May 21, 2013
Arizona jobless rate steady at 7.9 percent for 3rd straight month
New figures show the state’s economy continues to plug along. Arizona’s jobless rate last month was 7.9%. That’s the third straight month at that level. The 2,100 job gain in retail trade is the best since the recession ended. There also was strong growth in employment in wholesale trade. Additionally, Arizona added 3,100 jobs in professional and business services. Overall, employment in the state is 48,000 more than a year earlier. Read article – East Valley Tribune
May 15, 2013
Homebuyer need: More knowledge when it comes to mortgages
Recent surveys by Zillow and a Yale Law Journal study found:
* One-third of about 1,000 potential buyers who took Zillow’s Mortgage IQ Survey did not know they could get a mortgage with less than 5% down (FHA and VA)
* One-third of buyers incorrectly believe that all lenders are required by law to charge the same fees for credit reports and appraisals
* 24% believed the best interest rates and fees are only obtained through their own bank Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
May 13, 2013
Veteran analyst’s take on rising metro Phoenix home prices
In today’s Phoenix housing market, there is an imbalance between supply and demand. During the past three years, much of the available housing supply has come from bank foreclosures. In April, only 500 homes were foreclosed on and reverted to the bank. The banks will no longer be able to bolster the supply necessary to meet current demand, according to analyst Tom Ruff.
Read article – azcentral.com
May 10, 2013
McMansions making a comeback locally
New home prices are soaring at a much faster pace than existing homes in metro Phoenix – 22% versus 12.6% year-over-year in March. One of the biggest reasons is that so-called “McMansions” have been making a comeback. The 321 new homes throughout Maricopa County that sold in March were 30% larger on average than normal resales. In wealthier parts of the Valley, new homes were even bigger. The average was 3,400 square feet in Chandler and the roughly 4,100 square feet in Scottsdale. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
May 8, 2013
Arizona mortgage delinquencies drop more than 30 percent
In March, the number of Arizona homeowners who were more than 90 days late on their mortgage payments or in some stage of foreclosure plummeted by more than 30% year-over-year – by far the biggest drop in the nation. That big drop brought Arizona’s “non-current” rate to the 9th lowest in the nation at 6.4% for the month. That’s significantly lower than the nationwide average of 10%. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
May 5, 2013
Phoenix housing prices up 30% in past year
Metro Phoenix kicked off the bustling home-buying season with another big price surge while the local supply problem worsened, according a report released Friday from ASU. In March, single-family homes saw prices climb by nearly 30% year-over-year in March to $175,000 – a 3% increase from the previous month. Slightly less than 12,000 active single-family listings that were not under contract on April 1. Only 20% of those active listings on April 1 were priced below $150,000. That’s a 29-day supply versus a 39-day supply in March. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
April 26, 2013
Apartment rents on the rise in Phoenix
Metro Phoenix apartment rents are expected to rise 2.9% to an average $775 a month by the end of the year after rising @% last year. The most recent forecast from Marcus & Millichap also calls for the region’s apartment vacancy rate to fall to 6.2%. Currently, there are about 3,800 apartment units under construction in the metro area, and another 17,000 units are on the drawing board. Read article – azcentral.com
April 24, 2013
Update to Phoenix building code ready for City Council’s vote
Phoenix officials would like to update the city’s building code to accommodate issues such as installing solar-shade structures on grocery-store parking lots and relaxing requirements for historic buildings. City officials have completed changes to the Phoenix Building Construction Code. The code gets upgraded approximately every three years. The subcommittee approved the changes and sent them to the City Council, which will likely vote in early May. Read article – azcentral.com
April 22, 2013
Supply of homes starts to catch up with sales
The supply of newly listed homes for sale is starting to show signs of keeping pace with buyer activity in some of the nation’s hottest real estate markets. In 21 of 24 metro areas tracked by ZipRealty, new listings outnumbered new sales contracts for the 30 days ended March 15. Phoenix is among the cities seeing this trend. Read article – USA Today
The New Rules of House Flipping
Today’s flippers are being more selective – putting more money down and making calculated bets on smart renovations. This article some tips for flipping in today’s market:
1. Pick your spots – Flipping in some places generates higher profits that others
2. Cash is king
3. Renovations matter, but stick to a budget
4. Be prepared to hold – You might want to rent the property out for a while as the housing market continues to recover Read article – Yahoo! Finance
April 19, 2013
Metro Phoenix luxury home sales on the rise
The number of metro Phoenix luxury houses for sale is on the rise. This is a good sign because fewer of the houses are foreclosures or short-sale listings. At the beginning of April, there were 2,267 houses listed at $500,000 or more on the market – a 3% increase from the previous month. Of the upscale houses for sale, 90 were short sales. That compares with 182 a year prior. Only 13 of the homes were lender-owned. Last year, 47 luxury houses were lender-owned. Read article – azcentral.com
5 Ways Sellers Can Prepare for a Home Inspection
Home sellers and their agents have an important role in preparing for a home inspection to help ensure it goes smoothly. Here are some tips:
1. Don’t hide what isn’t working – Leave a note that indicates what isn’t working and how you’re getting it fixed
2. Make things accessible - For example, identify the location of the attic and crawlspace are identified and easy to access.
3. Check the lightbulbs - If a lightbulb isn’t working, the inspector will need to determine if the fixture is inoperable.
4. Note septic systems - Leave a sketch that includes the location of it.
5. Keep appliances clear - For example, make sure the washing machine or dryer are empty so that they can be tested. Read article – Realtor Magazine
April 17, 2013
Phoenix Among 7 Housing Markets That Are Roaring Back
The latest FNC Residential Price Index recorded a 28-month high for home prices in February (the most recent data available). The index increased 6.1% – the fastest rate it’s grown since July 2006. Phoenix ranked #1 on the list with a year-over-year price gain of 29.3%. Read article – Realtor Magazine
April 15, 2013
Metro Phoenix housing market boosted by population growth
Estimates on the number of people who could potentially move to Arizona in the next decade or two help determine business, government and consumer decisions. Statistics include:
- The Phoenix area is expected to grow by approximately 96,000 people a year for the next three decades.
- The region’s population will increase to 6.9 million in 2040 from 4.3 million now. Read article – azcentral.com
April 12, 2013
Investor home-buying update for metro Phoenix
Wall Street funds and other large well-funded investors continue to buy houses in metro Phoenix, despite the jump in sales prices. Some of the early investors, who bought in 2009, have flipped the houses for a quick profit. However, most of these buyers are holding on to the properties and turning them into long-term rentals. THR Phoenix, also known as Treehouse LLC, currently owns more than 6,000 houses in metro Phoenix. The company’s purchases are funded by international investor Blackstone Group.Read article – azcentral.com
April 10, 2013
127 luxury homes to be built in prime Phoenix location
KB Home has entered a $6.4 million deal for a 16-acre lot in a prime Phoenix location, where it plans to build 127 luxury homes. The site is located behind the Walgreens at the northwest corner of Tatum Boulevard and Greenway Road, about 2 miles north of Paradise Valley Mall. He said construction will kick off this summer, with model homes slated to be ready by early fall. Homes will range in size from about 2,000 to 2,845 square feet.
Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 29, 2013
Investors dropping out as Phoenix home prices show 36.5 percent gains
As the shortage of homes for sale worsened last month, the metro Phoenix housing market kicked off home-buying season with dramatic price gains and a drop in investor interest. The supply problem shoved median Valley home prices to $170,000 in February — up by 36.5% year-over-year, and by nearly 5% from the previous month, according to the latest report from Arizona State University. The average price per square foot was $110.44 – up almost 31% year-over-year. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 27, 2013
Phoenix leads nation in flash sales
When it comes to homes sold within 24 hours of being listed, Phoenix leads the nation. While some home buyers are ready to act fast, others take a slower approach. The Phoenix market saw 540 flash sales over the last five months. Agents sometimes don’t even get a chance to post a for sale sign. And some buyers are actually making offers based only on pictures and specs they see on the internet. Read article – kpho.com
March 25, 2013
Metro Phoenix real estate now a burgeoning seller’s market
Last week, approximately 13,000 houses and condos were listed for sale across the region. In 2008, there were four times as many houses for sale. Houses, particularly those priced below $200,000, are selling faster than they have since mid-2006. The typical house now sells within 72 days – half the time it took five years ago. The limited supply of moderately priced houses is most out of whack with demand. Many first-time buyers, investors and others are seeking properties listed at or around $150,000. The median price of a house for sale in metro Phoenix during February was $185,000. Read article – azcentral.com
March 22, 2013
Valley Home Values: The best and the worst
Here are some of the highlights of the best and worst in the metro Phoenix housing market in 2012:
* Biggest increase in median price – 55.2% in the 85015 ZIP Code
* Biggest increase in sales – 52.5% in 85012
* Highest Median home price – $382,500 in 85054
* Highest number of sales – 1,268 in 85041
* Overall, Phoenix’s median home price climbed 35% Read article – azcentral.com
March 20, 2013
Wall Street Institutions Behind Home Price Surges In Markets Like Phoenix
Housing stocks have surged over the past year and billionaire investors like Warren Buffett have been exceedingly vocal about the investment opportunities brick and mortar properties have represented. Now those Wall Street bulls have been helping fuel the surge in home prices. Institutional investors have been targeting specific markets and then accelerating purchases of REOs in those markets. Investor activity has been particularly robust in Atlanta, Ga., Detroit, Mich., Las Vegas, Nev., Phoenix, Ariz., and Calif.’s Los Angeles, Riverside and Sacramento.
Read article – Forbes
March 18, 2013
Plans for Sierra Reserve, 250 custom homes and a resort
Developer Lyle Anderson plans to build 250 custom homes and a resort on 223 acres – one of the last residential parcels in the northeast Valley city. Plans for Sierra Reserve began to take shape at the height of the housing boom and have evolved in the years since. The community at Dynamite Road and 118th Street is Anderson’s smallest development so far, and his first since 2008. Read article – azcentral.com
March 12, 2013
Phoenix commercial real estate market gaining strength, but will sequestration wipe it away?
Commercial real estate may be a few steps behind the housing market’s rapid recovery in metro Phoenix, but it has still been making steady gains this past year. 2012 growth in office and industrial jobs Valleywide last year ranked sixth- and eighth-highest in the nation, respectively. However, improvements may be thrown into reverse if Congress is unable to reach a deal later this month to scale back widespread federal spending cuts. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 11, 2013
ASU: Phoenix-area home prices surge 35%
During the bustling holiday season, metro Phoenix home prices declined slightly as expected. Then, prices returned to a path of steady incline during the first month of 2013 – surging 35.3% year-over-year. The median single-family home price in January was $163,000 – up from $120,500 a year ago. The average price per square foot climbed by 28.5% to an average $106.20. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 8, 2013
Short sales surge in Phoenix housing market
Metro Phoenix remains one of the hottest spots in the nation to scoop up bargain deals on homes. Locally, short sales surged by 43% during the last quarter of 2012 from a year earlier, ranking metro Phoenix the 14th best market to buy short sales in the nation. The average short sale in Phoenix sold for $149,094 during the fourth quarter and took slightly more than six months to close. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 6, 2013
Picture brighter for residential property
Values on all types of residential property in metro Phoenix – single-family houses, condominiums, apartments and manufactured housing – climbed in 2012. And, although commercial property and land values didn’t rise, it appears their biggest declines are in the past as well. The recent vacant-land buying spree by homebuilders has likely helped boost Phoenix-area land prices. “Not all property types are seeing such a strong recovery, but we are beginning to see improvement in most property types in Maricopa County,” said Assessor Keith Russell. Read article – azcentral.com
March 4, 2013
Retail Developers Poised for Upswing
With the Phoenix economy mending, all indications point to a real estate market that’s the hottest in the nation. Before retail developers jump in, W. P. Carey economist Dennis Hoffman cautions them to consider how the retail landscape has changed. The questions they need to ask now include: Will buyers continue to want cheaper and newer homes on the fringe, accepting the long commute? Or will they prefer to live closer, in denser, more urban areas? Are they going to keep working in offices or will they telecommute more? Read article – WP Carey
March 1, 2013
CityScape developer, other boosters plot new downtown Phoenix blueprint
The architects of the new Downtown Phoenix Inc. group see the group and new downtown economic development efforts as a real maturation of the decades-long effort to bring vibrancy to the historically sleepy central business district. One of the leaders of the new efforts, CityScape developer Mike Ebert, lists grabbing more retail and residents on downtown’s wish list. Others talk about encouraging more entrepreneurs, creative businesses, infill developers and other “urban pioneers” to come to the downtown area. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 1, 2013
Mortgage Rates Break Holding Pattern, Move Lower
Average fixed mortgage rates moved lower after being largely unchanged over the past month, according to the latest results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey®. 30-year FRMs averaged 3.51% with an average 0.8 point for the week ending February 28, 2013. They averaged 3.56% last week and 3.90% a year ago. 15-year FRMs averaged 2.76% this week with an average 0.8 point. They averaged 2.77% last week and 3.17% a year ago. Read article – Realty Times
February 27, 2013
New-home sales spike in January
In January, the sales volume of new homes nationwide reached the highest point in 4.5 years. Valley-wide new home sales climbed to 1,065 in December – up a 30% year-over-year, according to a recent ASU report. As a result, new-home sales boosted their market share from 9% to 13% within the previous 12 months. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
February 27, 2013
Jumbo home loans are back, but far below 2007 levels
Lenders now see jumbos as a safe and profitable way to make money on their low-cost deposits. And secondary market investors are starting to regain their taste for these comparatively high-yielding loans. These once-pricey loans are being offered at interest rates that are barely higher than conventional mortgages. Even though loan volume is increasing, it is nowhere near 2007 levels. Read article – NBC News
February 25, 2013
They bailed on mortgage, but now want to buy again
Home sales are making a comeback, thanks in part to investor demand, improving consumer confidence in housing, and the surprising return of former homeowners who once walked away from their commitments. These so-called “strategic defaulters,” some of them investors and some owner-occupants, are coming back to the market, despite damaged credit, and apparently the market is welcoming them back. Read article – NBC News
February 25, 2013
Americans in Poll See Housing Market Boosting Economic Growth
A Bloomberg National Poll finds that Americans, by a margin of more than 3 to 1, expect the housing market to improve over the next 12 months, part of a broader brightening in their outlook for the economy. Fifty percent of poll respondents say the market will continue to get better in 2013 compared with only 16% who say they expect it to decline. An additional 31% say the market will stay about the same. Read article – Bloomberg
February 22, 2013
Phoenix-area median prices of homes climb after dip in 2011
Most metro Phoenix homeowners will see the first increase in their property’s assessed value since 2007 when they receive their annual statement from the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office. The median value of a house in metro Phoenix rose almost 16% during 2012 after falling 7.6% in 2011. The overall median value of single-family houses in the county climbed to $127,000 in 2012 from $109,600 in 2011. Read article – azcentral.com
4 Big Short Sales Hang-ups
Short sales are increasing this year. This article covers the four most common delays including:
- Title issues – The title exam should be performed at the beginning to verify ownership and identify liens
- Lack of communication with the lender – Follow up with the mortgage servicer twice a week
- Delaying the start – Waiting for the contract to purchase to be initiated can add two extra months
- Incomplete packages – Submit all the documents completely and accurately Read article – Realtor Magazine
February 20, 2013
5 Best Markets for Home Sellers – Phoenix #4
With less competition from falling inventories, list prices have risen in many areas. Realtor.com has identified the five best places to sell in 2013. The Phoenix-Mesa metro area made the list at #4. List prices have risen 23.59% year-over-year, while inventories have fallen nearly 16%. Read article – Realtor Magazine
February 15, 2013
Arizona’s mortgage delinquencies rate falls to 5.18%
Arizona’s gradual housing recovery has entered a new phase, with mortgage delinquencies here no longer elevated compared with the rest of the nation. Arizona mortgages 60 or more days past due fell to 5.18% in the fourth quarter from 7.5% one year earlier. Nationally, past-due mortgages eased to 5.19% from 5.41% at the end of 2011. Average Arizona mortgage balances also dropped notably, to $189,900 from $197,319 one year earlier. Read article – azcentral.com
February 11, 2013
Metro Phoenix housing: Today’s land sales, tomorrow’s growth
Developers and homebuilders are scrambling to buy property for dozens of new subdivisions projected to spring up over the next few years. Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Queen Creek, along with north Peoria, are the hottest spots for new-home sales now, but Surprise, Buckeye and Goodyear are expected to move up quickly. With new-home building up 71 percent in 2012 over 2011 and the number of available lots dwindling, homebuilders sealed nearly 100 land deals in December alone that will create thousands of homesites. Read article – azcentral.com
February 8, 2013
Phoenix-area home prices rose 34 percent in 2012
This article examines a year-end report released Thursday by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. In 2012, median home prices were up by almost 34% and foreclosures plunged by a staggering 51%. In addition, cash investors who have been causing a throbbing headache for traditional buyers are apparently showing less interest in the market. Despite an encouraging 13% rise in supply during Q4, the number of existing homes listed on the Arizona Regional MLS (not under contract) on Jan. 1 dropped again by 6.5% month-over-month to 12,623 total listings. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
February 6, 2013
Median Phoenix home prices jumped 29% in 2012
Phoenix led the nation in improving housing prices among 33 metro areas in a study released last week by ZipRealty. Median home prices in Phoenix in 2012 were up 29% over the previous year – that’s well above the 11% increase nationally. Phoenix’s median home price of $145,000 in 2012 was up from $112,329 the previous year, and the number of days a home was on the market dropped to 24.8 from 42.5. Read article – azcentral.com
February 4, 2013
Going Places? Post Bust is Inflection Point for Phoenix
Criticism of the Phoenix metro area ranges from: it’s not walkable, to it’s just a giant bedroom community with too much sprawl. So where does metro Phoenix go from here? Experts say it’s time for the real estate sector to move from a purely transaction-focused economy to a transformative economy — and start making places. If residents can identify a unique brand for the Valley and the future they want, communities can organize public policy and resources to drive real estate opportunities in the desired direction. Read article – knowre
Big money betting big on housing
Investors are demonstrating their confidence in the housing recovery. Hedge funds and private equity firms have been buying up companies and assets in every part of the housing supply chain, including undeveloped land, homebuilders, foreclosed homes, and building parts manufacturers. Hedge fund manager John Paulson, best known for his big (and lucrative) bets against subprime mortgages in 2006 and 2007, is one of the most notable players. He’s snapping up undeveloped land in areas hardest hit by the housing crisis. Read article – CNN Money
February 1, 2013
Scoring a bargain on a foreclosed home in Phoenix not easy
The number of Phoenix homeowners losing their properties to foreclosure has taken a nosedive over the past year, and the downward trend is expected to be ongoing this year. For the Valley, foreclosure activity last year plummeted by about 37% year-over-year – the biggest drop of all 20 of the nation’s largest markets, RealtyTrac said. Phoenix also has significantly fewer foreclosures available on the market, relatively speaking, with only a nine-month supply last year. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
FHA to Raise Premiums on Its Mortgages
The FHA has announced that it will be hiking premiums on the majority of its new mortgages by 10 basis points, or 0.1%. This is expected to add $13 a month to the average borrower’s monthly payments, according to the organization. The changes are a way to reduce FHA’s exposure to risky loans. Borrowers with jumbo loans will also see premiums increase, by 5 basis points or 0.05 percent. The minimum downpayment requirement on jumbo loans will go from 3.5% to 5%. Most borrowers will be required to pay insurance premiums for the life of the loan.
Read article – Realtor Magazine
January 30, 2013
Case-Shiller: Phoenix shows largest gain in US home prices
Home prices accelerated nationwide in November from a year ago thanks to rising sales and a tighter supply of homes on the market. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose 5.5% in November from a year ago – the largest year-over-year gain in six years. The largest gain was posted by Phoenix – a gain of nearly 23%. Following Phoenix was San Francisco with a 12.7% gain, and Detroit with a 11.9% increase. Read article – azfamily.com
January 28, 2013
Phoenix area has 7 of 50 best-selling housing developments in the US
Of the top 50 best-selling residential developments in the nation in 2012, seven of them are in metro Phoenix. The Phoenix-area communities that made the list include:
#23: Ironwood Crossing in Queen Creek – 309 sales last year – a 166.4%-spike year-over-year
#27: Power Ranch in Phoenix – 302 sales last year – up 32.5# year-over-year
#29: Vistancia in Phoenix – 292 sales last year – a surge of almost 66# year-over-year
#39: Hastings Farms in Queen Creek – 242 sales in its first year last year Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
January 18, 2013
RealtyTrac: Arizona’s home foreclosure rate improves (slightly)
Foreclosure activity throughout Arizona was down significantly – by 33% from 2011 and 51% from 2012. That 33% year-over-year decline in foreclosure activity last year was also the fourth-biggest drop in the nation. Arizona’s 2.69% foreclosure rate for 2012 means that nearly 76,500 homes statewide had a foreclosure filing at some point of the year. In other terms, that’s one in every 37 existing homes in Arizona that entered some stage of the foreclosure process. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
January 16, 2013
Phoenix luxury home market slowly recovering
A new report from local real estate experts Michael Orr and Walt Danley shows the luxury home market – which accounts for homes priced above $1 million – did not experience the extreme declines as seen in the overall Valley housing market. In addition, values on those homes have been recovering at a slower pace than most. Last year, luxury home sales – about 800 – reached the highest level since 2007. By the end of 2012, luxury home prices had also risen slightly by about 5% to $291 per square foot, and are expected to continue rising. The supply of luxury homes for sale was roughly in balance with demand by the end of last year. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
January 11, 2013
Will Higher Prices Attract More Sellers to Recovering Phoenix Market?
The latest report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU finds:
* Single family home prices rose sharply between October and November and show very large increases since November 2011:
o The median sales price is up 35.4% from $120,000 to $162,500
o Average price per square foot is up 27.4% from $81.92 to $104.34
* Overall supply (excluding homes already under contract) was down 7% at the start of December 2012 compared with December 2011, and distressed supply was down 43% over the same time frame. However overall supply increased by 31% between September and December.
* The percentage of residential properties purchased by investors remains high at 27.5% but is now in a clear downward trend having peaked at 35.3% in August. Read article – WP Carey
January 7, 2013
Homeowners insurance costs rise for many Phoenix homeowners
Many metro Phoenix homeowners can expect to see an increase in the cost of home insurance. Most major insurers selling premiums in Arizona began to raise rates last year. The Arizona Department of Insurance conducts an annual survey of the state’s home-insurance providers. In 2011, insurers that participated reported an average rate increase of 6%, compared with 2% in 2010. Insurance-industry reports have said the frequency and cost of homeowners’ insurance claims are on the rise nationwide, prompting providers to raise premiums. The 2012 survey hasn’t been completed yet, but last year’s report warned that dry weather, storms and wildfires could drive up insurance prices. Read article – azcentral.com
December 21, 2012
Brookings ranks Phoenix #3 for economic
Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program’s “MetroMonitor” index of economic recovery compared the 100 cities on how far they have recovered from their lowest recession-period doldrums in employment, economic output and home prices. Phoenix ranked 3rd among the nation’s top 100 metro areas in terms of economic recovery. The latest numbers peg Phoenix as #1 in the housing prices category, which have risen 10.1% since their lowest recession “trough” period in the second quarter of 2011. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
December 21, 2012
FHA to Tighten Up Mortgage Standards in 2013
In an effort to make up for a large budget shortfall, the FHA announced it will publish new mortgage standards for certain home owners and replace a popular reverse-mortgage program on Jan. 31, 2013. Among the changes, borrowers with credit scores between 580 and 620 will face stricter underwriting standards. Such borrowers will face stricter limits on their debt-to-income ratio. The FHA also will soon require a minimum down payment of 5% for high-cost mortgages that exceed $625,500. Read article – Realtor Magazine
East Valley, greater Phoenix region tabbed among best for job prospects Read article – East Valley Tribune
Arizona unemployment under 8 percent for first time in 4 years Read article – East Valley Tribune
December 19, 2012
Sam Fox project could renew area
A former Ducati motorcycle shop in north central Phoenix is being transformed into a neighborhood-style restaurant hub. Successful restaurateur Sam Fox and former partners from the mall developer Westcor are undertaking the redevelopment of the large, empty industrial building along Seventh Street north of Missouri Avenue. The $8 million project called the Yard could have as many as five restaurants. Neighborhood restaurant hubs are still a relatively new concept in central Phoenix. Upward Projects launched the trend a decade ago at 40th Street and Campbell Avenue with Le Grande Orange and the Postino Wine Cafe. Read article – azcentral.com
December 19, 2012
Barclays: ‘Turning Point’ for Home Owners in 2013
Falling housing inventories and an increase in demand bode well for the market’s recovery next year, according to Barclays 2013 housing outlook report. Real estate wealth is expected to give a long-awaited boost to consumer spending in 2013. “This would mark an important turning point for household balance sheets, where net-wealth effects from falling financial prices and the collapse of the housing market have been significant impediments to the strength of consumer spending and, in turn, the pace of the broader recovery,” Barclays reports. Read article – Realtor Magazine
Banner center adding 2nd building Read article – azcentral.com
Space near Scottsdale Airport sells for nearly $10 million Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
Whispering Wind Corp Ctr Sells for $12.2M Read article – CoStar
Mountain Park Ranch Sells in Phoenix Read article – CoStar
More Real Estate Pros Optimistic About Home Values Read article – Realtor Magazine
December 14, 2012
Report: Surge in new-home sales signals rebound under way
According to a report by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, 1,021 new single-family homes were sold in the Phoenix area during October, an 85 percent increase from the same month last year. For the year, 7,399 new single-family homes have been sold, up 37 percent from the same period in 2011. New home sales held 12% of residential property market share this October, up from 7% in 2011, the report said. The rebound is also spurring residential property investors to buy land in the Valley. Read article – East Valley Tribune
Mortgage Rates Continue to Fall
Fixed-rate mortgages sank down near their record lows last week , according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.32%, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.34% average. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.66%, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 2.67% average. Read article – Realtor Magazine
December 12, 2012
Phoenix leads nation in home price gains
Home prices in Phoenix area rebounded at the highest rate of any metro area in the country during the past year, with the price of an average home jumping 9.5%, according to new figures from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The next four top gainers on the list are Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (7.6%), Boise, Idaho (6.7%), Bakersfield, Calif. (4.5%) and San Jose, Calif. (3.5%). Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
Foreclosures fall in metro Phoenix: will big investors stop buying? Read article – azcentral.com
December 10, 2012
Metro Phoenix: Shrinking inventory for big investors
As foreclosures continue to fall in metro Phoenix, the dominant buyers and sellers in the region are changing. Fewer sales of lender-owned inexpensive foreclosure homes means a rapidly shrinking pool of houses for investors to purchase. As a result, more homeowners will be able to sell to buyers for higher prices because they aren’t competing with lenders. In November, lenders foreclosed on 1,549 houses in Maricopa County. During 2011, a typical number of foreclosures was 4,000 to 5,000 a month. The total number of foreclosures in lenders’ pipelines across metro Phoenix was 10,606 at the end of November. A year ago, there were double that many foreclosures under way in the region. Two years ago, there were more than 40,000. Read article – azcentral.com
November 29, 2012
Phoenix leads as home prices rise in most cities across the nation
Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller reported Tuesday that its 20-city index of home prices rose 3% in September compared with the same month last year. Across the nation, prices increased in 18 of 20 cities over the 12-month period. In Phoenix, prices jumped 20.4% over that stretch to lead all cities. Steady increases in home prices have helped drive a modest recovery in the housing market. Rising prices encourage more potential buyers to come off the sidelines and purchase homes. And more people may put their homes on the market as they gain confidence that they can sell at a good price. Higher home prices can also make homeowners feel wealthier and more likely to spend more. Read article – East Valley Tribune
November 29, 2012
Arizona’s state revenue up 2.6 percent in October
Revenue for state government is up amid what legislative budget analysts call a sluggish, slow-growth economy. October’s revenue increased by 2.6 percent over the same month a year earlier, with the increase largely propelled by 5 percent growth of individual income taxes.Sales tax collections rose by just under 1 percent in October. Collections from retail sales were up but collections on contracting were down for the second straight month. Revenue figures were reported by the staff of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Read article – East Valley Tribune
November 26, 2012
Phoenix’s new home market draws more buyers in October
New home sales shot up in metro Phoenix during October. Last month, 1,101 closings were recorded for new houses. That’s an 88.5% jump from October 2011′s new home sale tally of 584. In September of this year, there were 866 new home sales Valleywide. Single-family permits totaled 896 last month, compared to 543 a year ago and 793 in September of this year. New home construction starting climbing in February of this year as more buyers, outbid by investors for less expensive short sale and foreclosure houses, opted to buy from builders.Read article – azcentral.com
Real Estate Outlook: Ever-changing Housing Market
The dynamic and ever-changing housing market has experienced a shift in demographic over the last few years. First, as the housing market felt the shock of the bubble burst all-cash buyers entered the scene and first-time buyers held back, waiting out the market hitting bottom. Next, first-time buyers rushes to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit in April 2010. And finally, the most recent Housing Market Index (HMI) release indicates that builder confidence in the 55+ housing market for single-family homes is on a significant rise. Read article – Realty Times
November 21, 2012
Foreclosure discounts have vanished in Phoenix
“The smallest foreclosure discount is found in places where competition for homes is so high, people there are willing to pay the same amount for a foreclosure re-sale that they would for a non-distressed home simply to take advantage of historic affordability,” says Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. The smallest foreclosure discounts can be found in: Las Vegas (0%); Phoenix (0%); and Sacramento (0.7%). Read article – Realtor Magazine
November 20, 2012
Phoenix touting changes to building permit process for businesses
What used to be a lengthy, and often costly, six-month process to open a new business or obtain various building permits in Phoenix has recently been overhauled into a cheaper 24-hour system. Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio spearheaded the city ordinance changes along with Councilman Tom Simplot. DiCiccio believes it will lure more jobs to Arizona and give Phoenix a competitive edge in the global economy. Now, dance studios and small car rental shops, for example, don’t have to wait months at a time for special permits and can save anywhere between $1,400 and $5,000. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
FHA Looks to Raise Mortgage Fees to Avoid Bailout
FHA plans to raise its mortgage fees next year in order to help avoid a taxpayer bailout, the Obama administration announced. FHA says it plans to raise its premiums on loans it guarantees by 10 basis points, which equates to about $13 per month extra to borrowers’ costs, Reuters reports. Also the FHA says it plans to increase short sales on loans it guarantees, in an effort to avoid more borrowers foreclosing on their properties. Read article – Realtor Magazine
November 15, 2012
Arizona foreclosures keep on dropping
The number of Arizona homes in some stage of the foreclosure process dropped again in October compared to a year ago, and homes actually repossessed by banks also dipped. Lenders actually repossessed nearly 2,821 Arizona homes in September, 600 fewer homes than in September, according to RealtyTrac. New foreclosure filings rose slightly to about 3,900 last month. Read article – East Valley Tribune
November 14, 2012
Less Phoenix-area homes have underwater mortgages
Slightly less than half of homeowners throughout metro Phoenix are now underwater on their mortgages, according to the latest report Wednesday by Zillow. About 45% of Valley homeowners were underwater during the third quarter – a 13% drop from the two previous quarters when slightly more than half were underwater. One of the highest negative equity rates in the Valley was in the south Phoenix ZIP code of 85043, where 74% of homeowners were underwater in the third quarter. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
November 13, 2012
After Obama Win, Tough Tax Talk on the Table
The next two years will be a period of big measures coming out of Washington, and REALTORS® have to be prepared for the possibility that the mortgage interest deduction is unlikely to escape unscathed. That’s the sober warning REALTORS® received from one of the country’s most widely respected political commentators, Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report. “I don’t think MID will be targeted” for cuts by itself to help address the country’s deficit, but “it’s going to get affected, it’s going to change,” Cook told thousands of REALTORS®. Read article – Realtor Magazine
November 8, 2012
Phoenix-area Home Prices Stable
Supply Going Up; Investor Presence Going Down
Phoenix-area home prices stabilized from August to September, but we’re now seeing some other types of movement in the market. A new report shows the following numbers for Maricopa and Pinal counties, as of September:
* The median single-family home price stayed at $150,000 from August to September, but prices are expected to start rising again this fall.
* The overall supply of houses for sale in the market is finally going up – already 24% over just the past three months.
* Big investors are showing less interest in the market, as the bargains here become tougher to find and some other cities’ housing markets become more attractive. Read article – ASU W.P. Carey School of Business
November 6, 2012
Home prices rise the most in 6 years in September
A measure of U.S. home prices jumped 5% in September compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year increase since July 2006. The gain reported by CoreLogic offered more evidence of a sustainable housing recovery. Some of the biggest increases were in states that suffered the worst from the housing bust. Home prices in Arizona jumped 18.7% in the past year, the most of any state. Home prices in Idaho rose 13.1%, the second largest. Nevada’s home values rose 11%. Home prices jumped 22.1% in Phoenix, the metro area with the biggest gain. Prices in Houston rose 6.6%, the second-highest increase. Read article – USA Today
November 5, 2012
Reagor: Answers to Phoenix-area market questions
Question: Aren’t all of these California and Canadian investors creating another bubble? There is no way a working person can compete with their offers on homes.
Mike Orr: I don’t think those investors are creating a bubble. Prices are still low. You can buy a home for prices similar to 2002 levels. … The number of Californians and Canadians buying in Arizona is lower now than it has been for awhile. Look back to 2004; Californians were flooding the market then. Relative to history, homes are more affordable for average-wage earners, particularly due to low interest rates. This site only provides a limited number of articles for free each month. Read article – azcentral.com
November 1, 2012
Phoenix home values level off in September, but market still on upswing
The dramatic surge in metro Phoenix home prices has finally leveled off, but improvements in overall supply, foreclosures and investor activity indicate the local housing market is still on the upswing, according to the latest housing report by ASU. The median single-family home price in the Valley in September – $150,000 – remained unchanged from the previous month. However, the median home price was still up 27% year-over-year and prices are expected to pick up again before the year ends. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
October 30, 2012
Home prices march higher
Home prices rose July to August in 19 of 20 major U.S. markets, the closely-watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller report said Tuesday. Home prices rose 0.9% month-to-month in both the 10-city index and the 20-city index S&P/Case-Shiller tracks. “Phoenix continues to lead the home price recovery. It recorded its fourth consecutive month of double-digit positive annual returns with a [plus] 18.8% rate for August.” Read article – UPI.com
First-Time Real Estate Investment Strategy
With home ownership more tenuous now than in previous years, more and more Americans are living in rental properties, and that means investing in a rental property can be a lucrative venture. As with any real estate investment, a rental investment requires careful research, but the rewards can pay off. First, consider your financial situation. What kind of down payment can you make and how much can you afford as a monthly mortgage payment? Do you have enough of a cushion to handle vacancies that result in periods of no income?
Read article – Realty Times
October 29, 2012
Metro Phoenix housing market continues to rise steadily, data show
The housing market’s recovery is picking up steam in most neighborhoods across metro Phoenix. Three-fourths of all the region’s ZIP codes saw home values climb during the first nine months of this year, according to The Arizona Republic’s Valley Home Values report. Most of those jumps were in double-digit percentages. At least 20 ZIP codes posted jumps of more than 25%. Helping boost home prices has been a huge drop in the number of inexpensive foreclosure resales. Now, only 13% of all sales in the region are homes taken back by lenders for resale, compared with 50% last year. Read article – azcentral.com
Do You Think You Know Gen X and Gen Y? Think Again…
Out of the housing downturn has emerged a new, more informed homebuyer. A homebuyer that is willing to do their homework and eager to earn the right to homeownership. These findings point to a an enlightened, proactive generation of 18-35 year olds, who also happen to represent the next wave of homebuyers in America. Although Gen X and Gen Y have come of age during the housing crises, this groundbreaking study shows they have not been deterred from home buying, but instead are buoyed by the belief that owning a home is a wise and worthy investment…and a very real part of the American Dream. Read article – RISMedia
October 25, 2012
7 Cities Where Home Prices Are Jumping
National home prices are expected to rise 1.7% from the third quarter of 2012 to Q3 2013, according to Zillow’s latest report. Phoenix ranks #7 among cities where home prices are projected to rise the most in the next year. Here are the projections for Phoenix:
Change in home prices 2012-2013: 8.5%
Projected bottom in home value: Q3 2011
Price in Q3 2012: $149,000 Read article – AOL Real Estate
Nondelinquent Borrowers Soon to Be Eligible for Short Sales
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued new rules, which will take effect Nov. 1, that will allow short sales for underwater borrowers who have never missed a mortgage payment. Eligible borrowers under the new rules will still need to show a hardship to qualify for a short sale. Unfortunately, the nondelinquent home owners who undergo a short sale will likely take just as big a hit to their credit score than if they had missed loan payments and gone into a foreclosure. FHFA Officials are “in discussions with the credit industry” to explore ways to fix the credit score problem for those who haven’t missed a payment but undergo a short sale. Read article – Realtor Magazine
October 23, 2012
New metro Phoenix luxury-homes market report
Phoenix-area home values have been climbing at the fastest rate of any major metro area this year and the dramatic surge may continue to outpace the rest of the nation through the next year. The Zillow Home Value Index showed the Phoenix area had an average home value of $149,400 during the third quarter of this year. That’s a 5.9% jump from the the previous quarter and a 20.4%-spike year-over-year – both of which were by far the biggest increases among 30 major metro areas the index examines, as well as the national average. Read article – azcentral.com
October 18, 2012
Phoenix #4 in US for affordable housing
A median-income household can only afford a median-priced home in 14 of the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan areas. Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul are the most affordable cities, according to Interest.com’s first Home Affordability Study. The report ranked Phoenix #4, giving it a B+ for it Paycheck Power Rating of 23.67%. Paycheck Power Rating is the percent the median income exceeds or falls short of the income required for a median-priced home. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
October 16, 2012
More than 20% of people in Phoenix area moved last year
More than 21% of people in the Phoenix area moved in 2011 – one of the highest rates of any major city in the nation, according to new research from On Numbers. In the Phoenix area, 16.9% of people moved from within the state in 2011. Roughly 3.5% moved from another state and about three-quarters of one percent moved from abroad. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
October 15, 2012
Where Asking Prices Are on the Rise the Most
California metros, as well as hard-hit housing markets such Phoenix and Seattle, are showing some of the largest year-over-year increases in asking prices. Nationwide, the median list price was $191,500 in September – only about 0.78% higher than a year ago, according to Realtor.com. But in several metros across the country, asking prices are more than 10% higher than what they were a year ago. The Phoenix-Mesa metro area was among the metros showing the strongest rebounds in asking prices in the past year. With a median list price of $190,000, the local metro area posted year-over-year increase of 26.66%. Read article – Realtor Magazine
October 11, 2012
Arizona foreclosure activity still heading down
The number of Arizona homes in some stage of the foreclosure process dropped again in September compared to a year ago, although homes actually repossessed by banks rose slightly. Lenders actually repossessed nearly 3,400 Arizona homes in September – a 2% rise from the same period a year ago. But new foreclosure filings dropped to about 3,800 last month. Read article – East Valley Tribune
October 10, 2012
Arizona seeing far fewer homes in ‘shadow inventory’
Arizona posted the biggest drop in seriously delinquent home mortgages — which is the primary driver of shadow, or pending, inventory — of any other state in the nation this summer. The local delinquency data was noted as a highlight in CoreLogic’s nationwide report, which largely focused on the fact that the country’s overall shadow inventory fell to the lowest point in more than three years in July to 2.3 million homes. That is also a 10.2% decline from the same time last year. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
October 9, 2012
Limited supply pushes Arizona home prices up
The latest numbers on home prices and home sales in Arizona suggest that more people are jumping into the market. In the Phoenix metro area, the median price of single-family homes hit $150,000 in August – up 33.7% from a year earlier, according to a report by ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business. Meanwhile, sales of new homes were up 55% and resales that didn’t involve investor flips, short sales or foreclosures were up 81% from August 2011. The overall supply of Phoenix homes in August was down 28% from August 2011. The lack of supply results from fewer foreclosures and the small number of homeowners willing to sell caused by many waiting for prices to rise. Read article – KTAR
October 3, 2012
Foreign Buyers Flock to Sun and Sand States
U.S. housing prices are starting to creep up from the rock-bottom levels of recent years, which is prompting foreign buyers to invest now before the bargains disappear. Traditional favorites, such as Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Southern California, stand to benefit most as they scoop up the deals still remaining in those preferred destinations. Read more..
Phoenix-area home prices surge 22% in past year
Even during what is usually a summer slowdown, the lively rally of Arizona’s housing market continues as the state ranked #1 in the nation for gains in home prices, according to the latest data released Tuesday by CoreLogic. Arizona home prices in August, including foreclosures and short sales, surged 18.2% compared with the same month last year. Metro Phoenix home prices, also including distressed sales, took an even bigger jump in August – up 21.8% from a year earlier. Prices were also up 1.4% from July to August. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
Fannie Mae Tightens Underwriting Rules for Condo, Refinance Loans, Borderline Borrowers
Fannie Mae is putting the squeeze on underwriting guidelines this fall, making it tougher for some condo, borderline and refinancing borrowers to land a home loan. Effective Oct. 20, 2012, the stricter rules are designed to reduce Fannie Mae’s ever growing exposure to risk. They will also force more borrowers to shop around. Right now with less than 10% down, condo buyers need to complete a two-page condo questionnaire about the homeowner association’s financials and provide additional documents including a reserve study, by-laws and a copy of the master insurance policy. With the change, any application for a condo mortgage with less than 20 percent down must include the questionnaire and additional documents. Read article – Realty Times
October 2, 2012
The Home Price Rally Is Spreading To More Housing Markets
Home prices, including distressed sales, were up 4.6% year-over-year according to CoreLogic. Prices were up 0.3% from a monh ago. This is the sixth straight increase in home prices. Excluding distressed sales home prices were up 4.9 percent on the year, and 1.0 percent on the month-over-month. Arizona posted 18.2% increase in home prices including distressed sales. Excluding distressed sales, home prices were up 13%. Read article – BusinessInsider.com
September 28, 2012
Foreign Homebuyers Warm To Sunbelt Housing Bargains
Will rising home prices spur an increase in buying activity from Canadians and other foreigners looking to grab bargains in the U.S. while the grabbing is still good? Some real estate experts think so – at least in markets such as Florida, Arizona, Texas and Southern California that foreign buyers have long favored. Apparent bargains are still available in these states. But from rock bottom in recent years, prices are rising as the housing market recovers. This could give foreign buyers an incentive to buy homes now. Read article – Investors.com
September 26, 2012
S&P/Case-Shiller: Phoenix home prices up 16.6%
Home prices kept rising in July across the United States, buoyed by greater sales and fewer foreclosures. National home prices increased 1.2% in July, compared to the same month last year, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday. That’s the second straight year-over-year gain after two years without one. In the 12 months ending in July, prices have risen in 16 of 20 cities. Phoenix home prices were up 16.6% in that stretch.
Read article – East Valley Tribune
New-home sales steady, but prices jump
Sales of new homes were little changed in August, but prices rose sharply in a signal of continued improvement in the housing market. New homes sold at an annual rate of 373,000 – down 1,000 from the July reading. The number is 28% above year-earlier levels. But the median price of a new home jumped 11% from the July reading to $256,900. While month-to-month readings can be volatile, the latest reading lifted the year-over-year improvement in sales price to 17%. The prices are helped by a number of factors, including a tight supply in new homes available on the market. Read article – CNNMoney
September 24, 2012
Building of homes slows a bit
Homebuilding across metro Phoenix is slowing slightly but still is up more than 50% from last year. In July, there were 1,062 homebuilding permits issued across the region, compared with 692 a year ago. New-home sales climbed to 979 from 632 during July 2011. The report’s publishers, RL Brown and Greg Burger, believe new home sales and resales will continue to climb slowly as more regular homeowners see they can sell for a profit. Resales in metro Phoenix this year peaked in March and have basically been slowing since then. The number of new houses built has topped 1,000 each month since March. Read article - azcentral.com
September 20, 2012
Peoria plan for entertainment, hotel district is closer to reality
If Peoria city officials have anything to say about it, Glendale won’t be the only West Valley city with a thriving entertainment district. In fact, Peoria aims to create a vibrant entertainment district and boutique hotel unlike any in the West Valley by the time Super Bowl XLIX hits Glendale in three years. The city has been working with developers for more than a year to expand 83rd Avenue’s restaurant row, which includes the city’s spring-training ballpark and a dinner theater. Peoria developer Mike Oliver envisions an eight-story hotel with a rooftop lounge, boutique shops, trendy restaurants and upscale apartments on what now is ballpark parking lots. Read article – azcentral.com
Average rate on 30-year mortgage falls to 3.49%
The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage touched its record low this week and the rate on 15-year mortgage hit a new record. The declines followed the Federal Reserve announcement last week that it would buy bonds to push mortgage rates lower and stimulate the housing market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan declined to 3.49% from 3.55% last week. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, plunged to 2.77%, a new record. That’s down from 2.85% last week and the previous record low of 2.8%. Read article – USAToday
September 13, 2012
Phoenix-area rental homes a red-hot commodity
Crowds of people swarming open houses. Multiple bids on properties from desperate home seekers. Palpable fear over losing the “right” place to a ravenous market. Sounds like a typical day in metro Phoenix’s housing market, where buyer demand exceeds the supply of homes for sale. But this frenzy is focused on houses for rent. The unprecedented demand for rentals is fueled by former homeowners whose houses were foreclosed on or sold in short sales and now need a place to live. Some of them can no longer qualify to buy a home. Read article – azcentral.com
Survey: Americans’ Attitudes Shift About Housing
Americans are increasingly more optimistic about the direction of the housing market, according to a monthly survey of more than 1,000 Americans conducted by Fannie Mae. The majority of those surveyed expect home prices to rise 1.6% in the next year. Also, about 18% of those surveyed say now is a good time to sell, which is the highest percentage since the survey was initiated. Read article – Realtor Magazine
September 11, 2012
Phoenix-area land acquisitions up 59% in past year
Rebounding home prices and low inventory of existing homes in the first half of this year has pushed Phoenix-area land acquisitions up by a whopping 59% year-over-year. The Valley’s land acquisition activity in the first half of this year also occurred for a much higher price tag, with median prices surging by 80% compared with last year. About 70 percent of the land sold this year — about 150 transactions, or roughly 32,000 acres — is also slated for residential development. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
September 9, 2012
Prices dip 1% in July from June but almost 31% higher than a year ago
Metro Phoenix home prices dipped 1% in July from June, but remaining almost 31% higher than they were a year ago, ASU reported Thursday. With prices advancing through the spring, the leveling-off was expected. “It’s a natural reaction to prices going up so fast in the spring,” said Mike Orr of ASU. “The summer is bound to slow down. The market can’t keep going up at 5 percent a month; that’s crazy. We sort of overdid things in the spring.” The median price of homes sold in Maricopa and Pinal counties in July was $149,000. That’s down from $150,000 in June but up from $114,000 in July 2011. Don’t miss the chart at the bottom of this article! Read article – azcentral.com
September 5, 2012
Phoenix home prices up 20% from year ago to lead nation
Phoenix-area home prices in July were up 19.9% from a year earlier – easily the largest percentage gain among major U.S. cities, according to a CoreLogic report released yesterday. On a month-to-month basis, including distressed sales, Phoenix-area home prices were up 2.1% from June to July. Nationwide, the average increase was 1.3% for that period. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
September 4, 2012
US Home Prices Rise in July by Most in 6 Years
U.S. home prices jumped 3.8% in the 12 months ending in July, according to CoreLogic. The year-over-year increase was the biggest in six years, further evidence that the housing market is steadily recovering. The states with the biggest gains according to CoreLogic over the past 12 months were Arizona, Idaho, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado. In Arizona, prices have risen 16.6% since July 2011. Read article – ABCNews
August 31, 2012
Canadians snapping up luxury homes
Canadians purchased 11,400 homes in Maricopa County in 2011, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments. For many years the U.S. dollar had been the stronger of the two currencies, but today the Canadian dollar, often called the loonie, is demanding a slight premium against the greenback. As of Thursday, one U.S. dollar was worth CA$0.993. On top of the exchange rate, many Canadians are taking advantage of Arizona’s affordable housing prices, banking on future appreciation. Many are investors who rent the properties.
Read article – KTAR
August 30, 2012
Top 5 lenders: $500 million spent to help Arizona homeowners
The nation’s five biggest lenders say they recently spent more than a half-billion dollars to help struggling Arizona homeowners, according to a report released Wednesday on the status of the $25 billion lender settlement. So far, 7,735 of the state’s mortgage borrowers have received aid from the settlement, which was announced in February. Most of those people were given help completing short sales. All the lenders except Bank of America also reported they completed loan modifications and refinancings to help borrowers stay in their homes. Read article – azcentral.com
August 29, 2012
Phoenix #2 for construction job gains
Arizona is still struggling with a construction labor shortage in the aftermath of the recession, but the latest federal data shows the local industry is making encouraging strides. The metro Phoenix construction labor force added 5,600 jobs in July compared with a year earlier – the second-highest number of new jobs of added during that period, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
August 28, 2012
Case-Shiller: Home prices rose in June in all 20 cities
Home prices rose in June from the same month last year, the first year-over-year increase since the summer of 2010. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday showed a gain of 0.5% from June 2011. All 20 cities tracked by the index also rose in June from May, the second consecutive time in which every city posted month-over-month gains. In Phoenix, home prices rose 2.5% in June from May and were up 13.9% from a year ago. Read article – USAToday
August 27, 2012
Growing demand for new homes in metro Phoenix
In July, buyers’ growing demand for new homes in metro Phoenix continued, but homebuilding could slow during the next few months if builders run out of lots in the most popular developments. New-home permits climbed to 1,303 in July, their second highest monthly level this year. Early this year, homebuilding permits began to steadily climb as buyers priced out of foreclosure and short-sale deals opted to pay $10,000 to $25,000 more for a new home. Read article – azcentral.com
August 24, 2012
Price of average Arizona home rose more than any other state in past year
In a turnaround that may be nothing short of amazing, the price of the average home in Arizona rose more in the last year than anywhere else in the country. New figures today from the Federal Housing Finance Agency show a year-over-year hike in sales prices of 12.9%. By contrast, the national average barely cracked 3%. Read article – East Valley Tribune
August 23, 2012
Report: Phoenix home values continue to rise
A report released Wednesday night shows the number of Phoenix homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages has fallen. Phoenix home values are up 13.4% from July of last year, the biggest increase out of the top 30 markets Zillow tracks. Read article – abc15.com
August 21, 2012
By the numbers: metro Phoenix home sales
Breakdown of June median home prices:
New homes: $214,266
Regular resales: $180,000
Investor flips: $147,000
Short sales and pre-foreclosures: $120,000
Bank-owned: $130,000
Read article – azcentral.com
August 17, 2012
Inventories Hover at Historic Lows
While buyer demand is picking up, many consumers increasingly are finding fewer choices in housing these days. The number of homes for sale continues to remain at record lows with the nationwide inventory of for-sale single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops is about 19% below inventory levels from a year ago, Realtor.com reports in its analysis of July housing data of 146 markets. In the Phoenix-Mesa market, inventory was down 34.37% in July from a year ago. Read article – Realtor Magazine
August 13, 2012
4 Strong Reasons for Buying a Home Now
Here are four reasons why now can be a good time to purchase a home:
1. The price is right.
2. In nearly every major metro market, it is cheaper to buy a home than rent. Rents have been on the rise the last few years and are predicted to continue to rise.
3. Inventories of for-sale homes are shrinking.
4. Mortgage rates are at record lows. “It’s conceivable that at some point in the next 30 years, your interest rate would be less than the rate of inflation,” writes Waggoner for USA Today. Read article – Realtor Magazine
Valley commercial RE in top 10 in US for foreign investors
For the first time, metro Phoenix was among the top 10 U.S. markets in terms of foreign investment in commercial-real-estate assets in the second quarter. Local real-estate analysts said a number of factors contributed to the boost in foreign investment in Phoenix, including a dearth of attractive, available commercial properties in coastal U.S. cities and the stabilizing of Phoenix-area real-estate prices. Read article – azcentral.com
August 10, 2012
Phoenix-area home values up 29% from a year ago
In June, the median single-family home price in metro Phoenix was $150,000 – that’s up 29.3% from a year earlier. The supply of distressed properties fell by a staggering 68% from a year ago. The Phoenix market has become so flush with investors that 38.4% of home sales in June were purchased without financing. As a result, traditional home buyers are now turning to the new-home market out of frustration. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
August 9, 2012
Valley home sales slip in July as prices inch up
The number of Valley homes sold in July tumbled because of a continuing lack of inventory – and an increasingly frustrating shortage of affordable housing. The slowdown has resulted in this year’s home sales falling behind the pace of 2011 activity. Sales dropped nearly 22% in July from the previous month, to 7,148. That shortage helped push prices up, but not to the extent since values began rising last fall. Read article – East Valley Tribune
Mortgage rates top 3.5% for a second week
Interest rates on fixed mortgages rose for a second week, staying slightly above historic lows. The average rate on 30-year loans increased to 3.59%, from 3.55% last week. Two weeks ago, the rate fell to 3.49% – the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 2.84%. That’s up from 2.83% last week and a record low of 2.80% the previous week. Read article – USAToday
August 8, 2012
CoreLogic: Phoenix home prices surge higher in past year to lead nation
Home-values in both the metro Phoenix and Arizona markets eclipsed the rest of the nation once again in June – and by a long shot, according to the latest housing report released Tuesday by CoreLogic. Phoenix-area home values, including distressed sales, surged nearly 17% year-over-year in June – the fastest rate of any metropolitan area nationwide. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
Not Every Distressed Property Is a Bargain
Foreclosures can offer some home buyers big bargains, with the typical discount on a foreclosure about 19%, according to National Association of REALTORS® data from May. This article cover the following issues:
1. Know the claims on the property.
2. Get financing in order.
3. Judge the condition.
4. Check for potential delays. Read article – Realtor Magazine
August 7, 2012
Phoenix rates among top markets for foreign investors
Phoenix is among the top 10 markets being targeted by foreign investors. Cross-border buyers pumped more than $300 million into the Valley economy from April through June of 2012, with most of it coming from Canadian investors. Economist Rick Merritt with Elliott D. Pollack and Company expects foreign investment money to remain strong over the next couple of years. Read article – KTAR.com
August 6, 2012
Local new-home market projections promising
Homebuilding in metro Phoenix has increased more than many people expected this year. A growing number of homebuyers frustrated after losing out on bidding wars for foreclosure and short-sale homes have opted to pay a little more to get a new house. Housing analysts RL Brown and Greg Burger recently updated their market expectations for homebuilding in the region. Their forecast for new home sales this year is 10,000. That’s up from 7,100 sales last year. Read article – azcentral.com
July 17, 2012
Phoenix sets pace in national real estate recovery
The Phoenix metro housing market is seeing a rise in home prices and a decline in the number of houses on the market, putting the area ahead of most other U.S. cities on the road to recovery. The median price for Phoenix-area homes in May was about 30% higher than it was the same time last year. There are about half as many houses on the market as there were the same time last year. Read article – YourWestValley.com
July 25, 2012
Zillow: Phoenix home prices up 12% to lead nation
U.S. home values have posted their the first year-long gain since 2007, and the rapid rebound of the metro Phoenix housing market once again far outpaced anywhere else in the country, according to Zillow. Phoenix-area home prices surged 12.1% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. Phoenix also saw the largest increase from the first quarter of 2012 – posting a 6% gain in home values to an average $136,200 in the second quarter. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
July 23, 2012
Phoenix area housing market sees signs of health
Metro Phoenix’s median home price has shot up more than 30% in the past year. The number of houses for sale is at a six-year low, and realistically priced homes are drawing dozens of offers, mostly from investors. Experts say several factors are keeping prices in check and should prevent another boom-and-bust cycle: tighter loan regulations, a reduced role for investors as prices rise, and the return of more traditional sellers and buyers.
Read article – azcentral.com
July 20, 2012
Home inventory down and prices up
Valley real estate agents say that demand for homes is high and the declining inventory is driving prices up. Experts say a balanced market has about a s month housing supply. “In the $250,000 to $500,000 price range we have a three month supply of inventory and if you look below 100 you’re looking at a 1.6 month supply of inventory,” said Chris Heagerty with ARMLS. Read article – azfamily.com
Record Low Mortgage Rates Helping To Stir The Housing Market
In Freddie Mac’s results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey®, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgage hitting new all-time record lows. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.53% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 19, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.56%. 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.83% with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.86 percent. Read article – Realty Times
July 11, 2012
Markets With Largest Price Jumps May Be Most at Risk
For-sale homes nationwide are posting increases in asking prices, but in markets posting some of the largest gains those increases may be temporary due to foreclosure backlogs, a new report from Trulia warns. Markets like Phoenix, Miami, and Detroit have had some of the largest price increases lately. But these markets also have clogged foreclosure pipelines that could threaten price appreciation and lead to a decline in the coming months. “The huge price gains we’ve seen in Miami and Phoenix are not built to last,” says Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist. “These increases will shrink or reverse as the backlogged foreclosures in these metros hit the market.”
- Phoenix: 18.9% increase in asking prices from June 2011 to June 2012 READ MORE
July 3, 2012
Rising Phoenix home prices lead the nation
As the national housing market gradually trends upward this year, metro Phoenix and Arizona home values continue skyrocketing at the fastest rate in the nation, according to data released today by CoreLogic. Home prices — including foreclosures and short sales — in the Phoenix, Mesa and Glendale markets jumped 14.7% in May compared with the same time last year. Excluding distressed properties, the Phoenix area experienced a 10% year-over-year increase in home values in May. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
July 2, 2012
Window of Opportunity? Some Banks Ease Up
A survey by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency shows that more banks are finally easing up on their standards, which may open the doors for more buyers to qualify for a mortgage. Approximately a quarter of the banks reported tighter underwriting standards for home loans, which is down from 40% last year. Ten percent of the banks surveyed say they’ve eased their standards on mortgages, compared to only 8% who said that last year. Read article – Realtor Magazine
Lack of Inventory Causing a Buying Frenzy? “Most houses below $250,000 priced realistically are attracting large numbers of offers in a short time, and many exceed the asking price,” says Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Read more
Number of AZ agents dropped significantly during recession
The recession took a toll on Arizonans employed in real estate during the past five years with the loss of nearly 17,000 agents. There are 35,864 real-estate agents with active licenses, down considerably from 2007 when there were 52,286 active agents. The number of license holders is down 4% from last year. An additional 19,245 agents have inactive licenses, meaning they are not employed by a broker and cannot conduct any real-estate activity. That is up from 12,652 agents with inactive licenses in 2007. Read article – azcentral.com
June 30, 2012
Builders bullish on local housing market. Metro Phoenix’s housing-market recovery has spread to the new-home market. Building permits, new-home sales and prices have been climbing steadily this year. All are long-awaited positive signs for one of Arizona’s biggest and most-important industries. Read more
June 28, 2012
Valley home values soar 32% in past year
Valley home prices have skyrocketed by nearly one-third in the past year as a growing shortage of units for sale keeps boosting housing values. Median sales prices were 32% higher in May compared with a year ago, according to the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. Prices were up 9% since April, $147,000. The recent trend of soaring prices is likely to end as summer settles in as people are less willing to move in 110-degree temperatures. Read article – East Valley Tribune
Thirty-year mortgage rate stays at record low 3.66%
The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage stayed this week at the lowest level on record. Cheap mortgages have helped drive a modest housing recovery and could give the broader economy a jolt at a time when the job market is weak. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average on the 30-year loan was 3.66%. The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.94%. Read article – USAToday
June 27, 2012
CoreLogic: Phoenix foreclosure rate continues to fall
The latest figures released Tuesday by CoreLogic show home foreclosures in metro Phoenix continue to gradually decline — and at a faster rate than the nation. The rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans in the greater Phoenix area came in at 2.84% in April, a 1.1 percentage point drop from the same month last year. That’s almost half the rate the Valley saw in December 2010, when the foreclosure rate was 5%.
Read article – Denver Business Journal
New-home sales surge to fastest pace in two years
Americans bought new homes in May at the fastest pace in more than two years, adding to evidence of a slow but steady housing recovery. Sales of single-family homes jumped 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 units, the highest since April 2010, the Commerce Department said Monday.
Read article – MSNBC
June 25, 2012
5 Projections of Where the Housing Market’s Headed
National Association of REALTORS®’ Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries, and National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist David Crowe shared their views on the direction of the housing market during the forum. “Last year was the worst year on record for [new] house sales, for 60 years of housing-sale info,” Crowe said. But things are picking up, the economists note, despite several challenges still threatening that recovery. Yun says that appraisal issues are holding back up to 20 percent of home sales and that lenders’ tightened mortgage underwriting standards are likely holding back another 15 to 20 percent of potential home deals. Here are some of the economists’ forecasts… Read the rest at RealtorMag
Mixed bag: Investors spark local recovery
“When you look at the statistics, it’s obvious the housing sector is recovering. My concern lies specifically with how it has recovered. It is investors who dug us out of the hole, not homeowners. We currently have a single-family housing stock that is about 30% renter-occupied. Normally, we are at about 10%. Our full recovery will come when homeowners can buy existing homes, and that requires more appreciation at all price levels, and more importantly, the ability for homebuyers to get a mortgage,” answers Mark Stapp, director of the Master of Real Estate Development program at ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business, in an interview. Read article – azcentral.com
June 22, 2012
Arizona’s Homebuilding Revival Sparks Bidding Wars for Workers
Arizona’s builders are now scrounging for workers as demand for new homes climbs. Building permits are at an almost three-year high, creating a scarcity of framers, roofers and masons, many of whom moved elsewhere when work dried up. Construction jobs, which also include commercial and government projects, increased 9.3% in May from a year earlier to 120,300, the biggest gain of any industry in the state, according to Arizona’s Office of Employment and Population Statistics. Read article – Businessweek
Housing Market Future In The Hands Of Echo Boomers?
The term echo boomers refers to the group of 17-31 year olds. They are also known as the “millennials” and these younger home buyers, ages 18 to 34, make up 31% of all recent home purchases. The housing crisis has caused delays for many including those in the echo boomer group, but these young people do subscribe to the American Dream of homeownership. The echo boomers that “represent a long-term opportunity” that may help to facilitate a housing market recovery. Read article – Realty Times
June 21, 2012
Investors out-muscle first-time buyers
First-time buyers are running into tough opponents in cash buyers. More than 53% of first-time home buyers use FHA loans, the April Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey indicates. Cash deals close fastest, and they don’t involve an appraisal. Sellers like cash offers because there’s less risk that they’ll fall through, so they most often win, says Phoenix-area Realtor Keith Krone. He recently listed a $125,000 bank-owned home and got 11 offers in two days. Read article – azcentral.com
June 20, 2012
Arizona builders see trend of larger houses
Builders are making bigger homes in the U.S. as the housing market rebounds. It’s a trend some local builders say is occurring in Arizona. The typical single-family home in the U.S. grew by 4.6% last year. In 2011, the average home built in the U.S. was 2,233 square feet – up from 2,135 the previous year. Local builders say this could be a result of a rebounding housing market or an effect of lowered lot and building costs carried over from the recession. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
FHA Revokes Controversial Credit Dispute Rule
The Federal Housing Administration has decided to rescind a rule that would have made it tougher for borrowers with credit disputes on their records to qualify for an FHA-backed mortgage. The rule had been widely criticized by the lending and real estate industry as shutting out too many potential borrowers from qualifying for a mortgage.
Read article – Realtor Magazine
June 15, 2012
Expert: Real estate ‘shadow inventory’ a myth
Right now, there are about 8,800 homes for sale in the Phoenix area, compared with 50,000 in 2008. “I actually keep a file of exactly what houses the banks own and what they’re doing with them,” said Professor Michael Orr of the ASU Real Estate Studies Department. “When you actually count them out, it’s a relatively trivial amount that they actually own that they haven’t already listed for sale.” Read article – KTAR
June 14, 2012
Small businesses in housing industry see recovery
The small businesses that drive the housing market are reporting signs that the industry may be experiencing a real comeback. At the beginning of the spring selling season, real estate agents and home builders were optimistic about the growing number of prospective buyers showing up at open houses and calling to inquire about listings. Now, it appears that interest has translated into sales. Read article – azcentral.com
June 13, 2012
ASU expert predicts decline of cookie-cutter housing as market recovers
The cookie-cutter homes that dominated the Valley landscape for decades won’t be as common in the future. Builders also are designing housing for specific lifestyles, while various factors are limiting the number of new homes going online. Homebuilders have responded to a surge of buyers in the past year, with sales up 40% in the Valley. Home values are up 25% as the glut of homes for sale is vanishing quickly. Read article – East Valley Tribune
Home Buyers Find Market Isn’t What They Expected
A shortage of “move-in ready” homes and bidding wars over houses in good condition are leaving potential buyers scrambling to find a home to buy, according to media reports. Housing inventories have sunk nationwide, leaving home shoppers with fewer options. Bidding wars are back, and in some markets the shortage is prompting buyers to try to bid on homes even before they are listed. Read article – Realtor Magazine
June 7, 2012
Report: Valley housing market continues recovery
A new housing report from ASU reports that the Valley housing market continues its recovery. Single-family home prices last month were up 25% from the same time last year. Realtor Joe Liberty said investors are super heating the market and paying all cash. “They’re looking at the Phoenix market as a good place to invest,” he said. “They’re coming from Canada, South America and the Middle East.” Read article – KTAR
June 6, 2012
Is the Housing Market Recovery Splitting in Two? The article says that wealthy buyers tend to have good credit and are taking advantage of record low mortgage rates. As such, in housing markets with median home prices of $1 million or more, home prices have jumped more than 10 percent year-over-year, according to Altos Research. Inventory is also down by 10 percent. What’s more, areas with a median home price of $10 million or more, home prices have risen 13 percent or more, according to Altos. Realtor Mag
June 6, 2012
CoreLogic: Phoenix leads the nation in home value gains
A new report released today by CoreLogic shows home values in metro Phoenix and across the state are surging at the fastest rate in the country. Phoenix-area home values, including foreclosures and short-sales, jumped 11.3% in April from the same month last year. That was the biggest year-over-year gain of the 10 largest U.S. metros areas that CoreLogic examined — and by a long shot. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
June 6, 2012
US homes got bigger during 2011
For the first time in four years, the size of the average new American house increased slightly in 2011 to 2,480 square feet from 2,392 square feet in 2010, according to new figures from the Census Bureau. An NAHB’s analysis shows that the rise in average-home size was driven by an increase in the relative portion of sales to deeper-pocketed “move up” and luxury buyers rather than the first-time buyers who typically propel much of the new-home market. Read article – MSNBC
June 5, 2012
Is Housing Slowly Turning to a Seller’s Market? It’s been mostly a “buyer’s market” in the majority of housing markets for the past few years, but more Americans are seeing home buyers’ power in home sales and negotiations soon slipping away. Home buyers are increasingly being lured back to the housing market, according to several recent surveys. Many buyers say record-low interest rates and increased housing affordability has made buying more attractive. Realtor Mag
June 5, 2012
Could short sales disappear at the end of this year?
A big tax break for homeowners short selling their house is set to disappear in six months. It’s the 2007 Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, and experts said if you want to short sell your home, you should act fast. If the Act goes away, short sellers would have to pay taxes the dollar difference between what your mortgage is and what their home sells for. Read article – KPHO.com
June 4, 2012
Phoenix Housing Market Continues to Improve
The Phoenix residential real estate market is quickly becoming more favorable to sellers, as the average home selling price continues its upward path. While more homebuyers are entering the market, one of the biggest factors in the pricing gains seen thus far this year is the limited number of sales inventory. The limited sales inventory has led to bidding wars in which homebuyers are paying more than the asking price in many cases. That trend is very much making the housing market a seller’s market. Read article – The Real Estate Media
June 1, 2012
ASU: Phoenix home values up 25% from a year ago
A new housing report from ASU shows the metro Phoenix housing market continues making strides toward recovery, yet is still tussling to regain its balance. Median single-family home prices last month in Maricopa and Pinal counties were up 25% from the same time last year, while the average price per square foot also rose 16.5%. Certain areas of the Valley that took a particular beating during the recession, such as El Mirage, Glendale, Maricopa and Tolleson, are now seeing some of the greatest rebounds.
Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
REO Stigma Fades for Home Buyers, Survey Shows
The number of home buyers who say they are interested in purchasing a foreclosure has nearly tripled in the last two-and-a-half years, according to a new survey by Realtor.com. What’s more, 92% of those buyers say they would use the foreclosures as their primary residence rather than using them as investments. Nearly 65% of buyers say they’re likely to buy a foreclosure today compared to 25% who said that in October 2009.
Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 31, 2012
Phoenix sees large drop in foreclosure filings
Phoenix saw a larger annual drop in foreclosure filings in April than any other major metro area in the nation, according to a CoreLogic report released Wednesday. About 2.8% of all homes with a mortgage in the Phoenix area had a foreclosure filings in April. That’s down 1.1 percentage points from the same time last year. It was the biggest year-over-year decline in April foreclosure listings among the 25 major markets, based on population, that CoreLogic examined. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
Optimism Returns to Market
According to the latest HomeGain survey, optimism has returned to the market. The 1st quarter National Home Values Survey found that 37% of real estate professionals expect to see home values increase. This is up from 15% last quarter. “Real estate professionals have grown more optimistic regarding the direction of home prices, especially in the states that have been hardest hit in the past few years, like Arizona, Nevada and Florida and also in states that have done comparatively well, like Massachusetts and Virginia.” said Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain. Read article – Realty Times
May 30, 2012
Home prices up in most cities; among biggest gains – Phoenix
Metro Phoenix home prices are rising faster than anywhere else in the country, according to the latest national data. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows the average existing home price in the Phoenix metro area in March increased 2.2% over February of this year. That’s the largest increase of any of the 20 major U.S. cities tracked. Read article – azcentral.com
Americans’ Perspective on Home Ownership Shifts
Home ownership is getting more emotional than it used to be. According to a new survey, Americans are increasingly saying that the real value of home ownership is emotional, not financial. That marks a stark contrast from Americans’ perspectives on home ownership during the housing boom, in which they mostly viewed it as a financial venture. The more emotional ties to home ownership are causing Americans to get more practical in their home buying. Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 29, 2012
Big profits for home-flippers signal Phoenix-area rebound
In another sign that metro Phoenix’s housing market is slowly recovering, hundreds of homes across the region sold by banks after foreclosure or through short sales are being flipped by investors for almost double the price they paid just a few months earlier. With metro Phoenix’s median home price steadily climbing this year, speculators have seized on an opportunity to make fast profits and are selling houses across the region at prices not seen since the beginning of the housing boom in 2003-04. Read article – azcentral.com
Signs of ‘Housing Spring’: Bidding Wars
Multiple offers and bidding wars have returned to some housing markets amid shrinking supplies of homes for sale. Last month, nine of 18 leading markets tracked by real estate brokerage Redfin had less than a three-month supply. Those markets included the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Denver and Washington, D.C. Read article – CNBC
May 24, 2012
Phoenix home prices post gains in March
Recent reports that the Phoenix housing market is finally showing signs of a rebound were bolstered Wednesday with the release of the FNC Residential Price Index’s latest home value figures. In March, Phoenix-area home prices were up about 1.4% from the month prior, tying with Detroit for the 7th-best month-to-month gains in the nation. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
Foreclosed Home Owners Find a Way to Buy Again
Once-foreclosed home owners are slowly making a comeback in the housing market as some lenders give them a second chance at home ownership. The FHA is the main way paving a comeback for these former home owners to buy again. “Most of the loans that are getting done are for people who have really rebuilt their credit,” rank Donnelly, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., told Reuters. “They have to prove (to the lender that) it was something like a job loss that caused this and not chronic delinquency.”
Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 21, 2012
Housing Affordability Reaches Record High for the second-straight quarter in the first three months of this year, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity index shows. Nearly 78% of all new and existing homes sold in the 1st quarter this year were affordable to families earning the national median income of $65,000, according to the index. However, while affordability remains high, many home buyers are still being shut out of the market and are unable to take advantage of the deals due to tight lending conditions, housing experts say…. Read more at.Housing Affordability Reaches Record Highs
May 17, 2012
Mortgage rates fall to another record low
Average rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to record lows for a third straight week. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on 30-year loans dipped to 3.79%. That’s down from 3.83% last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. The 15-year mortgage declined to 3.04%. That’s down from last week’s previous record of 3.05%. Read article – azcentral.com
May 17, 2012
Mortgage delinquency, foreclosure rates fall in Arizona
Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates have decreased both in Arizona and nationwide since last year, according to a new survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Arizona was below the national rate in both delinquencies and foreclosures. The Arizona mortgage delinquency rate fell to 6.35%, down significantly from 2011′s first quarter rate of 8.23%. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
May 16, 2012
AZ Housing, economy experts maintain positive outlook
Arizona has regained one-quarter of the jobs lost during the economic crisis and the job market is on track to fully recover in 2015, experts said Tuesday. Housing and economy experts from ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business offered optimistic but guarded predictions at the annual economic-forecast luncheon. In March, Arizona ranked eighth in the U.S. in job growth, according to an ASU estimate. At this time last year, Arizona was 36th.
Read article – azcentral.com
May 16, 2012
Back from foreclosure to homeownership
A growing number of Americans are making a surprisingly quick return to homeownership after defaulting on their loans or being forced into short sales that cost their banks money. Data is not available, but interviews with more than 30 lenders, builders, Realtors and consumers suggest that this is the case. Read article – MSNBC
May 15, 2012
Homes for Sale Grow Scarce as Sellers Await Higher Prices
Real estate agents, who spent the six-year U.S. housing collapse coaxing buyers off the fence, are now hunting for sellers as home inventories hover near lows last seen in 2005. As sellers sit on the sidelines, bidding wars are flaring up in Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle and Washington, where bargain hunters, sensing a market bottom, have stepped up shopping. Read article – Bloomberg
May 11, 2012
Fixed-rate mortgages reached new all-time records lows
For the second consecutive week, fixed-rate mortgages reached new all-time records lows, offering another big boost to home buyer affordability. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.83 percent for the week ending May 10, posting a new record low from last week’s 3.84 percent average. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also posted a new record, averaging 3.05 percent this week. Here’s a closer look at mortgage rates for this week Get Rates
May 11, 2012
Post-recession apartments follow new luxury trend
Many industries are rebounding from the Great Recession by producing more modest versions of their product to meet consumer demands, but the Valley’s resurgent apartment sector is bucking that trend with new units that feature everything from Roman soaking tubs to granite countertops. “Now you’ve got apartments that are actually competing with single family homes. You weren’t having to worry about that before,” said Mark Stapp of W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. Read article – East Valley Tribune
May 9, 2012
Phoenix home prices in March up 7.7% from a year ago
Home prices in the Phoenix area increased by 7.7% in March from a year ago, according to CoreLogic. Take the distressed sales out, and the number declines to 4% growth, meaning the greatest price increases are being felt in distressed home sales. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
May 9, 2012
The Benefits of Owning a Home
First, you’ll have access to homeowner tax breaks, which include the mortgage interest deduction (MID), property tax deduction, and credits for green-friendly updates to your home….Read article – Realty Times
May 8, 2012
Americans’ Expectations Align to Encourage Home Buying
More consumers may be looking to purchase homes with a shift in several key housing market indicators, according to Fannie Mae’s March 2012 consumer attitudinal National Housing Survey. More Americans now expect both home rental and home purchase prices to increase over the next year. In addition, confidence in consumers’ views of their own finances is stabilizing. These trends may be providing Americans with an increased sense of urgency to buy a home as 73% of Americans now believe it is a good time to buy a home, up from 70% in February. Read article – RISMedia
May 8, 2012
Phoenix skyrockets in top 20 improving markets list
Based on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) report released on Monday which monitors housing markets showing measurable and sustained improvement, there was little change from the month prior, with one major exception – Phoenix, previously not in the top 20 improving markets list, shot to the second most improving market in the nation. Read article – AGBeat
May 8, 2012
BofA Starts Writing Off Borrowers’ Mortgage Debt
More than 200,000 underwater home owners with mortgages through Bank of America may be eligible to have a reduction in the amount they owe on their loan, which could possibly trim their monthly payments by up to 35 percent. Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 7, 2012
Survey Shows More Reason to Buy Than Rent
Thirty-three percent of Americans say they expect home prices to rise in the next 12 months, the highest level in more than a year, according to Fannie Mae’s March 2012 National Housing Survey of consumer attitudes about the housing market. The number of people who say now is a good time to buy is also on the rise, increasing to 73 percent—also the highest level in more than a year. The percentage who said it’s a good time to sell a home also increased one point to 14 percent in March…… Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 7, 2012
What Buyers Often Overlook in Home Purchases
While many buyers may be swayed by the home’s appearance, financing, and location when choosing a home, housing experts say they often overlook the following:
* Zoning of nearby areas: What you see today may not be what you see a few years from now.
* Remodeling rules: Some community associations may set limitations on what you can do to property (e.g., adding a garage or guest house)
* Impact of crime rate: Living in a high-risk neighborhood can send monthly bills upwards (e.g., auto insurance)
Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 4, 2012
Pimco Housing Bear Kiesel Says It’s Time to Start Buying
Mark Kiesel, the Pacific Investment Management Co. managing director who sold his home in 2006 when he deemed the market a bubble, says it’s time to buy. “I was one of the most negative on housing,” Kiesel said in a telephone interview. “I finally came to the conclusion housing is looking pretty decent.” “For those of you renting or on the sidelines, I recommend you at least consider getting ‘back in’ and buying a house,” he wrote. “The future is hard to predict, but U.S. housing is healing and is probably close to a bottom.” Read article – Business Week
May 4, 2012
5 New ‘Rules’ to Home Buying
With signs of a housing turnaround getting stronger, housing experts say buyers are finding several recent changes when they go to put in an offer on a home. Here are some new rules for homebuyers:
1. Lowball offers won’t likely stick
2. Get pre-approved
3. Get realistic about the market
4. Expect some competition
5. Conduct property research
Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 2, 2012
Phoenix tops Zillow list
Phoenix topped real-estate portal and online valuation service Zillow’s list of metro areas expected to achieve growth in home values in 2013 in a report issued Tuesday. According to Zillow, the Phoenix area is expected to experience a 6.5% increase in median home price in 2013 compared with the current year. The predictions are based on data from past home-value trends and current market conditions, including leading indicators such as home sales, monthly housing-inventory supply and jobless rate. Read article – azcentral.com
May 2, 2012
Bucking trend, REOs show price gains
National home prices lost ground with declines of 1% over the past year, but REO demand – fueled by enthusiastic investors – showed price gains. Investor demand could be a driving force behind increasing prices for REO properties, as measured on a median price per square foot, which is increasing at a much faster pace than non-REO sales. Over the last year, REO-only prices have jumped a healthy 5.5%, while fair market sales prices dropped 2.9%. Read article – Housing Wire
May 1, 2012
Investors making offers ‘sight unseen’ in Phoenix housing market
With a smaller inventory of homes for sale in the Valley, and many families and investors looking to snap up cheap properties, more sellers are putting their homes on and taking them off the market multiple times. With low inventory, getting offers is easy. It’s finding serious buyers that’s been hard, especially when dealing with out of town investors. They put in offers sight unseen, then pick the one they like when they’re in town. Read article – azfamily.com
May 1, 2012
For Your Customers: 3 Tips for Landing a Mortgage
This article covers tips for shopping for a mortgage:
1. High credit scores count. Avoid opening new lines of credit or loans for at least three months prior to getting a loan. Amd try to pay off those balances.
2. Gather plenty of quotes. Most experts say shopping around can pay off. 3. Ask about lock-ins. Home shoppers should ask how long it takes to close loans similar to theirs.
Read article – Realtor Magazine
May 1, 2012
Plot Thickens on Mortgage Write-Down Debate
Fannie Mae conducted small tests to forgive debts of homeowners who owed more on their mortgages than the properties were worth in 2010. But the mortgage-finance company didn’t expand the pilot programs after concluding the programs were difficult to operate and the benefits weren’t clear, according to a letter from the firms’ federal regulator. Read article – Wall St. Journal
April 30, 2012
Prices have begun to rise at a fast pace
Housing inventory has dropped steadily during the past year because of a record number of investors snapping up properties out of foreclosure. Home sales are up 35% from a year ago as more regular buyers have joined investors in the mix. “Prices have begun to rise at a fast pace, and bargains are no longer plentiful,” said Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory at ASU. “Most homes that are priced well are attracting multiple offers within a couple of days, and many are exceeding the asking price.” Read article – azcentral.com
April 25, 2012
Phoenix home values to outpace the nation in 2012
Phoenix home values are forecasted to experience the largest national gains in 2012. Zillow’s report for the first quarter of 2012 predicts Phoenix home appreciation rising 6.5% between March 2012 and March 2013 – the largest growth amongst the 30 major metros included in the report. “In Phoenix, your February-to-March change is 1.4 percent, which is really quite extra ordinary,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. Humphries explains that Phoenix has be experiencing “very fast monthly appreciation,” a pattern that has led to the Zillow to forecast this substantial increase in home values in the next year. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
April 24, 2012
S&P/Case-Shiller: Phoenix posts 5 straight monthly gains
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index shows that prices rose in February from January in Phoenix, San Diego and Miami. Phoenix was a bright spot in the most recent report with five straight monthly gains. Read article – KTAR
April 23, 2012
Short Sales to Reach Record Numbers This Year?
Short sales are surging this year, and if the trend continues, they could reach record levels in 2012, RealtyTrac reports. Short-sale transactions are starting to outpace foreclosure sales, as more banks see it as a better option to curb high losses from foreclosures. Mortgage servicers are also trying to speed up the approval of short sales. Read article – Realtor Magazine
April 20, 2012
Home construction outside of Phoenix on the rise
Mike Ripson hasn’t built a home in three years, but he is about to. He has been sitting on one hundred sixty acres of land just outside Phoenix, Arizona, which he intends to divide into 121 one-acre lots. “Now’s the time because we’ve been studying the marketplace, and we noticed beginning late last summer, early fall, that for homes priced less than $100,000, the market was becoming very tight,” says Ripson, whose company is celebrating its ten year anniversary this week. “Over the last several months that price point has increased such that today, homes priced less than 300,000 dollars, there’s less than a thirty-day supply in the marketplace,” Ripson adds. Read article – CNBC
April 12, 2012
More Americans think it’s time to buy a home
“Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes,” Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae, said in a news release. “With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that homeownership is a more compelling housing choice.” Of those surveyed, 33% expect home prices to increase, the highest percentage in more than a year, and 5 percentage points higher than the previous month. Read article – MSN
April 11, 2012
Recovery Underway, but Supply and Demand Out of Balance
You could say that Phoenix is a seller’s market this spring, although there’s very little real estate to buy. Michael Orr of W. P. Carey School of Business, reports that with interest rates low, the economy beginning to stir and prices very affordable compared to salaries and rental rates, a swift recovery could be in the cards. But supply is so tight that “buying a house is often quite a struggle,” he said. Supply is down 42%. In fact, the inventory of homes under $250,000 is only a 25 day supply. Read article – WP Carey
April 9, 2012
Phoenix Housing comeback continues with 22% jump in March sales
Home sales shot up 22.3% in March as increasingly confident buyers rushed to snap up houses in the peak buying season. The increased activity resulted in a modest price hike, which is one of many indicators in recent months that the Valley’s housing market is recovering. The inventory of homes for sale continued a long decrease, dropping 7.9% to 21,863 units. The March numbers are similar to 2003 and 2004, which Heagerty called “the last normal markets.” More than 56,000 homes were listed in November 2009. Prices have come up 19.9% since they hit bottom, to $129,900 in March. Read article – East Valley Tribune
April 4, 2012
Phoenix Real Estate: Prices Rise for Second Month in a Row
Lately, the Phoenix real estate market is making headlines, but for a nice change it’s all good news. It now appears to be one of the strongest of the major metropolitan areas, in terms of home-price stability. Consider the following: *According to the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Phoenix had the largest price gain of all the cities from November – December 2011 *The Phoenix market also had the largest price gain from December 2011 to January 2012. *Of all the metro areas included in the index, only three have had year-over-year price gains from January 2011 – January 2012. Phoenix was one of them. *From January 2011 to January 2012, home prices in the Phoenix metro area rose by 1.3%. Read article – Home Buying Institute
April 3, 2012
Arizona housing on the mend: Why it’s time to sell or buy
A year ago, the crowd at the courthouse was much smaller and so were the auction prices. Tom Ruff of AZBidders calls it classic supply and demand. “We’ve seen a big decline in distressed inventories,” he says. “The start of last year we might have had 60,000 properties either in foreclosure or bank owned. Today we have approximately 23,000.” In September of last year, he says we finally hit our bottom. At that time, the average home price per square foot was $79, or $94,800, for a 1,200 square foot home. As of this week, housing per square foot was approximately $91.00, adding $14,400 value to the same home over the past six months.KTAR
April 2, 2012
Phoenix-area home prices headed upward
Home prices are climbing in metro Phoenix faster than they have since the housing boom. Some parts of the region experienced home-value increases of 5 to 10 percent a month this year because of a shortage of homes for sale that is sparking bidding wars between investors and regular buyers armed with pre-approvals for mortgages. This emerging recovery of home prices in the Phoenix area started late last year and has been building each month. Read article – azcentral.com
March 30, 2012
CoreLogic: Arizona foreclosure picture brightens
The number of home foreclosures in Arizona is falling. The number of Arizona homes in the foreclosure process in February fell 1.5 percentage points from a year ago to 2.5% in February. The number of homes that are three months behind on their mortgage payments also fell to 6.7% – about 3 percentage points lower than a year ago. The percentage of Phoenix-area homeowners three months behind on their mortgage payments fell by 4 percentage points to 7.1% in February. The number of Phoenix-area homes in the process of being foreclosed on fell by 1.9 percentage points compared with last year, to 2.7%. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 29, 2012
Cities with the most new construction
A recent rebound in home sales in Phoenix – and more modestly in home prices – has spurred talk of a recovery. Turns out that budding rebound extends out into overall construction, too. In 2011, the Phoenix metro area welcomed a 41% increase in new construction, totaling $5.3 billion in new starts for both residential and non-residential building projects. “In the case of markets that were categorized by the housing boom and bust, that [construction] correction has already occurred,” explains Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs at McGraw-Hill Construction, a construction data firm. “Now areas like Phoenix are in the process of seeing an upturn in new structures – that aren’t even necessarily housing.” Read article – MSNBC
March 28, 2012
Phoenix housing market shows strong rebound
The Phoenix-area housing supply is down 42% from a year ago, foreclosures are down 52% from February 2011 and single family home prices have been trending upward since September 2011, according to a report authored by Michael Orr at the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. CoreLogic, meanwhile, also shows a local drop in foreclosures, so much so that the Phoenix foreclosure market is tracking below the national foreclosure rate of 3.43% of outstanding mortgages. That number locally in January was 2.85% of outstanding mortgages. Read article – Phoenix Business Journal
March 27, 2012
Home prices increased in Phoenix
Home prices fell in January for a 5th straight month in most major U.S. cities, as modest sales increases have yet to boost prices. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index shows prices dropped in January from December in 16 of 19 cities tracked. Prices increased in Miami, Phoenix and Washington. Read article – azcentral.com
March 12, 2012
Phoenix homebuyers are squeezed out by investors
Many potential buyers who sat on the sidelines are back in the market. Armed with a preapproved mortgage and enough cash for a hefty down payment, they bid on foreclosed homes and houses up for short sale — but are outbid by investors buying houses for cash on the spot. Home resales, averaging 7,500 a month, are at their highest level since the peak of 2005-06. But the number of homes for sale is at the lowest level in more than a decade. There currently are about 23,000 homes for sale in metro Phoenix, one-third of the area’s housing inventory in 2009. With demand for houses high and supply so low, many are drawing multiple bids.
March 8, 2012
Mortgage Rates Expected To Rise On A Strong Job Report
With home affordability at an all-time high, buoyed by the lowest mortgage rates ever, it’s been a terrific time to buy or refinance a home using a mortgage. The good times may not last, though, so today marks an ideal time to lock a mortgage rate. Friday brings risk. Here’s why….read more
March 8, 2012
Phoenix Real Estate Rallies
Phoenix-area home sales increased in January to its highest peak seen in that month in the past five years, and other price measures were also experiencing positive trends, according to DataQuick. New and resale home closings were also up 3.2% for the year in January in the Maricopa-Pinal county region. Distressed property sales (short sales and bank-owned properties) were their lowest for the month since 2008 despite strong activity among cash buyers in the lower end of the market.
March 7, 2012
Phoenix Home Sales Pick Up in January
In the Phoenix metro area, a total of 7,123 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow during January – up 3.2% from a year earlier. The number of new and resale homes that sold for less than $100,000 fell 7.3% from a year earlier, while sales between $100,000 and $200,000 increased 3.3%. Deals in the $200,000 to $600,000 range rose 9% from a year earlier, while above $800,000 sales increased 3.6 %. The median price paid in January for all new and resale houses and condos sold was $127,500 - up 7.1% from a year earlier.
March 6, 2012
Home Affordability Reaches An All-Time High
Home affordability moved higher last quarter, boosted by the lowest mortgage rates in history, a rise in median income, and slow-to-recover home prices throughout Arizona and the country.
February 29, 2012
Phoenix home prices leveling off
Phoenix performed better than many other metropolitan areas, based on year-over-year and the most recent month-to-month numbers. Local home prices improved very slightly last fall, an average of about 0.8% from November to December and 0.4% from October to November.
February 22, 2012
Sales of previously owned homes surged in January to the fastest pace since May 2010 in another sign that the housing market is slowly making some headway against its longest dip since the Great Depression. Plus, we’re all starting to see bidding wars break out on houses less than $250,000, and even more so on those less than $200,000
February 17, 2012
Housing affordability rose to a record high during the fourth quarter of 2011, which means a home buyer’s purchasing power is greater than it ever has been before.
February 13, 2012
Phoenix homes sold 27 percent faster in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2010. Contributing factors include an improving job market: Unemployment dropped to 7.7 percent in Nov, which beats the national average and is a 1.1 percentage point improvement over 2010‘s rate in the Phoenix metro area.
January 26, 2012
10 Cities Where List Prices Soared in the Last Year: Phoenix-Mesa Arizona was #9 with a year-over-year increase of 13.79%
January 23, 2012
Housing affordability has been pushed to a 40-year high thanks to fallen home prices and record-low mortgage rates have. Meanwhile, rental prices are continuing to rise at a fast pace. Rental prices in 20 of the largest metro areas increased 3.75% in 2011, and prices are expected to continue to rise in 2012
December 2011
The Phoenix area ranked No. 4 on a list of the most-searched real estate markets online.
