February home sales in the greater Phoenix area hit a four-year high last month after investors and all-cash purchasers flooded the market, research firm DataQuick said Thursday. The Arizona counties of Maricopa (Phoenix) and Pinal recorded a total of 7,248 new and resale home sales during the month of February, up 5.5% from January and 6.2% from a year ago. Meanwhile, the median sale price dropped year-over-year for the eighth consecutive month, with sales of homes priced $100,000 or below, outpacing newly built homes that held at record lows in terms of sales, DataQuick said. Sales below $100,000 represented 40.4% of all transactions in February, which is stable from January and still the highest level since the onset of the housing downturn. This same time last year Arizona homes priced under $100,000 made up roughly 31.6% of the area’s home sales. “Last month’s sales were the highest for a February since 8,940 sold in February 2007,” DataQuick said. “But last month’s tally still fell 9.7% short of the average number of sales for the month of February since 1994. Last month’s sales of new homes were the lowest on record for a February.” Write to Kerri Panchuk.

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