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Phoenix No. 2 in U.S. for drop in home prices

Phoenix is not leading the nation in home prices declines, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index released this morning.

Las Vegas is No. 1 with a 32.4 percent drop in housing values between June 2008 and June 2009. Metropolitan Phoenix came in at No. 2 with a 31.6 percent decline for the period. Detroit was No. 3 with a 25 percent price drop.

According to the well-respected index, metro Phoenix has led the nation for home price drops during most of the past six months. However, the Valley’s median home prices started to tick up in late April as the inventory of foreclosures for sale dipped.

Phoenix was one of the 20 cities tracked by the index that saw its price decline improve from May to June. Las Vegas and Detroit both experienced bigger decreases in home prices during the month.

Because the index lags a few months, metro Phoenix should do even better on next month’s index. The Valley’s median home price has climbed about $10,000 from the low it hit in early June.

Overall, U.S. home prices tracked in the 20-city index dropped in June to 15.4 percent from 17.1 percent.

For the fifteenth straight month, no metro area in the index posted a year-over-year price increase. Nationwide, home prices are at 2003 levels.

Source: AzCentral.com

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Arizona Real Estate is on the rise for investors.

Recently it was reported that investors are coming to Arizona to purchse foreclosed homes and either sell, rent, or lease the homes back to the people or lost their home to foreclosure.

Some of the comments I’ve heard are “wow, I’m sure the people who are renting the same home they lost will take really good care of it”. I think the sarcasm is a little premature considering most people once they do something wrong the first time they normally won’t do it again!

If you would like to view Arizona Foreclosures for sale simply click the link.

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Arizona lawmakers are cracking down on home loan modifiers who promise results for big bucks, but deliver nothing in return.

Governor Jan Brewer just signed into law legislation requiring loan modification officers be licensed and have criminal background checks beginning July 2010.

The new law comes as a relief to homeowners like Jillian Strode.

Strode recently had her loan modified, but worried about being scammed by a home loan modification company.

“I had to be careful who I picked,” she said. “It was scary. I mean this is the American dream and I didn’t want to lose my home.”

Heckathorn turned to Steve Taplin, CEO of American Loan Restructuring for help.

Taplin says he sees a lot of scamming in the industry and welcomes the new law.

“It will force them to have background checks, it will force them to be held to a higher standard and it should really help push out a lot of these people who are taking advantage of people out there,” Taplin said.

He suggests homeowners look for companies that are willing to put the money paid out in escrow until the loan modification is approved. That way homeowners know they won’t be scammed.

“We don’t touch the money until we’ve gotten results,” said Taplin.

Under the new law, home loan modifiers will also undergo 20 hours of education on lending laws.

For more information on Loan Modifications in Arizona simply click the link

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Just imagine you are driving down the street, and you see a for sale sign in front of what you think could be your dream home. Your write down the number and can’t wait to call the broker.

If you have an iPhone, you can get the information on the spot.

Zillow.com released a free iPhone app last month, enabling consumers to get the low-down on more than 88 million homes – and not just the ones for sale.

The app is GPS-powered so the map follows you as you stroll, with price estimates popping up along the way. Pass a sale sign and you can access pricing, number of bedroom and baths, square footage and other info.

“House-hunting is, inherently, a mobile experience,” said Zillow’s CEO Rich Barton in announcing the launch.

This will add a whole other layer to that Sunday afternoon perambulation.

Click the link to search the Arizona MLS online

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View our Arizona MLSListing Page.

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Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Information

On July 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) to address the severe housing crisis. Title III of the Act appropriates $3.92 billion of grant funds under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) for states and local governments to purchase and redevelop abandoned or foreclosed properties. The HERA directed the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the city of Phoenix to target funding to areas with the greatest needs based on the extent of foreclosures, sub-prime mortgages, and mortgage delinquencies and defaults.

As funding recipients, city, county and state agencies must develop their own programs and funding priorities. However, they must use at least 25 percent of the funds appropriated for the purchase and redevelopment of abandoned or foreclosed homes or residential properties that will be used to house individuals or families whose incomes do not exceed 50 percent of the area median income. In addition, all activities funded by NSP must benefit low- and moderate-income persons whose income does not exceed 120 percent of area median income.

The city of Phoenix has kicked off their first program, “Homeownership Assistance” assisting buyers of foreclosed homes, townhouses or condominiums with $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance. If you are interested in finding out how to purchase a foreclosed property using this program please see the information links in the box below “Buying a Foreclosed Property”. If you are a a real estate professional or a lender or a mortgage broker representing a foreclosed property, please see the information links in the box below “Information for Real Estate Professionals and Lenders”.

source:phoenix.gov

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Homebuyers offered Homeownership Assistance

The city of Phoenix is now offering $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance to help potential home buyers qualify to purchase foreclosed single family homes, townhouses or condominiums.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) allows home buyers to repay the full amount of the loan to the city when the homebuyer sells the home or refinances.

You can learn more about this opportunity by calling 602-262-6602 or click HERE to visit the website. If you are looking to purchase and Arizona Phoenix home, you can also search the Phoenix MLS by clicking HERE .

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The fastest way to find Arizona new homes, land Arizona, foreclosures and more

Finding exactly what you’re looking for during this information age has become, in some ways more difficult because of the shear enormity of stuff. You have to sift through to get to what you want.

Real estate technology however, has taken a leap forward in the cut-to-the-chase race. There is now a mapping tool that lets you digitally fly over an area of interest to see where each listing is located. You can also specify search criteria, even to look only at foreclosures for example. Use your cursor to hover over a listing. The photo, price and address pops up. If you want more information, simply click on it again to see the full listing. A real time saver and VERY cool!

Click HERE to see an example of this new technology being utilized for Arizona MLS properties.

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Homes For Sale Arizona

I found it interesting that as new nationwide figures were released yesterday showing an 11% increase in new home sales, the nation is nearing another huge round of foreclosures. We are seeing continued construction of Arizona new homes, while the Case Shiller Index showed Phoenix with a year-over-year price decrease of 34% in May, 2009.

Most leading indicators seem to show a continued decrease in prices throughout the next 12-18 months, yet builders continue to build homes to add to the inventory. Rental homes in Arizona are in greater demand as prospective home buyers opt to rent until they consider the time is right to purchase. So what is going on?

Many economists and building industry experts believe that there may soon be a housing shortage, due to investors and first time homebuyers absorbing the lower priced inventory at a faster rate than new construction provides.

As prices continue to drop, the sale-to-rent ratio becomes more attractive to investors. As mortgage payments on homes for sale in Arizona become attractive compared to monthly rental rates on rental homes in Arizona, investors will buy for the attractive return on investment.

Believe it or not, Arizona new homes and existing homes could be in short supply in the not-too-distant future.

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