Seems the whole world at the end of any given year going into the next makes New Years’ Resolutions and Goals of things they’d like to do in the following year. 

For me, to be a better Mom and Wife and take better care of my health… pretty boring stuff- somewhat the norm- I do also want to buy a home again myself as my own waiting period of 3 years after a Short Sale or Foreclosure is coming around already and I figured I probably wasn’t the only one.  Since 2007, with the help from my team, we’ve helped over 300 families either Short Sale their home OR buy a home and we’d love to do the very same for you or someone you know that may need our help. If you are one of our past clients, the timing may be right for you this year to buy again too?

IF SHORT SALE is something you’ve been putting off- PLEASE DO NOT put off any longer- as it stands now, The MORTGAGE FOREGIVENESS ACT OF 2007 signed by Bush is set to expire at the end of this year.  Short sales can take 3-6 months on average.  If this does not get extended soon, I predict that we are going to have a rush of Short Sales towards the second half of this year which may cause additional “traffic jams” with the lenders. Some folks trying to do a Short Sale in 2012 may miss the boat entirely for the forgiveness of the “Phantom Income” that the banks issue via 1099s at the end of each year from their losses on distressed loans. DON’T let this happen to you or someone you know! Click Here to get started with the Short Sale Process

On the flip side, it’s never been a better time to buy- RATES are @ 4% and sales prices lower than I’ve seen in most of my nearly 20 year career in Real Estate.  Click Here to see the in depth Power Point Presentation from Mike Orr of the Cromford Report with very interesting statistics on our current market and what it’s done the last couple of years.

Either way- we are here to serve! Please feel free to call us anytime at 480-243-4242 for help achieving your Real Estate Goals!

Which city is most expensive?  Least?  Where does your city rank this year compared to last year?

<—– See chart provided by The Cromford Report for these interesting statistics.

There’s also a big difference in price per sqft changes depending on the price range.  To read the latest market update from Cromford, click here.  Seems the prices under $150k are on the uptick and we’ve noticed a lot of competition by investors for those homes, which have caused a moderate price increase just recently.

Typically we see a major slow down in activity during the holiday months, it will be interesting to see what these numbers look like in the spring time but it does seem the bottom has passed us here in Arizona.  No one is predicting huge gains but in recent months, we have not seen any drops which is a great indicator we are finally on the road to recovery.  Thus why we are seeing so much investor activity in our market these days.

If you have any questions or are interested in receiving help with either purchasing or selling a home, please feel free to give us a call at 480-243-4242.

Rebecca toured this fabulous community with Romie Tealdo and she shared with us what makes this place special.

One of the most unique things we found about this gated community is it’s offering of air conditioned 1000 sqft RV garages that are detached from the main home.  It’s not in the outskirts of town either, centrally located in North Mesa just a few minutes from the 202 Freeway.  All of the homesites are oversized to accommodate this amenity; however there is so much more here that meets the eye. Click here for more Community Information.

Benefits to building new rather than fighting over the Foreclosure homes in today’s market are:

• Brand New Homes have energy efficient features not normally found in Foreclosures
• Build it the way YOU want it; no gutting or remodeling required
• Home Warranties and no mysteries about what the previous owner may have done to the home
• Peace of Mind; Easy process- no bidding wars to get into or lose out on

With homes starting in the mid-300’s and today’s rates being so low; one could have a “Custom home” for a production price, meaning it’s within reach to have the home of your dreams.  Don’t settle for less! Click here for the current prices & floorplans.

Most people in this market, may have homes to sell and we are happy to consult with you to find out how to make the switch, just give us a call at 480-243-4242 for a FREE Market Analysis of your current home.  We can help make this move a reality for you and your family.

Tara Bianco talks with Rebecca about refinancing options.  If someone can either PURCHASE a home or qualify to refinance- they should- today’s rates are the lowest ever in history!

Part of her team at Amerifirst Financial is Jeff Underwood who speaks here about Upside Down Mortgages with Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac that can refinance at today’s low rates as well.

If you want to stay in your home and need help affording it, before you try for a loan modification- you should see if you can refinance today first.  Loan modifications are bandaids to the real problem of being upside down, so please consider a Short Sale before you decide to ding your credit with a loan modification attempt, which most seem to fail.

<<——–PLEASE CLICK MICROPHONE TO LISTEN TO REBECCA HIDALGO, DESIGNATED BROKER OF INTEGRITY ALL STARS, TALK ABOUT SHORT SALES ON THIS WEEK’S EPISODE. (She goes on from minutes 10-18 on podcast)

If you or anyone you know is in need of help, found themselves upside down on their home and they may or may not be able to still make their mortgage payments- have them call 480-243-4242 for a free personal consultation OR click here to get started.

The below chart is very interesting because it shows the Inventory Levels in the last 10 years for here in the Valley; compliments of The Cromford Report. I’ve had the pleasure of working in Real Estate now nearly 20 years, since 1993. When I started my career, I mainly focused on selling HUD homes which are definitely becoming quite prevalent in our marketplace again. Real Estate traditionally will bring someone a 5-6% gain in value year over year here in the Valley because of the steady flow of Supply and Demand- that was until 2004 when we saw our market go “crazy” and values increase exponentially.

To put this into perspective- our “happy place” for supply and demand typically is about 4-5 months worth of inventory.

Today we have just 27,618 Active properties in our marketplace and 104 days worth of inventory

Last Quarter; May 2011- we had 33,094 Active properties and 132 days inventory

Last Year; August 2010- we had 43,417 Active properties and 172 days inventory

Clearly the trend is downward with our Active properties available to pick from; but the word has not gotten out to the general public yet- therefore we have not seen a jump in prices as of yet.

Our average price per square foot today is just $82.46 and our prices have been relatively stagnant since September 2010. The question is how long will that last? Inevitably, the law of Supply and Demand will have to kick in sooner or later and the prices will definitely start to rise at some point in our near future.

When I reflect on my own career- today’s pricing is very comparable with the nineties and rates under 7% were considered very good back then. Today we are happy when rates are below 5%, which means monthly our homes cost us less today than they probably ever have ever in recent history.

In 2004, I had the first Holiday Season where my business did not slow down at all. The Days of Inventory in November 2004 were just 46. The “peak” of our market was April of 2005 when the supply was at 31 days of inventory VS the worse we have seen being in April 2008 (just 3 yrs later) at 425 days of inventory available. Our advice to folks watching the market and trying to decide when it’s safe to get back in it- is TODAY is the day but you MUST have patience and be prepared for the bidding wars and multiple offers.

It can be frustrating, but it’s worth it because the prices & rates are still so low. If you or someone you know is considering making a purchase and needs help from an experienced and trust worthy Realtor- please let us know. Contact us here to get started OR call us at 480-243-4242 & we will gladly send you a customized list of homes to check out!

Larry Ricci of Going Green Solar joined Rebecca today to share with her the news about this exciting program that incentivizes Buyers of homes to install Solar Panels in their homes along with a few other energy efficient items; build it into their purchase loans, and they get up to $17,500 back in tax credits and rebates. Please call Larry directly at 602-301-0022 for specific questions & you can click here for a Brochure on the program highlights.

If you think you lost out on the First Time Home Buyer Credit- for the right person and home- this may just be PERFECT! We’ll be happy here at Integrity All Stars to help you get going with this if you are interested in learning more and finding the right house that will qualify- give us a call here at 480-243-4242 OR click here to get started.

Every Month we like to post the latest article by Mike Orr to educate our clients on the most recent stats in our local Real Estate Marketplace.  Very few have not been affected and with prices comparable now to those of nearly 20 years ago, we are seeing very little inventory out there for buyers to pick from.  

CLICK HERE to read Mike’s entire article; but here’s a summary quote that is very telling.

“It seems to me that although the supply/demand imbalance is becoming extreme, demand from investors alone is unlikely to sustain a significant upward price movement. We may have to wait until the general public realizes the degree to which the reality and perception of the supply picture have diverged, so that fear of missing out on a bargain overcomes the fear of prices dropping yet further.” 

Our thoughts is that once word is out to those “fence sitters” that there are few “good” houses out there right now, those prices will start to climb as more competition hits our local market place.  Don’t miss the “bottom” if you are thinking about buying!  And for those of you wanting to (Short) sell, homes are going fast- before the holidays roll around and it slows down- give us a call to discuss your options 480-243-4242 or CLICK HERE to get started.