2010-04-28
News to You by Doug Brown
The Latest in the Valley's Real Estate News

BREAKING NEWS
Reports: Phoenix housing values improve - Two reports released Tuesday, one local and one national, appear to confirm that housing values are improving in the Phoenix market.  ASU’s Repeat Sales Index shows that although prices are lower than one year ago, the declines are not as severe as they have been.  “The March figures also show the first monthly increase in the median price of non-foreclosure homes since the end of 2007,” said ASU Professor Karl Guntermann, who is the Fred E. Taylor Professor of Real Estate.  “This may signal the start of price stability throughout much of the housing market.”  The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices also indicate that housing value declines are beginning to slow in Phoenix with a one-year composite decline hovering at 1.6%.  That was one of the smallest declines among 20 metropolitan areas surveyed.
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/04/26/daily22.html?s=industry&i=resi_real_estate
 
Real Estate Outlook: Signs of Recovery - Sales of existing single family homes jumped by 7.3% in March, according to the National Association of Realtors survey released last Thursday, and were 13% above year-earlier levels.  Median single family prices were up by 9% year over year in the Northeast region, and by about 7% in the South, Midwest and the West.  Meanwhile, unsold inventory dropped by two percent in March, and is now 22 percent below its peak in July 2008.  March single family housing starts rose by 1.6% to their highest level since November of 2008.  Bottom line this week: Think positive.  Because that's where we're headed in real estate and the economy overall.  Read full article:
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100428_realestateoutlook.htm
     
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Refi: FHA or conventional?
Does it make sense to refinance into a conventional mortgage? Or is an FHA refi better?
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/refinancing-into-a-conventional-mortgage.aspx
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2010-03-31
News to You by Doug Brown
The Latest in the Valley's Real Estate News

BREAKING NEWS - Featured below: 30 days and counting: Homebuyer tax credit expires

Master-planned community may be on horizon in Queen Creek - One of the largest master planned communities in Queen Creek's history could soon be under way.  If approved by the town, Church Farm would be bordered by Meridian and Signal Butte roads to the east and west and Ocotillo Road and the Queen Creek Wash to the north and south.  Queen Creek Planning Manager Wayne Balmer said if the project is approved, it would be among the largest projects in the town's history.  He said plans call for 1,745 homes at buildout.  John Kross, Queen Creek town manager, said builder William Lyon Homes could start pulling permits by end of calendar year.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2010/03/29/20100329queen-creek-master-planned-community.html
 
Investors to Pick Up Slack in Mortgage Backs - As the Federal Reserve ends its purchase of mortgage securities this week, private investors are expected to step in.  The change isn't expected to push mortgage rates up very much.  Analysts are anticipating an increase of less than a quarter of a percentage point in the next three months.
http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2010033001
     
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Geithner: Commercial Troubles Can Be Managed
http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2010033002
 
 
30 days and counting: Homebuyer tax credit expires
http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/30/pf/taxes/homebuyers_last_chance/index.htm
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2010-02-19
News to You by Doug Brown
The Latest in the Valley's Real Estate News

Phoenix OKs $1B solar landfill deal for Tessera in Buckeye - Tessera Solar received final approval from the Phoenix City Council to build a $1 billion solar plant on a city landfill in Buckeye.  The Houston company will build a 150- to 200-megawatt system at the landfill on the west side of State Route 85.  The project will be built on about 1,200 acres, and is expected to generate about 300 construction jobs.  Tessera is the development company for Scottsdale-based Stirling Energy Systems.  The landfill-to-solar power plant is part of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s “Green Phoenix” plan.
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/02/15/daily49.html
  
AZ on road back to economic recovery  - There are definite signs that Arizona is on the road to recovery, although challenges remain.  Noted economist Bill Greiner said Arizona has more going for it than a lot of states -- climate and a lot of houses on the market.  While growth has stalled, Greiner sees it recovering, with more people leaving the Midwest for sunny Arizona. "I think in the next 12 months, you'll probably see an improvement in the local economy, along with the national economy," he said.  Greiner said Arizona's economy is very sensitive to construction trends and the state needs to move beyond that and its reliance on tourism. He said it might take a lesson from Texas, once heavily reliant on the oil industry.
http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1264710
    
Additional articles that you may find of interest:
        
  
Mortgage modifications on the rise
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/150813
 
HouseLogic Offers Smart Advice to Owners
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010021702
 

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2010-02-16
News to You by Doug Brown
Bankrupt plaza makes major comeback - One year ago, things were looking bleak for Citadelle Plaza, an upscale shopping center in Glendale's Arrowhead neighborhood.  Its owners had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2008.  Nearly half of its 106,000 square feet loomed empty.  Potential tenants backed out of deals, and landscaping around the center remained unfinished.  When new owners took over the plaza, they knew they had their work cut out for them.  Today, the Citadelle, at 59th Avenue and Utopia Road, is home to eateries, boutique retail, health and beauty outposts, and a thriving weekly farmers market.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/news/articles/2010/02/11/20100211glendale-citadelle-comeback.html
   
Washington Report - Housing lobbyists began rolling out their heavy artillery on Capitol Hill last week, determined to blast the Obama administration's plan to cut home mortgage interest and property tax deductions for high-income individuals and couples.  The National Association of Realtors sent blunt letters to the chairmen of the House and Senate tax-writing committees calling on them to derail the Obama proposal at their earliest opportunity.  In nearly-identical letters to House Ways and Means Committee chairman Charles Rangel and Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, the association's president, Vicki Cox Golder, warned that reducing tax system support for housing - even at the upper margins - would be bad for the entire real estate market.
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100216_washingtonreport.htm
   
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2010-02-15
News to You by Doug Brown
Long-Term Mortgage Rates Remain Stable and Low - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.01% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 4, 2010, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.  Last week, it averaged 4.98%, and a year ago it averaged 5.25%.  “Mortgage rates remained relatively stable for a second week amid news of a strengthening housing market," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  “Residential fixed investment rose for two consecutive quarters over the last half of 2009 following a steady quarterly decline since the beginning of 2006."
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