May Resale Number and What It Means to You!

Total re-sales in Maricopa County for May were 9,113! That’s 1,365 more than last month and 1,237 more than may 2012!  REO closed was 806 which is 9% and short sales closed was 1094 which is 12%. Normal sales closed was 7214 which represents 79%. Pending inventory is down to 12,497. REO pending was at 1,017 which is 8% and short sales are at 4,132 which is 33% and normal sales pending at 7,349 which is 59%. Active inventory for Maricopa County is still dropping down to 11,960. REO active is 631 which is 5% and short sales are at 482 which is 4% and normal listings are at 10,849 which represents 91%! There is less than 2 months inventory in all but 3 cities now!!(Fountain Hills, Paradise Valley and Scottsdale)

So what does this mean for you? If you are a buyer, expect prices to continue to rise as the number of available homes for sale shrinks.  You don’t have the luxury of  “time to think about it”.  Mortgage rates are still at historic lows, but they are creeping upwards.  As the interest rates rise, the amount of home you can afford diminishes.  If you are lucky enough to find that home you have been looking for do not hesitate to make an offer that will get you the home.  The steals and deals have been gone for two years now.

If you are a seller or a potential seller, now is a great time to put your home on the market.  The shortage of  inventory makes this a seller’s market.  Anytime inventory levels fall below a 3 month supply it is considered a seller’s market.  Of course you need to be reasonable on your asking price.  If you price your home too high above the current market value, you will have very little chance of getting it sold.  With the the internet, public information is easier to obtain than ever.  Today’s buyer is tech savvy and does their research long before calling a REALTOR®.  Tax records and sold property information can be obtained in a few keystrokes.  Even if someone would entertain paying over market value for a home, it must appraise for the sale price to complete the transaction. The only exception to this would be a cash sale.  Keep in mind that cash buyers are very business minded and most likely would not pay over market value.

In summary, we have what looks like a perfect storm.  Great time to buy. Great time to sell.

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2012 Real Estate Year in Review

This past year we have seen improvement in the real estate market with rising home prices and a diminishing inventory of distressed properties.  For all the details, click on this link…

stat-2012-year-in-review.pdf

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October Residential Resale Numbers

October continued the trend where Short Sales are still on average, cheaper per square foot than REO’S in all but 4 cities in Maricopa County for the 4th straight month! The overall market increased in closings with 6,236 in Maricopa County. That’s an increase of about 400 sales. REO properties closed 752 at 12% and Short Sales closed 1,671 at 27% with 3,815 being normal at 61%. Pending Inventory has 1,211 REO’s at 9% and 4,904 Normal at 35% and the slowly dwindling 7,787 Short Sales at 56%. Active inventory continues to increase slightly to 13,693 listings with 1,219 REO’S at 9% and 1025 short sales at 7% and 11,451 normal listings at 83%. That’s another monthly increase of over 1,000 homes for the second straight month!

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Forclosure Data for August 2012

Here is the Foreclosure Data through the end of August 2012.

1. Active Notices of trustee sale for residential properties as of the end of August 2012 were 14,999 units. Down from last month of 16,018. Down from the all time high of December 2009 of 47,606.

2. Residential Foreclosures were at there all time high in March 2010 at 5,451. Residential foreclosures were 2517 last month. This was up by 644 units from July.

3. The residential REO properties are sitting at 5,970 vs. last month of 5,453. Up slightly by 517 units from last month! August of 2011 there were 14,480 REO properties, down 59%! Listed REO properties are approximately 1300 units and pending are 1296. That tells us that there are approximately 3374 properties that are foreclosed but not yet on the market.
4. Short Sales Represent approximately 30% of the total sales and REO’s are down to 14.0%. Normal Sales are at the highest point in the last 5 years. They represent 56% of total sales!

Business continues to be strong. We are in a rare opportunity to buy! Interest rates are very low and prices are still low….. But not for long. REO properties seem to be going away as short sales continue to get approved.

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Do you believe in the “Boogey Man”? Then, why believe in “Shadow Inventory”?

Newest numbers don’t cast ‘shadow’

by Catherine Reagor – Aug. 17, 2012 03:07 PM
The Republic

The debate among housing market watchers over whether metro Phoenix has a looming shadow inventory goes on, even as foreclosures fall and home prices keep rising.

Some believe there are thousands of homes in the region on which mortgage payments haven’t been made for years, but lenders haven’t moved to foreclose.

The concern is those homes make up a “shadow inventory” that could be dumped on the market anytime or all at once, stalling the current recovery.

Other housing experts don’t believe the area has a shadow inventory problem.

New numbers on mortgage delinquencies show the number of borrowers behind on their monthly loan payments in Arizona has fallen. Also, foreclosures starts in metro Phoenix have been slowing since January. Those who don’t believe the region has a shadow inventory problem point to the declines in these key indicators as evidence.

Mike Orr, a real estate analyst at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey’s School of Business, said there’s no “shadow inventory” in sight.

“There is still no sign of any significant new supply of homes coming onto the market, and those who anticipate a flood of bank-owned ‘shadow inventory’ are likely to be very disappointed,” said Orr in his latest real estate report.

Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association released its latest data on late loan payments. Arizona’s mortgage delinquency rate fell to 6.2 percent at the end of the second quarter. It was 6.5 percent at the beginning of the year.

According to the mortgage association, Arizona ranks 35th for mortgage delinquencies.

Mississippi ranks No. 1 with a delinquency rate of 11.8 percent. The national mortgage delinquency rate is 7.3 percent.

The number of new foreclosure filings, or notice of trustee sales, in Maricopa County dipped again in July. Last month, 3,219 new notices were filed, according to the Information Market and AZBidder.com. That’s down from 3,711 in June and 4,328 in May.

Foreclosures, or trustee sales, have remained below 2,000 since March. A year ago, there were regularly 4,000 foreclosures or more a month in the region.

Big deals

The ongoing recovery of metro Phoenix’s housing market has enticed more developers and investors as well as than homebuyers.

New Jersey-based home builder Hovnanian Enterprises recently paid $31.5 million for 490 home lots in northwest Phoenix.

Builders are looking for land as new home sales climb. There were 332 actively selling new home subdivisions in the Phoenix area as of July 15, down from 400 in early January, according to Belfiore Real Estate Consulting. More than 60 percent of the current subdivisions under construction are expected to run out of lots within a year.

Courtland Homes sold the land. Scottsdale-based Nathan & Associates brokered the deal.

The industrial building housing Amazon’s Arizona distribution business sold for $90 million earlier this month.

The 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse, near 75th Avenue and Interstate 10, was purchased by the Black Creek Group. Valley industrial developer Buzz Oates Cos. was the seller.

Phoenix-based commercial real estate research firm VIZZDA reports the property is Arizona’s largest single warehouse.

Earlier this week, Westport Capital Partners paid $23.3 million for the 27-acre Agave Center in Tempe.

Dennis Desmond and Brian Ackerman of Jones Lang LaSalle negotiated the deal.

The property, near Warner Road and I-10, includes four office buildings, an industrial building and nearly five vacant acres for development.

Reach the reporter at Catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/08/14/20120814newest-numbers-dont-cast-shadow.html#ixzz246lztIYG

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Latest Foreclosure Date from the Cromford Report April 2012

Here is the Take Away! 

1. Active Notices of trustee sale for residential properties as of the end of April’12 were 17,768 units. Up from last month of 16,947.  Down from the all-time high of December ’09 of 47,606.

 2.  Residential Foreclosures were at their all-time high in March 2010 at 5,451. Residential foreclosures were 1647 last month. This was down by 316 units from March.

3. The residential REO properties are sitting at 6,711 vs. last month of 7,408. Down 697 units from last month! April of 2011 there were 19,322 REO properties, down 65%! Listed REO properties are approximately 1345 units and pending are 2120. That tells us that there are approximately 3246 properties that are foreclosed but not yet on the market.

4. Normal Sales are at the highest point in the last 5 years.  They represent 56% of total sales!

Business continues to be strong. We have a rare opportunity for buyers! Interest rates are very low and prices are still low….. But not for long. REO (Bank Owned) properties seem to be going away as short sales continue to get approved.

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Market Update from February 18, 2012 to March 18, 2012

Market Update from February 18 – March 18, 2012

Inventory (All Areas & Types in MLS): Total active listings have dropped by 1622 units in the last month. As of March 18th, we sit at 22,972 Actives for Single Family Homes and Condos. Sales are at 7447 for the last 30 days (as of March 18th), down by 335 units from one month ago. Pending Sales are up from the month before – as of March 18th, there are 12,433 Pending vs. 11,743 Pending one month ago ~ about a 6% increase. We are currently sitting at a 3.1 months of supply. If you subtract out the AWCs, we have approximately 14,684 Active Listings, which is an approximate 1.9 months of supply.  Traditionally, 3-4 months of supply indicate a balanced market. Now is the time to list your home!

Closings (Maricopa County: New Construction and Re-Sales): There were 7293 closings in February 2012 vs. 6373 closings in January 2012, which equates to an 18% increase. There were 6520 closings in February 2011, which is a year-over-year increase of 3%.

Luxury: The Luxury Market of $1,000,000+ continues to have the lowest absorption rate of any market segment. There was a 4% absorption rate for the month of February. Only 46 properties in all of the MLS were sold for more than $1,000,000 in February 2012.

NEW GRAPH: Monthly Average Sales Price per Square Foot. It goes back two years. As you will see, prices are going up!

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Foreclosure Data from the Cromford Report & The Information Market

It is my belief that, The Cromford Report & The Information Market, offer you the best, most reliable and real numbers about our housing market.

Default Properties: The status of a property currently within the Foreclosure process after the Bank records a Notice of Trustee Sale due to lack of borrower making payments for at least 90 days. Properties remain in this status until there is a recorded Trustee Sale or Cancellation of Trustee Sale.
• At the end of December 2011, there were 18,347 Active Default Residential Properties. This is down by 1662 units from the previous month when there were 20,009 Active Default Residential Properties. This is the 13th consecutive month that we have seen decreases in the number of Active Notices. FYI: The All-Time high was in December of 2009 when there were 47,606 Active Default Residential Properties.

Foreclosures: When the Bank either sells the property at the Trustee Sale (Auction) or takes the property back via Trustee’s Deed.
• Foreclosures hit an All-Time, one-month high in March 2010 with 5,451. Last month, there were 2,714 Foreclosures. This was up by 279 units from November.

REO Properties: Properties that the bank owns due to lack of sale at the Trustee Sale (Auction).
• There are currently 9,010 Residential REO Properties – vs. last month when there were 9,870. This is a drop of 860 REO units in one month! In December 2010, there were 18,889 REO Properties – so we are down by 47% from then. There are approximately 1,956 REO Properties listed in the MLS, with an additional 2,477 REO Properties that are in Pending Status in the MLS. This means that there are approximately 4,577 REO Properties that are Foreclosed on, but have not yet been listed in the MLS.

If you have any questions or would like to meet with me to discuss market conditions or your real estate needs please give me a call at 602-321-1693 or send an e-mail to susan@susantalarico.com

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