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
This isn’t an official definition. I’m not sure there is one. It’s just what I use as shorthand for a certain type of property.
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3-4 bedrooms
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2 bathrooms
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about 1200 to 1600 square feet
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small yard
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usually located about 20-30 miles from anything you can reasonably call ‘downtown’
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almost always in a master planned community, i.e. there is a Homeowners’ Association which charges fees and makes rules for the community
Like I said, not an official definition, and you’ll see there are a lot of qualifiers in my list (sometimes, usually, often). Take it for what it’s worth.
What about pricing? This isn’t a scientific survey, but lately we at The Phoenix Agents have been helping folks buy these houses for between $60,000 and $150,000 in various parts of the Northwest, North and Southwest Valley. The lower the price, the harder it is to find a house that’s inhabitable which the investor buyers haven’t already made multiple cash offers on.
Homes that fit this description often make great purchases for first time buyers, and often fit the bill for investors too.
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,
Southwest Valley