The Scott's Sell Scottsdale

In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high, Friday, Jan 15, 2010, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a temporary policy that will expand access to FHA mortgage insurance and allow a quicker resale of foreclosed properties.

The 90 Day “Seasoning Rule” for FHA financing,  will be lifted starting Feb 1, 2010.
It will be in effect for ONE year.

FHA currently requires a seller to own (must be on the title) a Phoenix property for a minimum of 90 days before they can sell it to a buyer using FHA financing.  In today's real estate market,  FHA seems to be the financing of choice by first time home-buyers searching for the American Dream of home ownership. 

In the past, if an investor wanted to sell their property to a FHA borrower, the investor would have to hold the house for 90 days before they could write a contract with the borrower. The rehabilitating and the reselling of these properties to prospective homeowners often takes less than 90 days. Thus investors would sell the property VA, conventional or cash buyers before the FHA buyer had the opportunity to make an offer on the property.  This lift of the 90 day 'seasoning rule' will now permit buyers to use FHA-insured financing to purchase homes they previously could not qualify to purchase.

To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of "flipping" where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general conditions: See the HUD website for detailed waiver requirements.

· All transactions must be arms-length —With no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.

· In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.

· The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

Seems to be a good compromise!
Good for both Investors AND the FHA buyer as well as for our communities!

Begin your Scottsdale and Greater Phoenix Metro area Real Estate Search here!
AZ-real-estate-sales.com

The National Association of Realtors(NAR) continues to monitor the historical trends and current status of the real estate market across the country.  While some of these numbers may be broad they also provide general local statistics for several major cities.  Every state, city, community and subdivision is unique. However, a general report is a place to begin if you are thinking of relocating or if you simply want to have a better understanding of your area.  The media information often lags the true market status by a few months while they wait for the data to be dissected.  The latest reports included in the NAR site are through Quarter 3 - 2009. (we are now in Jan 2010).  The data will provide the trends and give us an idea where the market is heading.

Since we live, work and play in Scottsdale, a suburb of the greater Phoenix metro area, I have selected to find out more about the Local Phoenix Report from the NAR web site.  The chart below is a subset of the useful information provided.  The Phoenix market accelerated in the real estate boom years 2004-2005 and then fell drastically when the housing bubble finally burst in 2006.  Following the bleak years of 2006-2007, the 2008 market began to show signs of life.  And, in 2009 the high inventory, foreclosure , low interested rates and low prices coupled with the first time home buyer tax incentive and the attractive FHA financing option, the market was once again very active. However, the sales volume of activity in 2009 was very different from that of 2005.  Lenders, still stinging from the creative financing and easy loans were beginning to tighten their guidelines and ensure that home buyers were actually qualified to purchase. Overall, the general statistics including the info from the chart below show that prices have declined to the 2002 level.  The good news is that we ‘hit bottom' in April 2009 and prices are once again increasing. Bottom line, if you bought your home before 2002 and did not borrow on it when the prices were higher you still have equity. 

Now is an excellent time for first time home buyers to jump in to the market and
take advantage of the $8000 tax credit.  If you currently own a home and may be
thinking of relocating, downsizing , retiring or transferring,
may be eligible for up to a $6500 tax credit.

Check the NAR 2009 Local Market Reports  for your
city/area or for cities that you are considering relocating to.

If you are thinking about the greater Phoenix metro area please select this hyperlink to view properties.
AZ-real-estate-sales.com home search

If you would like more specific detailed, up to date info about a
specific, zip code, city or subdivision, in the Phoenix metro area ,
feel free to contact us at any time

garyandclaudia@cox.net
480-948-0550

Welcome to 2010!  Buyers in today's real estate market are reluctant to push the limits of their budgets. Unlike the buyer in the hot 2005 real estate market which instilled major fear that
"if you do not buy today, you will be priced out of the market tomorrow", today's real estate buyer is more cautious and wary.  There are multiple factors that have caused this prudence. The general economy, the falling real estate values (why buy today when it may be worth less tomorrow?) , fear instilled by observing buyers who are now 'upside/down' on their homes and recession / job loses.  Bottom line, we are all afraid to enter into debt in this time of uncertainty.

The previous attitude of ‘buy before you are priced out of the market' coupled with the fact relaxed loan qualification standards were major instigators causing the real estate bubble waiting to burst.  Prices were rising unrealistically. Owning the American dream became a real nightmare for many! Unfortunately, all property owners suffering if after affects of the bubble that eventually burst.  Even if you did not purchase in the height of the market or dip in to the artificial equity of your home, your home value has been affected by the repercussions of today's foreclosure/short sale market. Every community and neighborhood has been impacted.

Not only are buyers being more cautious about staying within their budget, lenders are ‘forcing' them to purchase within their budget. The pendulum has swung from the days of relaxed loan qualification guidelines to a very stringent qualification process.  In the end, this more thorough requirement process will be beneficial to all.

Many markets, have hit ‘the bottom' in pricing.  One does not know where the market "bottom" is until it starts to improve. And, that is what is happening in the greater Phoenix metro area.  Most forecasters agree that the Phoenix area real estate market hit bottom in April of 2009.  The sales prices have stabilized and have slowly improved since that time. There is an optimistic outlook for 2010. 

Although the first time home-buyers tax credit or 2009 resulted in a pent-up demand from a large pool of qualified renters to purchase, there still remains many renters qualified to purchase a home.  The extended first time homebuyer tax credit and new expanded credit to current homeowners meeting certain qualifications, along with lower prices on properties and record low interest rates will continue to stimulate many renters to purchase. This will be a boost to the overall real estate correction.

Now is the time for homebuyers to take advantage of the tax credits, inventory and interest rates while being able to conservatively remain within their budget to purchase.

The 2010 real estate market is a more favorable buyer friendly market to
"buy while you can afford it before prices increase"
than it was the case in the frenzied height of 2005.  

The greater Phoenix metro area real estate market is booming once again!
As of TODAY (12-29-2009) there have been 89,777 properties sold!  And, we SHOULD reach 90,000 before December 31st.  There were approximately 60,000 properties sold in 2008.  Thus, real estate sales improved approximately 50% in 2009!

We probably will not see the 50% increase in unit sales that we saw at the end of 2009. However, a 5-10% increase in sales is attainable, and that figure will be the 3^rd highest number of closings- all time for our market.

So What is the future for the Phoenix metro area real estate market?
Here are some  factors that will greatly impact Phoenix real estate next year:

1. National Government Intervention: The extended tax credit for contracts signed before 4/30/10, which now includes a move up buyer provision with higher income levels, will definitely have a positive effect on our market for the first 2 quarters next year.
2. Low Mortgage Interest Rates: Anything below 6% will allow for a steady market recovery.
3. Lender Owned Properties (REO's):The percent of REO's will continue to decline from the 65% of all closings' peak in May of 2009, but will be replaced by Short Sales.  REO's will account for approx 55% of all closings in 2009.  The percent of REO's sales should decrease to under 40% for 2010.
4.  Short Sale Properties (SS): SS's started 2009 at about 5 or 6% of all closings and has risen to 15% YTD.  SS's will at least be double that number for 2010.
5. New Home Construction: New home sales should increase from 2009 levels, it will be minimal but a start in the right direction.

Predictions for 2010 are that we will see a market that performs a lot like 2009 especially the second half of 2009, in terms of number of sales and price improvements.  Now is the time to jump in to the real estate market while there are still 'deals' to be found!

Search the Scottsdale / Phoenix area Multiple Listing System (MLS) NOW:

Gary and Claudia Scott
John Hall & Associates
Scottsdale, Arizona
480-948-0550

Whether you have poor credit or excellent credit - there is never a bad time to improve your credit score!

Your credit score is an extremely important financial tool. It provides access to the financing you need in order to buy a car, a home, or pay for college tuition, among other things.         

When applying for a mortgage, every point in your credit score can make a big difference. Make Plans now to ensure your credit is accurate and begin to make increases on your score over time.

So, where to you begin??  First, at a minimum, you should review your current credit report for accuracy.  Make sure the information on your report is about You. If you find something on your credit report that is incorrect or missing, you should dispute the mistake by contacting the credit bureaus directly.  Take the initiative to begin the process of a dispute investigation. Free Trad Commission - Protecting You

Assuming that your credit report is accurate, look for ways to improve your score:

• Payment History: 35% impact Paying debt on time and in full has a positive impact. Late payments, judgments, and charge-offs have a negative impact. Missing a high payment has a more serious impact than missing a low payment. Delinquencies that have occurred in the last two years carry more weight than older items.  If you’re struggling to catch up, contact your creditors to work out a payment schedule.  
• Outstanding Credit Balances: 30% impact. Outstanding Credit Balances: 30% impact.Of course, attempt to keep your balances reasonable. A high average balance will negatively affect your score. 
• Credit History: 15% impact. This marks the length of time since a particular credit line was established. A seasoned borrower is stronger in this area. 
• Type of Credit: 10% impact  A mix of auto loans, credit cards, and mortgages is more positive than a concentration of debt from credit cards alone.
• Inquiries: 10% impact Every time a lender runs your credit, an inquiry is recorded. This quantifies the number of inquiries (or requests for credit) that have been made on a consumer's credit history within a six month period. 

If you do not have a credit card, get one. Unfortunately, it is one of the ways that the credit bureaus can monitor that you are able to handle credit effectively. Creditors need to determine how much of a risk you are and want to know how likely you are to repay the money they loan you.  Your credit history helps them understand your payment history.
Do not however, get extended, Use it strategically, make small purchases that can easily be paid off monthly. In this somewhat depressed economy, it is sometimes difficult to not live on credit. Byt, at least, attempt to make the minimum payment required. Definitely pay more than the minimum if possible. it is better to attempt to pay off revolving debt rather than moving it around.

Unfortunately, negative credit items can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years (up to 10 years for a bankruptcy). But, it is never too late to begin the repair your credit. Keep all of your current accounts in order and pay them down as quickly as possible.

Your credit has improved??? Now is an excellent time to purchase real estate!

Home buying in the greater Phoenix metro area - search for your home here!

Homebuyers have been given a gift! The extension and expansion of the tax credit provides time to still jump in to this ripe real estate market. And, there are some excellent choices available.

The FHA option of putting only 3 1/2% down is an excellent opportunity for those buyers who are 'cash poor' but certainly able and qualified to make the monthly mortgage payments. Often the final monthly mortgage payment is less than the cost of rent even without the additional benefit of deductible interest at tax time.

Now buyers have until April 30, 2010 to sign a purchase contract and until June 30, 2010 to close escrow.

HOW IT WORKS TAX CREDIT: Ten percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for others.

DEADLINE: Purchase agreements must be signed by April 30 and closings must be final by June 30. MILITARY: The deadline is extended by a year for those who have served outside the United States for at least 90 days from Jan. 1, 2009, to May 1, 2010.

INCOME LIMITS: Individuals who make up to $125,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full credit. Individuals with incomes up to $145,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $245,000 qualify for reduced credits.

HOW TO APPLY: Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal tax returns. If the credit exceeds the tax bill, the government will issue a payment. Taxpayers who want immediate refunds can amend their 2008 returns.

The new deadline will

probably NOT be extended again. The market may never be as ripe as it is today. And the interest rates will continue to rise.

Actually, there is another gift - the gift of a ripe real estate market with many reasonably priced options to choose from.

Checkout the local Phoenix metro area market place and
begin your shopping now while these gifts are available.

              Search the Local MLS by Map

November is here!  Where do the years go anyway?

There is good news on the real estate front as the market is very active.  Of course, the most active market remains in the lower price ranges but as these properties sell, the more expensive market will become the new hot spot.

Its official – President Obama signed the Homebuyers Tax Credit extension and expansion on Nov 6, 09. 

So what about the numbers for October 2009?  Do not believe everything you read in the newspapers or hear on the news as the data they receive lags the current market by about 3 months.  We have access to the latest statistics on a daily basis and would be happy to furnish detailed info for a zip code, city or even subdivision.  Do not hesitate to contact us for specific info.

 Regarding the overall Phoenix metro market::

• October 2009 research shows closings +8000 which is 50% above October 2008.

• With 12,000 transactions still in Pending status, and with the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit thatwas scheduled to end this month, November should close a similar number.

• If we top the high of 8,071 sales of November 2004 – this will be the most November closings ever.

• At 78,000 YTD closings; 2009 is on track to rank as the 3rd highest year on record (should reach by Thanksgiving). We are already 30% above the total for 2008 and should end the year up about 50%.

Besides the YTD numbers, let’s look at the trends. The percentage of REO’s (Foreclosures) continues to drop both with  Closed transactions at 44% and the Pending Sale category of 35%. There is currently a 38-day supply of Active REO’s. Short Sales (SS), on the other hand, continue to increase. SS Active Listings make up 25% of all Actives with another +6000 in the Active Under Contract status.  October’s Closings were at 20%. But, with SS Pending’s totaling 31%, the closed % will increase. A further look at SS shows that the Days on Market (DOM) is approximately double of the non-SS DOM numbers. SS are slow to sell, as banks are overwhelmed with the volume and sluggish to review any offers. Unfortunately, many simply go to foreclosure auction before the SS sale is approved. However, the Good News is that the DOM for Closed SS has improved by almost 3 weeks in the last quarter.

The price numbers are continuing to ‘bump around’ with no consistent trend line. October’s Average Sales price was down about $4,000 to $171,000 and the Median Sales price was down $2,000 to $128,000. Both of these numbers are considerably above the yearly low of $159,000 and $115,000 respectively. The Average has been up and down for the past 4 months, with the Median down for the first time since April.

Overall Inventory – as you can see the inventory for the lower priced properties is minimal as compared to the highest priced homes.  This graph supports the sales numbers showing that  90+ % of the sales are priced under $400,000.  Homes priced under $300K are now considered a Buyers Market.

The Supply of Lender Owned Single Family properties priced under $300K is 27 Days
while the Supply of ALL Single-Family homes priced under $300K is now only 2.4 months.

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Specific numbers vary across the cities of the metro area.  We can provide the details for the area you are interested n, just send an email or give us a call. 

We are proud of our Broker Jim Sexton as he is always on the leading edge of the real estate community:
Congratulations Jim Sexton ...
Recipient of Phx Assn Realtors’ Continuing Service Award

Search the Phoenix Metro Area MLS

Our Arizona Real Estate search options: Looking for an Arizona real estate search vehicle?

Search the MLS directly from our web page AZ-real-estate-sales.com - your comprehensive resource for buying or selling real estate in the greater Phoenix metro area.

If you know the area and/or the specifics of what you are searching for, you can search by the traditional price range, # bedrooms, dwelling type etc. You also search by location / city.  If you know more specific information, you can search by individual subdivision, MLS number or address by entering it to find the listing detail.

If you do not live in the greater Phoenix metro area and are unfamiliar with the cities encompassed within the Valley of the Sun, you can perform a simple map search.  The map will provide the general layout of the metro area  -  here you can either click on the city you are interested in  or you can scroll down to a listing of cities The list will provide the current volume of available properties and the average sales price for that city. These tools will give you the info you need to determine the areas most suited to your needs and price range.

To obtain additional information about a specific city  - simply select the back to home page button . From the home page you can choose the Community Profile option to select the city(s) you want to research.

Once you have selected the city, you can quickly determine the volume of properties available and the average cost to buy or sell in a community by searching the Local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) from our Arizona Real Estate Web page. 

Below is a sample of a result of a city search. You can then search by type of Home, Price Range, all properties in the city or the newest homes that have been added to the market - the results include -  total listings available, Average Price, High Price, Low Price, average age of the properties and average price per square foot.

At this point, you have additional options available to further streamline your specific search  -  single story, number of bedrooms, pool etc.

These searches provide you with general and detailed information about the
current Phoenix / Scottsdale Real Estate Market!

What is happening in the real estate market? Many of the properties being sold in the greater Phoenix metro area are vacant.  Approximately 17,000 homes currently listed for sale on the local Multiple Listing System (MLS) are vacant. This is more than half or about 55% of the total properties listed in the MLS. Interestingly enough the vacant homes are selling quickly as approximately 82% of the closed sales have been vacant.  This means that the “seller” is probably not buying. In many cases the “seller” is the bank who is trying to clear property off their books. Banks do not like to ‘own’ property.  So, where did all the sellers go???? Are there sellers that are turning in to real buyers?

Unfortunately there are the high number of home owners losing their property to short sale or foreclosure.  The resulting decrease in there credit score combined with the more stringent requirements to obtain a real estate loan in today's market, has greatly reduced the previous homeowners ability to purchase another home.

We are witnessing the classic supply and demand. They say you never know where bottom is until you are past it. For the past 3 years volume was high and prices came down.  But, the market appears to be on the rebound. The number of sales is up 50% from 2008 and 66% from 2007.  The volume of properties available has dropped from a high of  approximately 56,000 to 31,700 today.  Prices seem to be stabilizing for the past few months. The average home price is currently around $171,000 up from a low of $159,000.  The reporting companies are stating that the market hit bottom (lowest price)  in the late March /early April of 2009. The majority of buyers in today’s market place are first time home buyers or investors with cash. So if you are qualified or have cash, it is a great time to pick up a ‘good deal’.

Volume of Homes Sold by month

Search the Phoenix/Scottsdale Multipe Listing System
AZ-real-estate-sales

Due to a variety of reasons, many of today’s homeowners are facing some serious hurdles in the current market place. Is your house worth less than you owe? Whether you purchased your home in the height of the boom and now your creative loan is about to escalate to a new monthly mortgage payment you cannot afford or if your job/business is suffering the effects of the recession, you can be pro-active about the future of your home ownership.

One option allows for loan restructuring/modification. This is an opportunity to obtain new loan terms for your existing mortgage. You principal balance is not reduced but new terms are negotiated presumably to decrease your current monthly mortgage payments. Be careful who you deal with as this industry remains largely unregulated. Unfortunately, many times this simply delays the eventual loss of the home.

Another option is the short sale. A short sale typically is executed to prevent a home foreclosure. In a short sale the bank agree to forgive a portion of the owners principal balance due.  The home is sold at the current market value which is usually significantly less than the mortgage and the owner is basically forgiven the debt.

The last option is to simply walk away and let the bank foreclose/take the property back.

All of these options lead to consequences for the homeowner.

Be Pro-Active. If you see potential problems in the future, don’t wait until you receive that threatening letter from the bank. Begin researching your options early in the process. Ideally even before you even miss any mortgage payments. Avoid the run around from the bank. Consider qualified legal representation for advice regarding lender negotiations and debt settlements. Understand your risks and rights. Legal council can analyze your situation and offer a variety of possible solutions and strategies designed to reduce the negative impact on your credit and to ensure that your legal rights are protected.

Call today to find out how to get a No Cost legal consultation today!

Office: 480-948-0550 **** Toll Free: 866-464-2140