Arizona Real Estate Notebook

The fantastic dog shows at Scottsdale Westworld are this weekend, Sunday (tomorrow) and also Monday. (I almost missed them but I got a fortunate call. Thanks.) The shows are not intended for the general public so they are not advertised. In fact, it’s tough to find any information on them. Nevertheless, the shows are open [...]

Is this the sweet spot where both Phoenix home prices AND interest rates are excellent? I ask because I just received the email below about the possibility of increasing interest rates due to increasing federal government borrowing. That seems a very real possibility. Begin email: Interest Rates Mortgage rates continue to remain very attractive these [...]

I have two posts below looking at home prices in metropolitan Phoenix. One graph shows the median home price in metropolitan Phoenix based on MLS data. The other graph shows the Case-Shiller Index of home prices in metropolitan Phoenix. Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Phoenix Pro They look at repeat sales of the same homes [...]

Home prices fell 5.3% from November to December according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Phoenix, Arizona. The Case Shiller Index for Phoenix is about what is was in September 2003. Metropolitan Phoenix home prices at the peak in June 2006 were 84% more expensive than in December 2008. Below are my comments from [...]

Price (green line) The median single family home price in metro Phoenix fell to $130,000 in January 2009, according to local MLS data. The median home price hasn’t been that low since February 2001. At $130,000, the median home price in metro Phoenix has fallen 51% from the peak price of $264,800 in June 2006. [...]

HUD announced today that effective immediately the FHA loan limit in Maricopa County has been increased from $271,050 to $346,250. Other counties in Arizona may have different limits.

Here’s Catherine Reagor’s article in the Arizona Republic from a couple of weeks ago which compared the current housing bust to the previous one in the late 1980′s and early 1990′s. During the last real-estate collapse, housing prices dipped less than 5 percent. So far Valley home prices have fallen almost 40 percent from the [...]

I ripped this from an email I just received. The following is a summary I prepared of the Presidents Housing Plan. There is a lot of information but the best advice I can give is to call your lender to find out how or if they are participating. Note that guidelines will not be issued [...]

I received this email last week about new, more relaxed rules from Fannie Mae for investment properties. This morning we received notification that Fannie Mae will modify their rules regarding investment properties. Currently there is a limit of 4 properties per borrower. New rules effective March 1st Home borrowers can own 5-10 properties provided; 1. [...]

Commenter ken44 suggested this video on Obama’s housing plan from CNBC. I haven’t had time to analyze the plan yet. I would appreciate your comments on how you think it will affect the Arizona residential real estate market. ADDED from TB‘s comment, Comments on Housing Plan.

I just updated the zip code real estate notebooks in the right hand column. For a brief analysis of the current Phoenix, Arizona real estate market, play the video below.

$8,000 is great for first time home buyers. If you are thinking of buying your first home, you gotta move on this. This $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers, however, won’t move the real estate market. Dumber Than a Box of Rocks The original proposal passed by the Senate was for a $15,000 tax [...]

The Washington Post; The New Deal of the 1930s equaled no more than 2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. The new legislation represents over 5 percent and is probably no more than an opening bid — Obama and his congressional allies will next turn to the foreclosure crisis, the reform of financial markets [...]