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.
Comments Off
Downtown Phoenix residential properties are a good buy today. But it’s not surprising that you might be a bit nervous about buying a property right now even if it is in Downtown Phoenix. As you probably know, Downtown Phoenix has been in revitalization mode for the last number of years until the economic crash stalled almost everything. The good thing is that the real estate bubble burst has reduced prices back to something that regular folk can afford. There are many one and 2 bedroom condos priced under $100k that are within walking distance to a light rail stop and there are some very nice Phoenix Historic Homeswhose prices have come back down into the low $200k. Most of these prices are around 50% less then they were 2 and 3 years ago but as they say, “that was then, this is now.” Home prices from 2 and 3 years ago have no baring on the value today. Seller’s hate to hear that but facts are facts. So what do you do now? Call me to see if there is a property out there that meets your needs and rest assured that you are getting a Native Phoenician that specializes in Downtown and Central Phoenix and really understands the market and the neighborhoods.
Comments Off
There are many condo communities that boast Live/Work units in the Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe downtowns but only Phoenix has true Live/Work units and there are only 10 of them and one is finally on the market. This is a great unit with a store front that is street level and living space upstairs and the two are connected making this a true Live/Work Condo. Located in the heart of the Roosevelt Arts District and the First Friday Art Walk, this is a great opportunity to start your own business.
The RooPho Realty office is located in another of the Artisan Village Live/Work Condos and speaking from experience, this is a great way to run your own business and have a store front in an up and coming area of Downtown Phoenix.
Comments Off
The recent HUD announcement stated the HUD was lifting the 90 day flipping rule effective 2/1/2010 and will not loan on a property that has not been owned by the current owner for more than 90 days. Until now, the current had to own the property for 90 days before FHA would insure the loan. This is for contracts effective 2/1/2010. It does not apply to contracts or loans already in existance. Again this waiver DOES NOT apply to existing loans or contracts. It applies to new contracts 2/1/2010 and later.
This 90 day waiting period has kept many buyers from purchasing the home they really wanted because they wanted to use FHA financing. Now they will be able to us FHA for many homes and condos in the valley.
Comments Off
It was announced the other day that 44 Monroe, the 33 story luxury high rise condominium building is up for sale. Grace Developers sold only about 9 of the condos before the market fell out from under us and the project will be filing for bankruptcy soon. In the meantime, the remaining units will be auction off as one sale. This will remove some of the debt and Grace Communities from the project. The auction is currently scheduled for April and once complete, they should be ready to start selling the individual units again. It will be interesting to see what prices they put on the unit and what price the HOA monthly dues will be.
Comments Off
WASHINGTON – Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David Stevens today announced a set of policy changes to strengthen the FHA’s capital reserves, while enabling the agency to continue to fulfill its mission to provide access to homeownership for underserved communities. The changes announced today are the latest in a series of changes Stevens has enacted in order to better position the FHA to manage its risk while continuing to support the nation’s housing market recovery.
The FHA will propose to take the following steps: increase the mortgage insurance premium (MIP); update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers; reduce seller concessions to three percent, from six percent; and implement a series of significant measures aimed at increasing lender enforcement. U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan previewed the changes in December of last year, noting that the FHA would announce additional details before the end of January.
“Striking the right balance between managing the FHA’s risk, continuing to provide access to underserved communities, and supporting the nation’s economic recovery is critically important,” said Commissioner Stevens. “When combined with the risk management measures announced in September of last year, these changes are among the most significant steps to address risk in the agency’s history. Additionally, by continuing to provide affordable, responsible mortgage products, FHA will support the housing market’s recovery. Importantly, FHA will remain the largest source of home purchase financing for underserved communities.”
Comments Off