Image courtesy of Stock Exchange user svilen001
Just a little blurb from one of our favorite title/escrow officers, Maggie Clark of Equity Title. This gives a good picture of just how much the REO (“real estate owned”, i.e. bank owned foreclosure) properties are driving the market lately.
Southwest Valley - REO active listings represent 16% of the total listings, and 50% of the sales for the last month.
Peoria and Glendale - REO active listings represent 17% of the total listings, and 54% of the sales for the last month.
Scottsdale - REO active listing represent 6% of the total listings, 29% of the sales for the last month.
We still get calls on a regular basis from buyers seeking second homes and winter vacation homes. They often ask for Scottsdale, and expect prices to have nose-dived there just like everywhere else. Not the case! Scottsdale hasn’t been hit with the tsunami of foreclosure much of the rest of the Valley of Sun has. Not as many bank owned homes on the market at bargain bazaar pricing equals prices have not nose-dived. Not in Scottsdale anyway.
You want bargain basement, clearance sale pricing? Go to the older neighborhoods in Phoenix, and to the West side neighborhoods of Peoria, Goodyear, Avondale, Tolleson, Maryvale, Buckeye, Peoria, etc. The far Southeast has seen plummeting prices too: think Queen Creek, Florence and Apache Junction.
Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and the only political junkie in the USA who can actually keep her political views to herself. Instead, she focuses on educating her clients about the often-confusing world of residential real estate.
Tagged as:
From the Trenches,
Northeast Valley,
Northwest Valley,
REO/Bank Owned,
Southeast Valley,
Southwest Valley
Builders are back!
New home builders in the metro Phoenix area can arguably be blamed for some of the mess we’re all in. Many people do argue that, in fact: builders overbuilt, didn’t stop building spec homes quickly enough when buyer demand flagged in 2006 and allowed investor owners whose tenants dragged down property values. Blame builders if you like but in today’s New Normal, they’re back.
We have been working with about a 1/2 dozen first time buyers lately. Two in the last 2 weeks have opted to buy from a new home builder. Our folks chose Pulte and Shea, two of the biggies with lots of gold stars on the national customer service satisfaction rankings. One buyer will be in Northwest Peoria, the other in Tartesso, waaaay out beyond the White Tank Mountains and beyond Verrado (about 12 miles east of the Palo Verde nucelar power plant).
Spoke recently with our broker, who’s reporting the same is happening with her first time buyers in the far Southeast Valley, in Queen Creek and other SE bedroom communities like Florence and Casa Grande.
Builders are offering incentives of 3% to $8,000 or more to use lender and title people. They’re throwing in upgrades for free, and some are eveing offering Rent-To-Own programs. Any readers heard of super enticing builder incentives? Anyone considering buying a new build? Or not? We’d love to hear your comments.
Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and the only political junkie in the USA who can actually keep her political views to herself. Instead, she focuses on educating her clients about the often-confusing world of residential real estate.
Tagged as:
Northwest Valley,
Southeast Valley
Image courtesy of Stock Exchange user svilen001
