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economy: Foreclosures down in Phoenix Area - 02/10/10 01:52 PM
Today 2/10/10, the Arizona Republic anounced that foreclosure filings were down significantly in metropolitan Phoenix. this is the first time since Novembeer 2008 this has occurred.
What caused the drop is not certain, perhaps loan modifications are finally working, or more likely, since pre-foreclosure notices are down also, people are now able to pay the mortgage.
Employment was also up in December and January, and the Science Foundation of Arizona announced that the high tech industries in Arizona maintained a fairly stable employment rate. (house of clowns, otherwise known as the legislature, pay attention here.)
… (0 comments)
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economy: News of Note! - 10/30/09 12:37 PM
The U.S. Senate has TENATIVELY agreed to extend the home buyer tax credit. If the measure passes it will include a broader credit. More people will benefit. This measure, while hoped for, is NOT yet approved. Write your congressman folks.
The House of Representatives in now looking at the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. This ill-conceived rule has been the cause of additional costs to home buyers, and inadequate appraisals. These have caused many sales to fail, costing sellers equity dollars.
Another House committee is probing predatory practices used by some in the mortgage industry. The intent is to see if … (1 comments)
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economy: Sun City 1st Quarter Market Report - 05/03/09 11:39 AM
The real estate market in Sun City is showing mixed signs of recovery. We have 770 active listings and 123 listings were sold in April. This results in 6.26 months of inventory. This 6.26 months of inventory (absorption rate) is very significant. An absorption rate of 6 is considered to be a balanced market. More than six is considered a buyer"s market. less than 6 is a seller's market. If this continues for 2 more months we will have a balanced market for the first time since the 2004-2005 market bubble.
Average selling prices were $135,000 for single family homes and … (0 comments)
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economy: A new beginning in Surprise AZ - 03/25/09 01:36 PM
I wrote an announcement here in July 2007, Crescent Crown Distributing is now open in Surprise. This enterprise distributes Miller and Coors as well as many boutique and exotic beers.
Perhaps more important, the huge (250,000 square foot (that's over 5 acres folks)) warehouse is only the first to occupy the Surprise spur of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. This opens the doors to many more national and regional distribution, and is an important contributor to an economic recovery of the area.
Jim Little, your Sun City REALTOR®
Please visit my Web Site, suncityneighborhood.com where you can search the MLS … (0 comments)
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economy: Sun City Market Info - 03/23/09 12:53 PM
Buyers often ask me:
"What is the market going to be like if I buy a home today?"
Unfortunately, in the short-term my answer has to be, "I don't know".
I have never been an agent who recommends short-term purchases, flips or investor remodels, so I have to give my clients my long-term answer.
In the long-term I look the the history of how the market in the Sun City neighborhood has behaved over the last 5 years.
In spite of the price decreases since the 2005 "Bubble" market, the Sun City Neighborhood real estate market has performed well, with an … (0 comments)
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economy: Shipping Company Thinks Outside the Box - 01/14/09 02:46 PM
Announced today in the Arizona Republi
Neptune Lines, a maritime shipping company is moving its U.S. headquarters from Oakland California to Phoenix AZ. Imagine, and ocean going freight line moves to the DESERT! what a concept.
Reasons? Low costs, good quality of life, and AFFORDABLE HOUSING!
Jim Little, your Sun City REALTOR®
Please visit my Web Site, suncityneighborhood.com where you can search the MLS with no registration for free.
… (0 comments)
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economy: Fannie Mae Experiments - 01/14/09 02:41 PM
The Phoenix AZ market area has been selected for a pilot short sale program.
The key feature of this program is that the lender will agree to a price at the beginning of a listing, rather than ignoring all attempts to sell the home prior to forclosure. The program currently applies only to loans serviced by Countrywide Financial.
Unfortunately, the lender will still loose money, shortsales will still be viewed as stigmatized by the brokers, and does not address the fact a seller will loose his home.
In a nation as great as this one, with a problem as long-standing as … (0 comments)
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economy: Should Taxpayers Bail Out Homeowners? - 09/25/07 05:47 PM
Innman Real Estate News asked this question today. The answer was, yes for some.
The conclusions were that a bailout was in order for those who were defrauded, but not for those who were foolish or careless.
Unfortunately, many of the foolish and careless are also part of the economy. Letting them fall by the wayside will blight the neighborhoods they live in, cause more economic chaos, and delay the recovery of the housing market indefinetly.
The author felt that a bailout for these people unjustly rewards them for their actions. No argument, but why stop there. We don't have to bail them … (2 comments)
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economy: The Fed Did It!!! - 09/18/07 03:10 PM
Good news for home buyers and sellers in Sun City, Surprise, Peoria AZ, Glendale and the West Maricopa county.
Today, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors lowered the federal funds rate by 1/2%. Since many, if not most analysts predicted no more the 1/4, this is good news indeed.
This is the first reduction of this key interest rate in 4 1/2 years, clearly saying the Fed is serious about stabilizing the financial markets and stimulating economic growth in all areas of the economy.
As the financial world digests this, I hope to see a little loosening of credit, more liquidity, and far less … (1 comments)
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economy: Lawrence Welk and the Housing Mess - 08/14/07 06:16 PM
Those of my age had to watch LW every Saturday Night, because our parents did. Those a little older watched because they liked it. I did fall in love with the Lennon Sisters, however.
Today's Inman Real Estate news has a good article about the state of affairs in housing today. See it here. It relates our current woes to divorce rate, subprime borrowers and super sized homes (McMansions) It also said"The middle class imagined it was richer than it was. Like private equity funds, homeowners borrowed cheap, realized fantastical leverage, and lived large. Many did not plan an exit strategy -- … (5 comments)
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economy: To Many Agents? - 08/13/07 05:24 PM
NAR has reported that in recent years the rate of increase in the number of agents was greater than the increase in homes sold. We now have in excess of one million agents nationwide.
Conventional wisdom would imply that more agents = more competition, which is supposedly good for the final consumers. In this case, buyers and sellers of homes.
Facts:
The average number of transactional sides handled per agent is down from 2000. This means the average new agent just hasn't had the experience to adequately represent today's clients.The decreased number of transactions result in the newer agents not having the resources or … (13 comments)
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economy: Mortgage Update 8/10/07 - 08/10/07 11:35 AM
Yesterday, Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) reported that mortgage rates were at a 2 month low.
30 Year fixed rates averaged 6.59%, down from last month's rate of 6.68% and the year's high of 6.74%.Freddie Mac also reported 15 year fixed rates at 6.26% from last month's rate of 6.32%.
In spite of news articles to the contrary, mortgage loans continue to be available to qualified buyers at reasonable interest rates. There does not seem to be a factual basis for people to hold off buying any more.
Jim Little, Your Sun City Realtorhttp://jclittle.com/Ken Meade Realty17001 N Del Webb BlvdSun City … (0 comments)
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economy: Now they are outsourcing What? - 08/06/07 06:41 PM
Ed Rybczynski this weekend posted two blog entries regarding outsourcing title search work offshore. I am not competent to judge the quality of this work, or the legality of this work, but I feel I have a right to state my opinon about outsourcing in general.
Outsourcing is good for the short and long term economies of the nation to whom the jobs are sent. Jobs are provided to local populations.
Outsourcing is good for the short term profits of the corporations sending jobs away. After all, they get cheap labor. Since the companies Ed has referred to are US real estate related … (5 comments)
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economy: Some Recent Posts Attempting to Explain The Current Mortgage Crisis - 08/05/07 11:15 PM
It is amazing to me that with the chaos in the mortgage industry, more of our mortgage professionals have done little to explain what is going on, or to help the real estate agent associates to survive, thrive and progress. This is an ideal forum for just that.
The following are some posts I have recently read that may help some others in these troubled times. I hope to see more in the near future.
Kurt Jackson of http://www.kcmortgageplanning.com/ posted a great article about how lenders get paid, and how the secondary market buys loans and sets rates. You can see it at: … (5 comments)
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economy: Thoughts on the Flat Housing Market, and Mortgage Crunch - 07/29/07 11:42 AM
The housing market in my area is spotty, with Sun City and Surprise homes selling at a slightly increasing rate, while Sun City West, Peoria and Glendale flat. Prices are, in,fact, down from the 2005 record prices. Inventory is high in all areas, and the "I'll sell if I get my outrageous price" folks have been dropping out of the market.
It is a Buyer's Market!
Oh really? In that case, where are the buyers? Why aren't they buying?
Conventional wisdom on this and other forums, and in the media says it is "greedy" sellers who won't lower prices that is to blame.
It is an … (4 comments)
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economy: Think Foreclosures are a Good Deal? Really? - 07/28/07 11:45 AM
Want to Buy a Foreclosure? Think about it first.
Many buyers are coming to me with the intent to buy a foreclosure property.
Why? They think they will save a lot of money. After looking at many, most decide not to do so. They find the costs to be much more than they expected.
Reasons are:
The former owner couldn't pay the house payment. Do you really believe they did any repairs?The first thing a lender does when foreclosing is to stop any maintenance, and turn off the uitilities, including often the water. With the water turned off, what do you think happens to the … (3 comments)
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economy: A Big New Employer Comes to Surprise - 07/26/07 11:46 AM
Crescent Crown Distributing has announce that it will build a regional headquarters an distribution facility at the Surprise Pointe commericial park.
Crescent expects to employ 250 people initially, growing to 600 jobs in the near future. The company also has a distribution center in Phoenix, which it will keep open. That facility employs nearly 600 people.
Crescent is a beer distributor, representing many high end brands such as Heineken, Miller, Labatt and others. The company expects to sell more than 16,000,000 cases of beer in Arizona in 2007.
Surprise City Councilman Joe Johnson said. "This brings real jobs the average citizens of Surprise can … (3 comments)
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economy: News From Surprise - 07/21/07 05:00 PM
Growing, Growing Grown!
Forbes.com reports that Surprise Arizona is the third-fastest-growing suburb in America according the the Arizona Republic. In the same article, the Republic says that Money magazine rated Surprise AZ as first in the nation for the rate of new job growth.
Four of the top ten fast growing suburbs were in the West Maricopa County area. The other three were Buckeye, Avondale and Goodyear.
Most Family Friendly!
Surprise was also the city with the highest percentage of married couples in the U.S. with 69% of the households comprised of married couples. Source: socialexplorer.com
Surprise is also only 10 minutes from Luke Air Force Base, … (2 comments)
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economy: Rent vs Buy? - 07/20/07 11:58 AM
Renting a home is an expensive luxury!
The average rent in the Phoenix area is now $809 per month. Occupancy rates are 98% occupied. Rentals are getting very scarce and costly now.
If you were paying $809 per month, how much home could you buy? After converting this rent payment and factoring in the tax advantage of home ownership you could buy a home worth $140,000. There are currently 2200 homes for sale in the Phoenix area for $140,000 or less.
Are you paying $1000 per month? A home valued at $175,000 is within your reach.
All of this doesn't consider that historically, home ownership … (8 comments)
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economy: More News of Improvement in the Housing Market! - 07/16/07 05:13 PM
Countrywide Financial, one of the largest mortgage originators reported that They made 45 Billion dollars in mortage loans in June. This is a 4% increase over June of 2006. The company accomplished this in spite of vastly reduced activity in the sub-prime and adjustable rate mortgages.
The company still finds the housing market soft, but a 4% increase in same month production is nothing to sneeze at.
In addition to the higher volume of loans, the company is also hiring new people, adding 830 new jobs since May. This in a time many lenders have cut their work force.
Thoughts on Today's Real Estate … (0 comments)
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Jim Little, Your Sun City Arizona Realtor
Sun City,
AZ
More about me…
Ken Meade Realty
Address: 17001 N. Del Webb Blvd, Enter your address line 2 here, Sun City, AZ, 85373
Office Phone: (623) 977-1776
Cell Phone: (623) 521-6768
Email Me
My comments and opinions for the northwest Maricopa county and the Adult communities there. Specializing in Del Webb's Sun City, Sun City West, and Sun City Grand, and the neighboring communities of Surprise, El Mirage, Peoria and Glendale Arizona
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