Archive for the ‘Purchasing a home’ Category

Rebecca Hidalgo shares our latest tool with you to shop all New Home Builders at the same time online, view floorplans and incentives- SHOP HERE NOW if you are interested in checking out homes with Builder Warranties, NO BIDDING WARS, no waiting on Banks to find out if your offer was accepted, and what’s best is everything is brand new and most of the time can be customized to your taste.  Our inventory in the Phoenix Metro Area is at a record low (just checked today, now only 15734 homes Active on the market, this time last year, 44000 were available to pick from?!?) and with record low rates, now is the time to buy!

Rebecca just helped Jimmy and Helen of Gilbert get the keys to their brand new house  at Ashton Woods in Gilbert.  After helping them with 2 Short Sales in the past, this was such a happy day for them to get the keys to their brand new home.  Tomorrow, Rebecca gets the pleasure of helping another family get the keys to their brand new Pulte home in Mesa.  For the buyer out there that has been beaten up in bidding wars and lost, the local builders are a wonderful alternative.

The Brand New Homes not only have Builder Warranties in place but are also built today with much more energy efficiency than we’ve seen in years past as well.  Shea homes and many others are building their homes GREEN and offering Solar Panels, we’ve seen advertising recently on homes that are so energy efficient they are promoting next to nothing utility bills?!

This is definitely a great alternative to shopping for a home.  Foreclosures and Short Sales may seem like a bargain, but after repairs and updating is done to those homes and taking into consideration the cost of utilities for a used home over a new home, they may not be the best bargain in town ANYMORE. 

Please feel free to ask for help from Rebecca and her team to figure out which is the best option for you. 480-243-4242

Year-over-year Median List Price Appreciation: 15.38%
Year-over-year Median Age of Inventory: -27.47%
Year-over-year Inventory: -48.10%
Unemployment Rate (November): 7.7%
Search/Listing Ratio Rank: 7

Photo: Panoramic Images | Getty Images- CLICK PHOTO FOR LINK TO COMPLETE STORY

The other area on this list that’s not in Florida is the Phoenix-Mesa area in Arizona. It used to reside at the number four spot, but jumped ahead two notches between the third and fourth quarters of 2011. This area experienced more than its fair share of foreclosures, and one in every 317 homes still goes into foreclosure. However, the foreclosed homes on the market are being sold at bargain prices, which has caused a 27.47 percent decrease in the median age of inventory.

The city’s unemployment rate in November was 7.7 percent, better than the national average, which can only help boost the local economy. Real estate broker Christy Walker has an optimistic forecast. "The Phoenix market has experienced a positive change in the past year and is poised to continue rebounding throughout 2012," she says. "Employment is up, foreclosures have dropped significantly, investor sales are substantial and our inventory is hovering around a three-month supply with increasing demand."

If you ask any Buyer shopping for homes today, they will tell you it’s a dog eat dog world beating the pavements trying to find a “good” home at a “good” deal.  We are seeing multiple offer bidding wars; offers being placed on homes “site unseen” to try to beat the masses. 

There is a Supply shortage out there with only 16,592 homes showing active in our local ARMLS as of this morning, when a year ago the number was more than double that!?!  We love our Investors who are coming from Canada, Hawaii, Australia and other parts of the world buying up everything they can at our rock bottom price HOWEVER it’s been very challenging for the local families trying to break back into the market again after a Short Sale or Foreclosure as a result since most investors are offering cash and quick closes.

OUR ADVICE?: Work with a knowledgeable Real Estate Company with experience and HAVE PATIENCE!  Start searching for homes HERE and please let us know if you or someone you know needs help navigating through our ever changing Real Estate Market!

Thanks to the Mortgage Forgiveness Act of 2007, Signed by Bush (Set to expire end of 2012)- SHORT SALES EXPLODED across the Nation as we saw home value plummet after 2006.  Long Story short, until then, the Phantom Income written off by the banks after a Foreclosure or Short Sale was considered taxable income. Today (for now), the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. (See link for more details) We do expect a rush towards the second half of this year on Short Sales if the current administration in office does not extend the Act; which could cause even more delays in the Short Sale process due the the increased volumes the banks may be dealing with.  But with that said…

Nothing gives us more satisfaction than being able to help a family out from under a home they are upside down on and can not afford any longer, into their next home.  With today’s crazy low interest rates and sales prices, now really is the time to buy.  It’s usually much more affordable than renting and the key is the right counseling up front so that sooner than later, you too can be back in the buyer market again after either a Short Sale or Foreclosure.

Some can buy a “Home Again” right away, some take 2-3 years for their credit to re-coup enough in order to do so.  We partner with Ryan Nelson of Academy Mortgage right up front at time of Short Sale application so we can game plan the right solution for you and your family right from the beginning of the Short Sale process.  This helps to ensure we get you into your own “home again” as soon as possible.

Please call our office at 480-243-4242 to get started or Click HERE