The January numbers are out for the Phoenix real estate market and they’re not spectacular. But even when the market is normal, January is slow, says real estate expert Mike Orr. Activity during February and March is signaling growing strength in the market at last.

The February report on the Phoenix real estate market contains welcome news. Recovery is here. That's according to Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice and author of the monthly housing report.

The high volatility that electrified the Phoenix real estate market over the past few years has been replaced by something more like normality. Change is more gradual.

Shrinking supply has been the story in the Phoenix real estate market for months, but relief could be here in the second half of the year — at least for some buyers.

The numbers are in, and the real estate market finished 2015 on a high point, especially for new home sales. December was the strongest month for new home sales since 2008, with nearly 1,500 newly built homes recorded. That’s up 45 percent from November and 58 percent from December 2014.