February Phoenix Solar Home Sales Continue Slide

Phoenix area solar home sales continued their month over month decline in salesaccording to recent data from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) from February 1, 2016 to February 29, 2016.

There were a total of 60 verified solar home sales in Maricopa County for the month of February, down from the 65 confirmed sales in January.  Homes with a solar leases (whether monthly lease payments or prepaid monthly solar leases) accounted for 43 of the 60 sales (71.7%) while homes with solar owned electric systems accounted for the balance of 17 (28.3%) of the Phoenix area solar home sales in February 2016.

The median price for a solar home in Phoenix dropped to $250,000, down from $285,000 in January.  Leased solar homes had a median price of $252,000 (down from the median of $280,000 in January) while the median price for a solar owned home dropped $213,000 in February from $308,000 the month before. The median price for a single family residence under $500,000 in Maricopa County in February was $228,000, up slightly from January 2016.

The median days on the market for a resale home in Maricopa County was 50 days in February 2016.  Solar in general stayed within reach of the average market with an median time to sell at 51 days.  Phoenix homes with a solar owned system took less time with an average of 53 days while Phoenix area homes with solar leases took 49 days as well. The average days on the market for a solar home in Maricopa County was 62 days versus a market average of 68 days (solar leases had an average market time of 61 days while solar owned was 70 days).

Three-quarters of the total solar home sales in Maricopa County were in APS territory (76.7%) while the remaining 23.3 percent of the solar homes were within SRP territory.  SRP solar homes sold in 56 days versus solar homes selling in 51 days in APS territory.  The median price for a solar home in APS territory was $221,000 and SRP territory was $257,500.

Mortgages helped finance 85 percent of all solar sales in the Phoenix area in February, up from the previous month.  Conventional financing (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages) accounted for 41.7 percent of the total solar home sales in the Phoenix area while FHA and VA financing total 36.7 percent and 6.7 percent respectively. Cash home buyers purchased 15 percent of the total Phoenix solar homes for sale in February.  Sellers contributed towards buyer’s closing costs in one-third of all sales (30 percent).

The typical solar home sold in the Phoenix area in February was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with 1,970 square feet on a 7,419 square foot lot.  The solar home was built in 2001 and had a 6 kW solar array on the roof.

Considering selling a home with solar? Want to know how much additional value solar adds to your home? Give Rob, the Solar Home Broker, a call at 480-888-1234!

NOTE:  Only resale single family residences that sold during the month of February 2016 in Maricopa County with a sales price of $500,000 or less were used in the analysis (non-luxury market).  Properties priced over $500,000 fall into the luxury category and were not used in this analysis. All sales were verified to have a solar electric (solar PV) system that was owned outright by the home owner or had a solar lease.  While all attempts were made to ensure quality and accurate data, I am limited by the data reported (for example, only 30 percent of listing Realtors actually inputted the size of the solar system).  Homes with only solar water heaters or solar thermal pool systems that did not have a solar electric system on the roof were not included due to the extreme differences in these types of systems.