The Arizona economy is in recovery mode, with home prices on the rise and construction activity moving higher. Real GDP should grow at an above-average 2.5 percent this year, and hold that momentum into 2013 as the housing recovery strengthened according to the State Monitor Report by BMO Capital Markets Economics.There is increasing evidence that the housing market has stabilized. According to the S&P Case-Shiller Index, prices in Phoenix plunged 57 percent before bottoming last September, but they have surged nearly 20 percent.

This upward movement comes amid a significant drawdown in the months’ supply of homes available for sale, to just 2.3 percent in Q2, or back to pre-recession levels. Arizona suffered a deep housing recession, but upward price momentum is quickly alleviating the relatively high stress on the Arizona market.