Catherine Reagor
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 29, 2007 11:02 AM
The housing market hasn’t hit bottom yet, despite predictions of a possible mid-year rebound.

New figures show home building permits in metropolitan Phoenix fell last month to their lowest level since January. So far this year, single-family permits are 22 percent behind 2006′s pace.

This is 36 percent lower than the frenzied market peak of 2005. Last year, forecasts called for metro Phoenix’s housing market to start rebounding in early 2007. When that didn’t happen, the hope was for a comeback mid-year. Now real estate analysts are looking at 2008 for a pick up in housing.

“The Valley’s housing market is still looking for the bottom,” said RL Brown, publisher of the Phoenix Housing Market Letter. “It all hinges on the oversupply of homes now, not only new spec homes but resales that aren’t selling as consumers stand on the sidelines.”

Brown is revising his 2007 housing forecast downward. In January, he estimated home-building permits would hit 41,000 this year. But for the first five months of 2007, the permit tally stands at 17,172.

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