Archive for the ‘Short Sales’ category

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Short Sale Fiasco

September 8th, 2010

No matter how hard the sellers and buyers try to complete a successful short sale purchase, there is always a 3rd party who makes the final decision. After waiting for 6 months, Aurora Loan Services said “NO” to my buyers contract on a home in Gilbert.

Chalk another screwed up short sale to Aurora. I believe they purposefully strung this along so they can foreclose. They totally mislead the seller, the buyer and the agents involved. The National Association of Realtors or AZ Association of Realtors should be compiling statistics from Realtors and go in front of Congress and the American public to disclose how (with some banks) the short sale process is a total sham. OK, I’m venting.

Here’s the back ground info:

My client, from out of state, was looking for a home where he could eventually retire to during the winter season. Since he wasn’t ready to retire for the next 3-5 years he wanted to rent it out. He wanted to take advantage of the very affordable housing market in the Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert or Tempe area.

We found a 2100 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 3 bath home in Gilbert built in 2001 with a tenant who had 11 months still on the lease. The Buyer made an almost a full price cash offer and it was accepted by the seller.

Since May, Aurora had indicated they had all of the necessary short sale paper work but then they would need something updated, such as the seller’s most current bank statement. This went on for 3 more months. Aurora would say …”Yes, we have everything” and then ask for an updated document. They postponed the foreclosure (Trustee Sale) 3 times while this went on.    

The seller has been unemployed for 10 months so there was a definite hardship. The current rental income doesn’t come close to covering the mortgage and taxes. To agree to the short sale, Aurora wanted the seller to pay $7,500 cash at closing PLUS sign a promissory note for $20,000. They were going to require the promissory note knowing full well that Arizona is an anti-deficiency state. This means the bank (Aurora) COULD NOT collect the difference on the short sale but yet they still wanted the $20,000 note!!!

Back in February, I thought it was the perfect situation for all…. seller sells via short sale, renter gets to stay in the house for at least another 11 months, and my buyer gets an investment home for his future retirement. But obviously it wasn’t in Aurora’s best interest.  

This is just an example of some of the pitfalls of short sales.  Others include buying property “AS IS”, unnecessary damage done by short sale seller when moving out, the length of time to close, higher buyer’s closing costs and the bank changing (or canceling) the terms of the purchase contract.

I have helped many buyers and sellers complete successful short sale transaction. They have been very satisfied with the outcome. However, this sale has taught me to advise future buyers of my experience with Aurora.

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Posted in First Time Home Buyer, Foreclosure Articles, Short Sales

Real Estate Recovery? Some Areas, YES!

September 2nd, 2010

For those of us who live in the Phoenix metropolitan area, excitement is in the air!  It is the first of September, which means our reason for living here is just around the corner…patio living, walks in the neighborhood and cool evenings are on the way! 

 

A new season means it is time to do yet another analysis of the real estate market in the greater Phoenix area. This includes cities in the east valley such as Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe as well as cities in the west valley such as Avondale, Buckeye, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria, and Surprise. There are pockets of continuous growth while there are many areas that are still experiencing some ups and downs.  Like other cities in the United States, the Phoenix real estate market got a “shot in the arm” when some buyers were able to take advantage of the temporary First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.  As nice as that was for many, it inflated the recovery of the real estate market, so one must keep this in mind while reading journals, newspapers and blogs that report August sales numbers. 

 

There is one segment of the real estate market that seems to be leading the recovery.  Even though the 55+ communities such as Sun Lakes, Sun Bird, Springfield and Del Webb Solera have experienced minor price decline since 2007, in 2010, they have been showing a steady increase in value.  For example, per the Cromford Report, Sun Lakes, located south of Chandler, has seen an increase in the average sale price of $232,616 in November of 2009 to $244,756 in July of 2010.  See chart below.  In partial, this is due to the fact there are fewer short sales and foreclosed homes in the 55+ communities.  These areas also continue to draw from those who want to live in a warmer climate during the fall, winter and spring. 

 

Many of my clients, who are still working, are not ready to retire, yet are taking advantage of these low prices in the market, as compared to just four years ago.  Knowing these prices may never be this low again, they are acquiring properties for their future.  I have several clients who are renting their Arizona property until they retire and spend their winters here.  With our sought-after winter sunshine, the 55+ communities are in demand for fall, winter and spring rentals.  As the Baby Boomer generation continues to mature, the demand for these communities will always be present.

 

If you are interested in finding out more about how to take advantage of this market, please contact me at (480)688-3612.  You can also start your no obligation search by clicking on Search Homes and fill in your criteria. If you want to see specific homes in Sun Lakes expand the plus symbol next to SE Valley, scroll down to Sun Lakes and fill in the rest of your home features.

 

I look forward to helping you with any of your real estate needs.

Cromford Sun Lakes Ave Sale Price 08-2010

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Posted in Foreclosure Articles, Real Estate Market Report, Retirement, Short Sales

Promising Home Sale Trends In Phoenix Area

May 23rd, 2010

Yesterday morning I started my day with a cup of coffee sitting on the patio reading the AZ Republic’s front page article “Promising Trends in Home Sales”. I wondered how it compared with my clients that I am showing short sales and some foreclosures in the Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Tempe area.

The just of the article indicates the April numbers are positive & May is continuing that trend:

  1. The number of home sales continue to be near record highs
  2. Foreclosures didn’t dominate sales
  3. Homes purchased by investors dropped
  4. More buyers purchased with the intend to occupy the home vs. renting or fixing & flipping
  5. The federal tax credits for home buyers helped

 

 As a comparison, I took a look at my little microcosm of real estate over the last 50 days in the Ahwatukee, Chandler,Gilbert, Mesa &Tempe:
  1.  I have worked with 12 clients; 3 sellers, 8 buyers and 1 renter
  2. Of the sellers; 2 were short sales and 1 from Sun Lakes had to sell for medical reasons
  3. Both of the short sale sellers had their homes rented and lost their renters
  4. One is in a Pre-foreclosure with the foreclosure date set for next month
  5. Of the 8 buyers; 2 are Canadian, 2 are 1st time home buyers, 2 out of state buyers looking for a primary residence moving her because of their work and 2 others who previously had lost a home either from a short sale or foreclosure. All of these homes were in Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa &Tempe, not the far out areas of Maricopa or Queen Creek.
  6. The renter is in the process of losing her home of 8 yrs to foreclosure after being laid off 3 time in the last 2 yrs.
Short Sale home purchased by my Canadian buyers

Short Sale home purchased by my Canadian buyers

Do I see a trend here? Yes, people are still hurting (5 out of 12 were involved in a short sale or foreclosure) but they are also figuring out ways to get back into a home via renting back from a relative who buys the home.  The sun is still attracting buyers from out of state/country. We might see a lull with first time home buyers because many of them tried to get under the 4/30/10 tax credit deadline. We saw this same lull in Dec 2009 after the 11/30/09 deadline that got extended.

In the near future (late May and June), I have appointments already set to show out of state buyers coming from Seattle, Chicago, and British Columbia, & Alberta, Canada. The volume of calling activity from local buyers has been increasing as well. It’s interesting that more of my callers are asking about Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa & Tempe not the hardest hit foreclosure and short sale areas of Maricopa and Queen Creek.

While nobody can predict the future. I can tell you:

  1. Interest rates continue to be at historical lows. What direction do you think they are headed?  
  2. The supply side of homes has been trending down.  The day’s inventory (# of days it would take to sell all of the active homes on the market) has dropped from 417 days 2 yrs ago, 203 days last May, 165 on 2/23/10 to 159 today.
  3. As the supply decreases, what typically happens to the price?
  4. For those that say, “But wait for all of the “Phantom Inventory” to be thrown on the market”, I ask how long have you been hearing that? I have been hearing about it for over a year.
  5. I believe about 15 months ago the banks got their act together and determined it was to their best interest not to foreclose and to try to work with the financially hard hit short sale sellers. 

If you are looking to sell your home or buy a new home, I invite you to contact me or search the complete MLS. I’m experienced and knowledgeable about homes for sale in Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa & Tempe, Arizona as well as the surrounding areas.

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Posted in First Time Home Buyer, Foreclosure Articles, Real Estate Market Report, Short Sales

Short Sale Home & Bankruptcy Court

April 4th, 2010

Even though I have represented many Short Sale clients in Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe and Ahwatukee, Arizona, I ran into a different twist on one this last week.

I have a buyer who entered into a purchase contract for a short sale house. It had previously been a rental. Interesting enough, my buyer is a Realtor from another state moving to Phoenix. I feel fortunate she asked me to represent her on this transaction.

Over approx a 2 month period, the somewhat typical sequence of short sale events were occurring:

  1. The purchase contract was forwarded on to the mortgage holder (bank) for approval
  2. Seller also submitted their “Hardship” paperwork.
  3. Listing agent contacted the bank to follow up only to find out 1 & 2 above couldn’t be found. They said they never received the fax.
  4. Resubmitted everything again.
  5. Bank requested the Broker Price Opinion to be done. This is a valuation process to determine for the banks negotiator the contract price is reasonable for the market
  6. Wait
  7. Wait some more
  8. Waited for 2 months

This is where things changed from typically to unusual. The seller filed Bankruptcy. At this point since the contract on the related asset (home) & debt (house mortgage) is under the control of the Bankruptcy court. The seller’s bankruptcy attorney filed a motion asking the court to approve the sale of the home to my client. The hearing was this week.   

I decided to attend it. While Bankruptcy court is not exactly the Perry Mason, Matlock stuff you see on TV, I always fancied myself as a wannabe “legal eagle” so I was more curious than anything.  I was told by the seller’s BK attorney; most likely the mortgage company would not dispute the sale because they don’t want the house back as a foreclosure and our purchase price on the contract was a fair market price. If the bank had wanted to, they could have tied this home and mortgage up in BK court for some time. At least longer than my buyer client wanted to wait.

The bank (Chase) did send an attorney to ask the judge for more time to evaluate the short sale contract. The judge indicated there was no formal objection filed and was on the verge of postponing the sale when I found myself standing up near the back of the court room raising my hand like a polite school kid in class. The judge motioned me forward. I testified Chase had already had 60 days to evaluate the short sale contract. I found myself boldly asking the judge in my best Perry Mason voice “Isn’t that long enough? That truly is “representing” the best interest of my client.

Decision: Judge “finds” for the Debtor (seller), house sold to my buyer, she is happy. It will close in about 16 days and she can move in when she arrives in Phoenix on 4/30.

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Posted in First Time Home Buyer, Short Sales

A Lender’s Perspective On The Phoenix Real Estate Market

March 13th, 2010

Earlier this week I attended our brokerage’s monthly meeting. We usually hold these meetings at one of our strategic partner’s office. This month it was held at Suburban Mortgage.  I won’t bore you with the general rhetoric of our meetings but what I did find very interesting were comments given to us by Tom Osselaer, Executive Vice President of Finance for Suburban.  Tom is a follower of the market, especially of the financial markets and how they relate to the real estate lending world.

Here are a few of his comments that I found interesting.

  1. When asked about where he thought interest rates were going? His answer was, they will be going up and down or they will be going down and up. Meaning nobody knows. So stop being obsessed with hitting the exact bottom because by the time you realize it’s bottomed it will be too late. A bigger concern is if you could qualify today at these interest rates, will you qualify when interest rates go up?  Maybe that uptick will prevent you from getting a loan. Today’s interest rates are still very low at 5-6%. How many of us remember when interest rates were approaching 20%?
  2. Jumbo loan funding (over $417K) is improving. In the fall of 2008, during the financial meltdown these loans were impossible to get. Without the Federal government backing these loans, they couldn’t be sold on the secondary market, now they are. This is a very positive improving sign.
  3. Even though the Phoenix area has seen its share of unemployment, there is still this attitude around the country of “Go West Young Man (or Woman)”. Besides, where would you like to be unemployed…Phoenix or Detroit?   
  4. The Phoenix market has always been cyclical. It will rebound faster because of the natural inbound migration.
  5. Housing affordability ratio hasn’t been this good in over 20 yrs. If you add in the Home Buying Tax Credit of $8000/$6500 it improves the ratio even more.
  6. Individual’s home buying decision should NOT be a short term decision. Think long term. If the home price goes down for the 1st few months you are in it, so what? You are not selling after living in it only a few months. Where do you think the housing market will be in 3-5 yrs? Financial planner’s usually advice putting away (investing) consistently every month for your retirement. A mortgage payment is exactly that. Again, think long term.

When I meet my clients for the 1st time I ask;

  1. Where do you want to live?
  2. Can you afford it?
  3. Are you comfortable with the payment?

Do you want to take advantage of low interest rates, a government incentive, great affordability and home selection?  If you haven’t already and you want to search on Phoenix area homes go to www.Steve.ViewAllPhoenixHomes.com

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Posted in First Time Home Buyer, Foreclosure Articles, Real Estate Market Report, Short Sales

Phoenix Real Estate Symposium Looks Back at 2009 & A View Forward on 2010

January 17th, 2010

A Look Back and a View Forward Symposium by Fidelity National Title 1/13/2010

I attended this real estate symposium hosted by Fidelity National Title. A panel of who’s who in the local Phoenix real estate market shared their perspective on local market conditions. Their market area covers Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe and the rest of the Phoenix metro area. In 2009 their real estate firms sold over a thousand Short Sales and Foreclosed homes. The panel included:

Mike Orr, founder of the Cromford Report;

Realtors Lester Cox, Don Matheson, Scott Gibson, Sandra Wilken, Kenny Klaus, Curtis Johnson, and Mark Parris;

Lenders Tracy King from Wachovia and Mark Morrison from Bank of America;

Reginald Givens, the Dept of Housing; and Irving Hymson, Real Estate Specialist Attorney;

The symposium was narrated by Steve de Laveaga, Senior Vice President, Fidelity National Title

Some Notable Notes:

Mike Orr gave a very detailed account of the 2009 real estate market. His background is in mathematics with work experience at IBM and Fujitsu, so he knows his numbers. His firm takes input daily from the local MLS, county records and other sources to compile an extremely comprehensive document called the Cromford Report. The number of homes sold in 2009 was the 3 rd highest on record. He showed statistically how the median home sale price hit bottom in April and has climbed each month ever since. He illustrated how this recovery is shaped like the Nike swoosh, very sharp down trend over the last 2 yrs with a slow upward recovering trend. The starter home price range is further along in recovery because the increase demand created in 2009 from both the 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and investors buying homes. The mid-priced homes are beginning that upward trend and the higher priced homes have leveled off, not increasing or decreasing.

 Mike is predicting the following for early 2010:

  1. The number of Short Sale transactions will continue to increase;
  2. Pending foreclosures will start to go down;
  3. More 3rd party investors will buy homes at Trustee Sales;
  4. Traditional sales are slow until March;
  5. Sales pricing will be flat to slightly higher (long, slow increase). Remember the Nike swoosh;

In the rental market, the number of homes available has decreased a startling 18%. Obviously, investors have not flooded the rental market buying homes with the intent of renting.

For the “View Forward” Steve de Laveaga, ask the panel for their insights by asking, if we were playing a baseball game, what inning are we in and what’s the score?

 It was interesting, the responses ranged from the 1st inning to the 7th inning and the relievers are pitching. We are slightly ahead. Acknowledging the Cardinals are in the midst of the playoffs, Lester Cox couldn’t relate to baseball and gave his own football analogy… “We’re on our own 38 yard line advancing the ball slowly with a possibility of a 15 yard penalty.”

It seems as though the market is as diverse as these respected Realtors. Their comments seem to be related to their location of where they do business, the price range they are working in and their client base. There is a direct correlation with these elements to the Nike swoosh recovery model.

 Additional information, included the announcement Bank of America Processing Center in Chandler has hired 1200 employees to shore up the Short Sale Dept to help reduce the lengthy process.  Tracy King from Wachovia indicated they had studied the cost factor for Short Sales vs. Foreclosures. They determined on average it was $38,000 more expensive to take a home to Foreclosure than accepting a Short Sale.  All of this is encouraging banks to work harder in completing a Short Sale, in a timely manner so there will be fewer Foreclosures.

So what does the 2010 Phoenix real estate market look like? Regardless of whether (or how much) the economy or unemployment improves, there will still be buyers looking to purchase homes. First time home buyers will be looking to cash in on the extended tax credit. Move-up buyers may see opportunity to keep (and rent out their existing home) and buy another home at much lower pricing than a few yrs ago. Buyers from out-of-state & Canadians will see this as a great opportunity to acquire a 2nd home for spending winters here in the sunshine. Investors are buying for positive rental cash flow or to fix and flip. With banks becoming more Short Sale oriented we will experience a higher Short Sale market and fewer Foreclosures.

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Posted in First Time Home Buyer, Foreclosure Articles, Real Estate Market Report, Retirement, Short Sales

The 202 S. MTN Freeway Ahwatukee Saga Continues

December 18th, 2009

As I have predicted in my previous post, Wednesday it was reported on the front page of the Arizona Republic the Gila Indian River Community has “agreed to start what could be delicate talks towards reaching a pact to move the proposed freeway”… away from the current ADOT proposed route on Pecos RD. Many current home owners in the Ahwatukee and west Chandler have thought the alignment would have a direct impact on the value of their homes. With foreclosures and short sales all too prevalent in the Phoenix metro area, the current Pecos alignment is a concern to many.

One possible option would require a land swap with the tribe and the federal government of wilderness land in the Sierra Estrella area. A Gila River spokesperson indicated their Governor would be sending a formal letter to ADOT suggesting the realignment.

This is still a long way from any consensus. As ADOT spokesman, Matt Burdick said “If something comes of this effort, it will take a combination of diplomacy, policy, technical analysis and financial resources.” 

 Well at least they are talking and a different solution is close to being on the table for review.

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Posted in Foreclosure Articles, Other, Short Sales

Will Recent Improvements to Loan Modification and Short Sales Prevent Foreclosures???

December 2nd, 2009

In the last few days, the Fed has done some significant strong arming on lenders, to help struggling home owners.

The 1st line of defense appears to be a renewed emphasis around making the loan modification easier. Typically, someone seeking a loan modification does it on a temporary basis to see if they can handle the lower mortgage payments. The problem has been these temporary plans have not been converting into a permanent loan restructure, not doing anybody any good.  Nationally, there are over 650,000 mortgages in this temporary status. 34,000 of these are in Arizona.  Very few have been converted to a permanent status. 375,000 are eligible to be converted into a permanent loan modification by the end of the year.

There could potentially be a problem.  The new web site www.makinghomeaffordable.gov reports “If your first Trial Period Plan payment was due on or before October 1, 2009, the deadline for signing an agreement for a permanent Home Affordable Modification is December 31, 2009! If you do not sign a Permanent Modification Agreement by this deadline, you may lose your eligibility for a Home Affordable Modification.” This is could be what is driving the Obama administration recent jawboning of lenders. 

Locally, in the Phoenix area mortgage counselors are indicating most troubled homeowners won’t qualify for a better loan deal because they either their finances haven’t improved enough or their lender isn’t willing to deal. That might be changing with Obama’s emphasis to lenders to work out a permanent loan modifications.

On 12/5/09, the Phoenix credit and mortgage counseling firm Take Charge America will host a foreclosure prevention programs at 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, and 11:00 AM at 20620 an 19TH Ave Phoenix. The program will cover foreclosure alternatives, ways to communicate with lenders, ways to avoid mortgage scams and borrower’s rights. Also kid’s activities will be provided. Take Charge America is a not for profit credit counseling entity that recently obtained a loan modification certification from HUD.  

On 11/30/09 the Obama administration announced lender’s failure to meet standards they agreed to “will be subject consequences, which could include monetary penalties and sanctions.”

The 2nd line of defense of a foreclosure is the short sale.  A recent article in the AZ Republic reported “short sales may be a new best option for valley homeowners to avoid foreclosure”.  If a loan modification does not succeed then the next step is a short sale.  It is being reported lenders are moving more quickly to approve short sales in the Phoenix area.

This has not been the case for me. As a Realtor, I have had a buyer’s short sale offer for an Ahwatukee house sitting on the lenders desk since August 30th. It is kind of ironic, the 1st mortgage holder approved the short sale in about 45 days and the 2nd mortgage holder is still processing it. If it goes to foreclosure the 2nd mortgage holder gets ZERO. So why are they taking so long?

Only time will tell if recent Obama pressure tactic to lenders will help ease the loan modification and the short sale process. Ultimately, if they improve, fewer families will face the traumatic experience of losing their homes and fewer distress properties in the real estate market will have a more stabilizing effect to that market.

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Posted in Foreclosure Articles, Short Sales

Extended & Expanded 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Becomes Law

November 6th, 2009

Earlier today, November 6, 2009, President Obama signed into law an extended & expanded version of the current 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.  This could continue to help buyers in the Phoenix market where most of the homes selling are either bank owned foreclosed homes or short sales. Especially hard hit areas of Chandler, Gilbert, Maricopa, Mesa, Queen Creek and Tempe will benefit.

The extended portion for 1st time home buyers:

  1. The same $8,000 tax credit is still available for home buyers that have not owned a home in the last 3 yrs.
  2. The Nov 30th deadline has been extended with a 2 fold deadline: 
    1. Must have a written contract in effect by April 30, 2010
    2. Must close on the home by June 30, 2010
    3. Income limits to qualify have been increased to $125,000 filing single and $225,000 filing married.
    4. The cost of the home is limited to $800,000.

 The expanded portion for current home owners:

  1. A $6,500 tax credit is available for those buyers who have lived in their old home for 5 of the previous 8 years
  2. Also must have a written contract in effect by April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010.
  3. Income limits to qualify have been increased to $125,000 filing single and $225,000 filing married.
  4. The cost of the home is limited to $800,000.

Other provisions include written proof in the form of the HUD 1 settlement sheet all buyers receive when the close on a house will have to be submitted.  Buyers can apply for the tax credit on their 2009 tax return even if they close on a house in 2010. This will allow them to receive the money on a timely basis.

What does all this mean to you? It depends.

If you are a 1st time home buyer (or haven’t owned a home in the last 3 yrs) you still have an opportunity to buy a home in the very affordable Phoenix market. For the last several months, I have strongly suggested to my clients NOT to look at short sales because there was not enough time to close prior to the Nov 30th deadline. That has changed now.  As long as you have a contract by April 30th and close by June 30th you would qualify.  This opens up a lot more homes to choose from.

If you are a current home owner and buy another house making it your primary residence, you will get a $6,500 tax credit. You could be looking to “move up” to a larger home to fit your family needs or even “down sizing”. The move up market (approx $250,000+) has not seen the competitive upward pricing situation as much as the starter home price range. You could use this as a distinct advantage. If you’re selling a “starter” priced home where the market has seen multiple offers with mini bidding wars, you’ll command a better price. Then when you are a buyer in the move up price range, where there is less competitive pressure, you can do a little more bargain hunting and get more for your money. You do not need to sell your current home, just move to the new one.

 

Bottom line… for home buyers this is good news. For seller’s this is good news because more buyers will continue to be buying and they’ll get a credit when they buy.  For tax payers ….well let’s leave that for a future blog.

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Posted in Foreclosure Articles, Short Sales

Have We Reached the Real Estate Bottom in Phoenix?

October 7th, 2009

The local September numbers strongly suggest we have.
1. In September, the number of homes foreclosed on by lenders dropped almost 8% from August per the Information Market. Last month decreased also.
2. The number of Trustee Sales Notices (or pre-foreclosure notices) sent to delinquent home owners dropped 11% also per the Information Market. This would indicate future month’s foreclosures will be down too.
3. Median home prices in the Phoenix area increased for the 6th month in a row to $130,000 from $127,000 in August per Mike Orr’s Cromford Report.
4. New home prices are also up. The median price in September was $197,948, up 7% from a low in July per RL Brown’s Phoenix Housing Market Letter.
5. Meritage Homes has agreed to purchase 1300 vacant lots to build in Province an “Active Adult Community” in Maricopa. Maricopa has been one of the areas hit very hard with foreclosures. Meritage would not be making such a significant investment if they didn’t think there was a significant opportunity to sell these homes.

All of this coincides with what I have been experiencing working with my buyer clients over the last 4-5 months.
1. Multiple offers (and mini bidding wars) that started back in May in the under $150,000 price range has gone up into the $400,000 price range. There are certainly fewer bidders in the higher price range but it has happened to my buyers. I had a buyer offering $395,000 with 20% down payment, get beat out by a CASH buyer.
2. Short sale homes are not only getting offers on them but the lenders are getting the approvals done. This prevents the home from being foreclosed on and but less downward price pressure.
3. New home models in Chandler, Gilbert, Maricopa and Queen Creek that were closed in the Spring because of literally no building activity now are open with buyers looking. Granted it is not crazy like it was in 2005-2006. New home neighborhoods that had empty lots, now have subcontractors working away to finish these homes.
4. This increase in activity has been occurring when Phoenix typically does not have much activity from winter visitors buying 2nd homes or retirement homes. This will occur in January- May.
5. There is more property on the market that was purchased by investors at the foreclosure auction months ago and has been cleaned up, painted, repaired and looked desirable for buyers. This has helped moved these trashed up foreclosure homes off the market. No matter how much buyers want a “deal”, they don’t want to take care of other peoples mess.

If you are interested in starting the home buying process with no obligation go to “Click Here To Search For Phoenix Area Homes” under my picture to the right. Feel free to contact me directly also.

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Posted in Foreclosure Articles, Real Estate Market Report, Short Sales