Phoenix real estate: In uncharted territory

The resale season starts in March with an upswing in real estate transactions, but last month's numbers were much higher than might be expected if this were a "normal" year. Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate at the W. P. Carey School, complies the monthly Realty Studies report for the Phoenix metro area. He notes that a promising trend toward fewer foreclosures appears to have shifted. The difficulty in projecting what will happen next is that we've never been in this place before. Here's what he has to say about those March numbers.

The resale season starts in March with an upswing in real estate transactions, but last month's numbers were much higher than might be expected if this were a "normal" year. Jay Q. Butler, associate professor of real estate at the W. P. Carey School, complies the monthly Realty Studies report for the Phoenix metro area.

He notes that a promising trend toward fewer foreclosures appears to have shifted. The difficulty in projecting what will happen next is that we've never been in this place before. Here's what he has to say about those March numbers.