Just when you thought things were bottoming out in the real estate market, Banks foreclosures went up 1% in May over April. That doesn’t sound like much but foreclosures going down would be better. Many Banks are holding on to some of the foreclosed homes and not putting them on the market right away. If they did, it could cause prices to go down even further and prolong the recession.
I’ve helped over 50 buyers in the last 18 months buy homes from Banks and Short Sale listings. There are many new things happening when you are buying any property in this market. The skills and strategy used to help you buy a property will make a difference in the investment value.
RooPho Realty has been working very hard to get buyers the best value in todays market.
Arizona saw its foreclosure activity increase by less than 1% in May from the prior month and drop 5% from May 2009. One in every 169 properties received a foreclosure notice in May.
With this many homes still being foreclosed on every month, there will be plenty to choose from for the rest of the year and into next year. Also, values won’t be going up very fast with all of these foreclosures. What will go up is interest rates. You’ll want to watch interest rates closely as it will cost you much more to buy a $100,000 house at 6% interest then at 5% interest.
I still think Downtown Phoenix is still one of the best buys in the Valley. Most of my clients are looking in Downtown and along the Light Rail. As the market recovers, I think values along the Light Rail will go up just a bit faster than outside walking distance to the rail line.