The Cromford Report is predicting continued appreciation, ”we can also reasonably expect to see positive appreciation rates for the market as
a whole for at least the next 4 months. This is easy to predict because last year we had a gently declining pending listing $/SF whereas now pending $/SF figures are headed upwards”.

Sales per Month: 7,230 in November – down 5% from October but up 8% from this time last year.

Active Listings (excluding AWC): 19,377 on December 1 – down 1% from November 1 and down 50% from this time last year.

Days Inventory: 96 on December 1, down from 98 on November 1 but dramatically down from 184 at this time last
year

When disposing of these homes, known as REO, lenders will include an “AS IS” clause
in the sales contract disclaiming all warranties and representations in order to limit their potential liability for nondisclosure.  Relying on these “AS IS” clauses, lenders did not believe they had the duty (or their agent) to disclose facts material to the transaction.  This proved to be a mistake for one lender in Arizona.

Read this article by attorney Richard V. Mack

http://www.aaronline.com/azr/2011/April/As-Is-Clauses-in-REO-Transactions.aspx

This is a 7110 Square foot Desert Mountain estate on 5 Acre with spectacular panoramic views.

REDUCED $1,305,000!

This luxury home is extraordinary, from the unobstructed views to the designer finishes throughout! Stacked natural stone elements frame spectacular panoramic views from east of Pinnacle Peak to the western sunsets and stunning city lights! Interior features include vaulted ceilings in the living/dining rooms, 4 spacious bedrooms w/walk-in closets/ full baths, closed door office w/full bath, exercise room, and multi-purpose game room. The office and game rooms have 3 simultaneous TV feeds and both easily convert to a 5th or 6th bedroom. Seller will consider Trade.  Price includes the Desert Mountain Equity Golf Club Membership.

Click the link to view Deal in Desert Mountain

Treasury’s just released figures show that the median principal amount reduced was 32.2%, or about $69,500.

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/treasury-nearly-5000-hamp-mods-carry-principal-reductions-2011-07-01

How it works is like this: scammers watch for foreclosed homes, break in, replace locks and advertise the home for rent.  Using websites like Craigslist, the scammers, attract prospective tenants with the offer of below market rents, no credit check and quick move in.

By the time the tenant discovers that the scammers weren’t the home’s owner and they don’t have a home to live in, their security deposit and first months rent is gone.

To keep a tenant from becoming a victim of a rental scam we have prepared a list of things to do before giving out money for a rental:

http://robertlongaz.com/before-you-rent/

A Look at Case-Shiller, by Metro Area (May Update)

The dramatic increase in house prices that began in 2003 and continued into 2007 far outpaced increases in household income.  This caused housing affordability to decline.

However, with the collapse in home prices over the past 4 years, the Greater Phoenix housing has become affordable.

Nationwide housing affordability during the first quarter increased to its highest level in the more than 20 years that it has been measured.  According to the National Association of Builders/ Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 74.6% of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income. Until 2009, the index rarely topped 65% and never reached 70%.

The affordability index in Phoenix stood at 84.8% and in Tucson, stood at 85.1%.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:RIwCSMIMS_QJ:www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx%3FcontentID%3D535+The+affordability+index+in+Phoenix+stood+at+84.8%25&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.com