Arizona Real Estate Notebook

This real estate bust will be the worst time in many people’s lives, “Remember, when we lost the house in 2008 and almost got divorced?” But for real estate geeks, the economic shock is exposing the inner workings of housing economics. The video below compares how the real estate bust effected the median home price [...]

Although mortgage interest rates haven’t really increased since the Fed started to reduce it’s purchases of mortgage backed securities, we’ll likely see more upward potential on mortgage rates after the Fed ends the program in the coming months. Fed purchases are running about half of what they were at the peak last spring. The Fed [...]

Fannie Mae delinquencies rise sharply in November. Click to Enlarge This suggests a lot more foreclosures are coming down the pike putting a lot more downward pressure on home prices in the United States. But the United States is not Arizona. Arizona residential real estate may start to recover while the United States residential market [...]

Even though November is traditionally not a strong month, Case-Shiller data show that metropolitan Phoenix homes appreciated over 1% from October to November 2009. The (expected) end of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit was no doubt an important factor in pushing up Phoenix home prices in November. Phoenix Homes Appreciation Increases in November [...]

This is cool! You can see live auction results from the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale. Barrett-Jackson Schedule of Events. Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale goes full throttle through Saturday, January 23, 2010.

As opposed to many real estate industry officials, I respect the views of Bob Bemis the CEO of the Phoenix area multiple listing service (ARMLS). It’s worth watching. (Via Dru Bloomfield.)

I’m not a fan of online mortgage companies. I once had a client who was using a major online mortgage company and they were really sticking it to her on costs. I think you should use a mortgage company recommended by your Realtor. I know people are suspicious and worry that their real estate agent [...]

Did you ever want to learn how to meditate? My wife, Liz, is part of a meditation group that gets together every Sunday afternoon at a Congregational church in East Phoenix. Once a year the group has a one-day Mediation Retreat for beginners and current meditators. Liz is helping organize the one-day event again this [...]

Tempe Realtor, Dean Ouellette, did a great little interview with a lawyer about whether you can be taxed on the debt forgiven in a short sale. The answer will scare a lot of people. The take away for Arizona real estate investors, “But if it is a non-owner occupied residence that was purchased to be [...]

Via HousingWire; The mortgage finance industry is abuzz with word of new residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issued by private investment firms — the first such planned issuance in more than a year, and some say a sign that the credit freeze may be thawing out for private-label RMBS. This is another sign the residential real [...]

According to the estimate of Amherst Securities, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae losses could reach 9.6% or $448 billion. Amherst reasoned that once a borrower is 60+ days delinquent, the cure rate is “well under 10%.” Even if modified and returned to re-performing status, the re-default rate remains “unbelievably high.” The U.S. Department of Treasury [...]

It wasn’t many decades ago that the philosophy behind buying a home was to create a warm and stable place to live and raise a family. When did buying a home become a “get rich quick” scheme? How did that mindset become so common in Arizona? That mindset was a driving force behind the real [...]