If you are a buyer and are waiting to see if prices will return to last year’s values, you may be in for a very long wait!!

ACTIVE: 181, down from 207

ACTIVE SHORT SALES: 32, down from 35 After a big drop last week, this area seems to have stabilized. It remains to be seen whether or not many of the distressed homewoners will choose ... Read More »]]> The downward spiral of homes for sale in Maricopa Arizona continues as inventory of available homes is now at 181!! At some point very soon I would expect this number to “bottom out” but the impact from seasonal buyers may keep this from happening in the near future. Single level homes are particularly scarce and, as of this morning, there are only 12 homes, not including short sales, that are priced below $90,000 in all of Maricopa!!

If you are a buyer and are waiting to see if prices will return to last year’s values, you may be in for a very long wait!!

ACTIVE: 181, down from 207

ACTIVE SHORT SALES: 32, down from 35 After a big drop last week, this area seems to have stabilized. It remains to be seen whether or not many of the distressed homewoners will choose to go this route or simply let their homes go to foreclosure. If that is the case, I would expect inventory to drop even further as the lenders still seem reluctant to release inventory.

LENDER OWNED: 16. down from 19 This will be an area to watch closely as lenders may begin a release of their “shadow” inventory now that the AG litigation has reached a settlement. However, any release of new inventory may be balanced out by the new prinicipal reduction plan if, in fact, they are able to roll this out in a timely manner.

AWC (short sales with offers): 202, stable from 201 Most of the short sales have been “picked over” so, in spite of the low inventory levels, buyers do not have much to choose from. In addiiton, seasonal buyers may be avoiding these properties even more as the likelyhood of them closing escrow before the summer season gets slimmer every week.

PENDING: 283, up from 273 This is the highest number I have seen since mid AUG of 2011. Expect the number to rise even more as buyers begin to understand the lack of availability and develop a sense of urgency. “Sticker shock” is fading away!

SOLD: 38, up from 27 The next couple of months will show some very solid closing numbers as the increased amount of PENDINGS convert to SOLDS. The values of homes as seen by appraisors will also rise making financed offers easier to push through without cash contributions. Of course, this is assuming that prices do not continue to increase as inventory dwindles.

RENTALS: The rental market in Maricopa remains very strong as there is only approximately one months inventory available. Whether or not this is a heavily influenced by seasonal rentals remains to be seen. If that is the case, we can expect a large increase in the rental inventory as 6 month leases expire and homes go back on the market.

View the entire report Monthly home data

Read the full article here http://bit.ly/xNNTaM

Experts in Maricopa AZ Short Sales | Foreclosures and Maricopa AZ Homes

Contact Bill Wasowicz for all listings or to be listed for Maricopa AZ homes and real estate

waz@wizardsofwaz.com

If you are a buyer and are waiting to see if prices will return to last year’s values, you may be in for a very long wait!!

ACTIVE: 181, down from 207

ACTIVE SHORT SALES: 32, down from 35  After a big drop last week, this area seems to have stabilized. It remains to be seen whether or not many of the distressed homewoners will choose ... Read More »]]> The downward spiral of homes for sale in Maricopa Arizona continues as inventory of available homes is now at 181!! At some point very soon I would expect this number to “bottom out” but the impact from seasonal buyers may keep this from happening in the near future. Single level homes are particularly scarce and, as of this morning, there are only 12 homes, not including short sales, that are priced below $90,000 in all of Maricopa!!

If you are a buyer and are waiting to see if prices will return to last year’s values, you may be in for a very long wait!!

ACTIVE: 181, down from 207

ACTIVE SHORT SALES: 32, down from 35  After a big drop last week, this area seems to have stabilized. It remains to be seen whether or not many of the distressed homewoners will choose to go this route or simply let their homes go to foreclosure. If that is the case, I would expect inventory to drop even further as the lenders still seem reluctant to release inventory.

LENDER OWNED: 16. down from 19  This will be an area to watch closely as lenders may begin a release of their “shadow” inventory now that the AG litigation has reached a settlement. However, any release of new inventory may be balanced out by the new prinicipal reduction plan if, in fact, they are able to roll this out in a timely manner.

AWC (short sales with offers): 202, stable from 201  Most of the short sales have been “picked over” so, in spite of the low inventory levels, buyers do not have much to choose from. In addiiton, seasonal buyers may be avoiding these properties even more as the likelyhood of them closing escrow before the summer season gets slimmer every week.

PENDING: 283, up from 273  This is the highest number I have seen since mid AUG of 2011. Expect the number to rise even more as buyers begin to understand the lack of availability and develop a sense of urgency. “Sticker shock” is fading away!

SOLD: 38, up from 27  The next couple of months will show some very solid closing numbers as the increased amount of PENDINGS convert to SOLDS. The values of homes as seen by appraisors will also rise making financed offers easier to push through without cash contributions. Of course, this is assuming that prices do not continue to increase as inventory dwindles.

RENTALS: The rental market in Maricopa remains very strong as there is only approximately one months inventory available. Whether or not this is a heavily influenced by seasonal rentals remains to be seen. If that is the case, we can expect a large increase in the rental inventory as 6 month leases expire and homes go back on the market.

View the entire report Monthly home data

In spite of prices rebounding a bit and inventory being at an all time low in my community of Maricopa Arizona, there are still a LOT of vacant homes that have been foreclosed on (shadow inventory) and over 300 homeowners delinquent on their mortgagae, an increase from 6 months ago. We are just seeing a little “bump” due to the influx of seasonal buyers and the lenders’ unwillingness to release their inventory.

Until we have cycled through all of the distressed properties, the housing market will not recover. Of course, a little help from our :friends” in Washington DC with the econmoy would not be a bad thing either!

Read the full article http://bit.ly/ycU1zx 

Experts in Read More »]]> For those of you who have been believing all the media hype regarding a “housing market rebound”, you may want to read the attached article, brought to you by DSNews.

In spite of prices rebounding a bit and inventory being at an all time low in my community of Maricopa Arizona, there are still a LOT of vacant homes that have been foreclosed on (shadow inventory) and over 300 homeowners delinquent on their mortgagae, an increase from 6 months ago. We are just seeing a little “bump” due to the influx of seasonal buyers and the lenders’ unwillingness to release their inventory.

Until we have cycled through all of the distressed properties, the housing market will not recover. Of course, a little help from our :friends” in Washington DC with the econmoy would not be a bad thing either!

Read the full article http://bit.ly/ycU1zx 

It will be a VERY interesting next couple of months!!!

It remians to be seen what impact this will have on distressed homeowners and the “shadow” inventory. Although the proposed $17 billion in principal reductions sounds like a lot of money, there are a LOT of distressed homeowners to spread it around to. Also, it remains to be seen just how this program will be implemented and who will qualify. Most likely it will take another year or two for this to actually come to fruition. That being said, it’s a step in the right direction if they actually do settle.

On another note, many feel ... Read More »]]> This ongoing saga may FINALLY be coming to an end as the deadline for a settlement was extended until next Monday. 40 states have already signed on for a settlement that reportedly will have the lenders paying around $25 billion. Most of this money will go towards principal reductions.

It remians to be seen what impact this will have on distressed homeowners and the “shadow” inventory. Although the proposed $17 billion in principal reductions sounds like a lot of money, there are a LOT of distressed homeowners to spread it around to. Also, it remains to be seen just how this program will be implemented and who will qualify. Most likely it will take another year or two for this to actually come to fruition. That being said, it’s a step in the right direction if they actually do settle.

On another note, many feel that the foreclosure inventory backlog will begin to ease as lenders begin to release these properties in more earnest. In Maricopa Arizona, our inventory of active listings is at an all time low. With our seasonal buyers descending upon us, any increase in inventory would be welcome!

Read the full article http://bit.ly/xsV1RY 

Without a doubt, the economy and housing market crisis have affected all of us. That being said, it is my opinion that EVERY market is a good market. It;s just a matter of changing the way you do business to adapt to current market conditions. We continue to increase our sales every year in spite of serving a community that is inundated with distressed properties. I closely followed the local market trends and adjusted my business plan accordingly.

All of those agents that “jumped on the bandwagon” when things were hot and homes were selling before a sign could even be put up are ... Read More »]]> This artcile posted by DSNews cites a survey that claims that the vast majority of real estate professionals (I’m purposely not using the word Realtors) have either lost money or have seen their revenues decline signifigantly since 2008.

Without a doubt, the economy and housing market crisis have affected all of us. That being said, it is my opinion that EVERY market is a good market. It;s just a matter of changing the way you do business to adapt to current market conditions. We continue to increase our sales every year in spite of serving a community that is inundated with distressed properties. I closely followed the local market trends and adjusted my business plan accordingly.

All of those agents that “jumped on the bandwagon” when things were hot and homes were selling before a sign could even be put up are now realizing that there is more to our business than what the boom years brought to us. I sympathize with their situation but also feel that maybe they should have not entered the real estate profession in the first place!

Read the full article http://bit.ly/wjmt4R