since 2012. While we do not solely rely on the price per square foot to give value to a property, it is a number that our industry tracks and reports on regularly. PLEASE do not expect this to be a direct correlation to your home’s value. Give us a call, and we schedule a time to meet with you and provide you with an in-depth analysis.

CONCLUSION

The big news for the year was definitely the low sales volume. Prices plateaued throughout the year with very modest increases. We are very excited to share the numbers throughout 2024 and give you insight into our ever-changing market. Best Flagstaff Homes has the best agents and we are here to help with your real estate needs. That’s ALL we do!!!