You would think that with all the surefire bets in housing that people would be dialing up their realtors and heading out every weekend to make those lustful multiple offers presented in PowerPoint format on properties. Yet the overall market data shows a different story. The house horniest of them all, investors, are clearly pulling out of markets including sunny and inflated California. Apparently home prices do matter when making investment decisions. Cash strapped hormonal buyers will keep on buying but housing prices are set on the margin. That margin is becoming razor thin on current volume. I find it interesting that the biggest housing supporter of them all, the National Association of Realtors is also somewhat tepid on this recovery. Why? Because home sales volume is pathetic. Keep in mind they make money on selling and buying. Volume is key. Their model doesn't work so well with banks holding onto properties like Gollum holding onto the ring and the foreclosure process being dragged out like the forever college student enjoying year 10 at Santa Monica City College. You see this overarching trend occurring in many metro areas across the country. Investors have been propping up the market since 2008. They are now slowly pulling back. You are also starting to see a convergence of analysts putting out their predictions on how overvalued housing is and backing it up with mountains of data. The other side of the argument points to prices. Sure, they've gone up but value is created by actual price and that is sort of the point. The answer as always isn't so simple but using your thinking cap it is important to understand that housing is not a "no brainer" decision in this market.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Posh ‘Easy Street’ project in Carefree gets new life
Plans for a $90 million project with condominiums over retail shops in Carefree have been revived and negotiations are under way to anchor the development with a Phoenix Art Museum satellite location.
Town leaders have announced the revival of developer Ed Lewis’ “Easy Street” project. The development, which Carefree town leaders approved in 2006, was put on hold in 2009 because Lewis said the existing economic climate did not support it.
But now, the tide is turning, Lewis said.
“The luxury-condo market is coming back faster than other luxury markets,” Lewis, president of Scottsdale-based Butte Development, said. “It’s always best to try to get started in the early stages of recovery.”
Read more...Posh ‘Easy Street’ project in Carefree gets new life
Increasing property values in Phoenix area point to recovery
Median assessed values of Valley homes and businesses increased this year by double-digit percentages for the first time in seven years, suggesting local real-estate markets are recovering, the Maricopa County assessor says.
About 1.6 million valuation notices for the 2015 tax year were mailed out at the end of February. All classifications of properties — vacant lands, single-family homes, condominiums, apartments, commercial properties and manufactured housing — saw improvements in value this year. Commercial-property values have increased for the first time since 2009.
“That shows you that even in one year, market conditions have improved dramatically,” Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen said. “That’s a good thing overall, because it shows the health of the real-estate market in Maricopa County is better, much improved.”
This is the second year in a row that single-family residential properties’ median full cash values increased by 10 percent or more.
Read more...Increasing property values in Phoenix area point to recovery
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Are you carrying too much housing debt into retirement?
It used to be routine for Americans to pay off their mortgages before quitting the workforce, allowing people to ease financially into retirement. But money pressures made worse by the 2007-2009 recession have saddled too many retirees with significant housing burdens.
Rising mortgage balances are "threatening the retirement security of millions of older Americans," said the federal Consumer Financial Protection BureauCQ in a new report. "Older consumers are carrying more debt, including mortgage, credit card and even student loan debt, into their retirement years than in previous decades."
Read on to learn some warning signs and factors behind this unfortunate new reality:
Read more...Are you carrying too much housing debt into retirement?
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