Home prices in many metro Phoenix neighborhoods could finally fully recover from the crash this year, or at least get very close.

Last year was much better for rising home values in the Valley than 2014, according to Street Scout Home Values, an annual analysis of metro Phoenix’s housing market done with The Information Market.

Home prices in a lot of Valley neighborhoods, particularly the most affordable areas and those closer in, are climbing faster so far this year.

Many of the Valley's farthest-flung suburbs suffered the most during the crash. Many new homes in those areas were built and bought at the peak, foreclosed on during the crash and sat empty for years.

But now, metro Phoenix's edge suburbs are finally recovering as rising home prices closer in are driving more buyers farther out to find homes they can afford.

“This is the most normal market we have seen in the Valley since before 2005,” said Kevin Johnson of RE/MAX Renaissance Realty in Goodyear.

“It feels pretty good, and I don’t think there’s another shoe to drop.” 

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Seven Realty Executives brokerages from around the U.S. garnered a spot in RISMedia’s 27th Annual Power Broker Report ranking the top 500 firms. The report ranks companies based on two sets of criteria: each brokerage’s total closed transaction sides and total sales volume over 2014.

Realty Executives Phoenix out of Scottsdale, Arizona, was the leader in Realty Executives brokerages, followed by several other offices around the U.S.

The other brokerages who won top honors were: Realty Executives Associates in Knoxville, Tennesee; Realty Executives of Santa Clarita in Santa Clarita, California; Realty Executives of Kansas City in Leawood, Kansas; Realty Executives Integrity in Brookfield, Wisconsin; Realty Executives Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada; and a newcomer to the list from last year, Realty Executives Tucson Elitein Tucson, Arizona.

RISMedia President & CEO John Featherston called the firms included in the list among “the nation’s most elite” stating in a release that “being ranked in the Power Broker Report validates your firm’s reputation as a trusted resource for today’s homebuyers and sellers.”

The seven Realty Executives brokerages ranked overall comprise thousands of agents who within their offices closed more than $6.1 billion in real estate deals over the course of 26,211 transaction sides in 2014.

The ranking of Realty Executives International offices in RISMedia’s 2015 report are:

• Realty Executives Phoenix at #50 in transaction sides, closing 8,757 deals last year, and #59 in sales with more than $2.3 billion in business done during 2014. The Phoenix team did more than $100 million more in business over 2013.
  • So how’s the market? According to Freddie Mac’s Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi), Phoenix is improving with a steady increase in purchase applications, a good thing for both buyers and sellers.
• Realty Executives Associates at #88 in transaction sides, closing 5,681 deals in 2014, and #159 in sales after clearing nearly $1.1 billion in business last year. The Knoxville team did close to $200 million more in business over 2013.
  • So how’s the market? Although there’s a modest climb in purchase applications, more Knoxville residents have a strong payment-to-income ratio, making housing purchases continually affordable, according to MiMi.
• Realty Executives of Santa Clarita at #397 in transaction sides, closing 1,825 deals last year, and #227 in sales with nearly $800 million in business done during 2014.
  • So how’s the market? The Los Angeles metro area, including Santa Clarita according to MiMi, has seen a rise in both purchase applications and strength of payment-to-income ratio, making southern California an in-demand real estate market.
• Realty Executives of Kansas City at #215 in transaction sides, closing 3,027 deals in 2014, and #315 in sales after clearing more than $580 million in business last year.
  • So how’s the market? A comfortable payment-to-income ratio and an uptick in the health of the housing market (e.g. people staying up-to-date with current mortgages) is driving improvement in the Kansas City area, says MiMi.
• Realty Executives Integrity at #260 in transaction sides, closing 2,554 deals last year, and #321 in sales, with more than $575 million in business done during 2014.
  • So how’s the market? The percentage of people current on their mortgage, strong in their payment-to-income ratio and applying for homes are all up in the Milwaukee metro area. MiMi has the Wisconsin housing market as improving year over year.
• Realty Executives Nevada at #438 in transaction sides, closing 1,698 deals in 2014, and #406 in sales after clearing more than $450 million in business last year. The Nevada team did more than $30 million more in business over 2013.
  • So how’s the market? Las Vegas has been an embattled area since the crash, but employment, purchase applications and current mortgages are all up, according to MiMi data.
• Realty Executives Tucson Elite at #246 in transaction sides, closing 2,669 deals last year, and #419 in sales with nearly $435 million in business done during 2014.
  • So how’s the market? The second-largest metro area in Arizona, Tucson is also seeing an uptick in purchase applications much like Phoenix, MiMi data indicates.

But Freddie Mac says it’s still human insight that gives the best forecast as to what markets look like in a specific street or neighborhood. So what do our brokers think? According to Fafie Moore, Broker/Owner and President of Realty Executives of Nevada, that trend will continue throughout 2015. “The Southern Nevada market is stabilizing and reaching a healthy equilibrium between inventory and buyers,” Moore told RISMedia’s Real Estate Magazine. “Consumer confidence is returning for owner-occupied buyers.”

RISMedia is the real estate industry’s leading news source with trends and updates for consumers as well as business development strategies and tips for professionals. To learn more, read RISMedia’s Power Broker Report.