Network of Real Estate Professionals
Or more importantly, what will it take for metro Phoenix to draw more quality jobs and keep growing?
Check out azcentral.com’s virtual town hall on creating jobs. It stars at 11:30 a.m. today.
Economic development expert Ioanna Morfessis and Goldwater economist Byron Schlomach will answer questions and address the topic key to Arizona’s continued growth.
Growth is key to the Valley’s housing market’s recovery.
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Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
The average rent for a Valley apartment slipped again, according to new data from research firm RealFacts.
The typical Phoenix-area apartment now costs $761 a month to rent, down almost 1 percent from the second quarter of this year. The area’s apartment vacancy rate is at 12.8 percent, down 2.5 percent from last year.
"It’s a bad time to be a landlord," said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at Arizona State University.
Metro Phoenix Apartment owners are giving away free rent, TVs, Ipods and scooters to attract renters.
Butler said he recently saw a sign on a Phoenix apartment complex offering a deal …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Ariz. Sen. John McCain will speak to Arizona’s top real estate leaders on Oct. 30th. He is the keynote speaker at Urban land Institute’s fall town hall event.
McCain is on tap to talk about the state’s economy, environment and energy needs at Urban Land Institute’s town hall.
The event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Arizona Biltmore Resort. Go to arizona.uli.org. …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
The Arizona Bankers Assocation has filed a lawsuit to overturn legislation that repealed a controversial new state foreclosure law.
Earlier this week, the Bankers Association field the suit in the Arizona Supreme Court alleging the legislation is unconstitutional. The fight centers around SB 1271, which was passed in early July and allowed lenders to go after the assets of many homeowners in foreclosure. The bill made it legal for lenders to seek the difference between what a borrower owed and how much they were able to recoup from reselling the forecloure home.
Many in the real estate industry fought to repeal the …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
The first-time homebuyer tax credit is one step closer to being extended.
U.S. Senate Democrats agreed this week to back the extension. The latest version of the legislation calls for pushing back the deadline on the homebuyer tax credit program to April 30th. And home sales don’t have to close by that date to qualify. The purchase paperwork just has to be signed by the end of April 2010. First-time homebuyers with signed contracts have 60 days after the April 30th deadline to close on their house.
The current legislation also allows move-up buyers, who have lived in their current home for …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
The U.S. Green Building Council is holding its annual Residential Summit in the metro Phoenix Nov. 11th through the 13th. The event is expected to draw thousands of developers, planners and investors from across the country.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, households account for 20 percent of energy consumed and 21 percent of carbon emissions.
The Green Building Council estimates that as many as 120 million U.S. homes need energy efficiency improvements and retrofits.
Former Vice President Al Gore is the keynote speaker. He will speak at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field Wed. Nov. 11th. Grammy winner Sheryl Crow …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Is the real estate market showing signs of a recovery? Will there be a rally in the market? How is the federal stimulus plan helping the economy and real estate.
Those issues will all by analyzed and debated at the fall Urban Land Institute conference in San Francisco. Thousands of the world’s top analysts and most influential developers are at the three-day event, considered one of the most important annual real estate meetings in the world.
I will be covering the event and keep you updated on forecasts for Arizona and key trends affecting the state, and particularly the Valley.
The …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Former editor-in-chief of The Economist, Bill Emmott tells crowd at Urban Land Institute’s fall meeting that U.S. could rebound quicker than Europe.
He said U.S. businesses can react more quickly to recession, meaning laying people off sooner. But on the flipside, U.S. businesses quick reaction time, also means they can rehire sooner.
Emmott also believes the U.S. will see a "u" shaped economic recover. The first leg of the "u" was the boom, now we are at the bottom and possibly looking moving up towards the last leg in the "u."
One reason the U.S. could see a quick boost is that …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen will be in Phoenix to talk about Arizona’s economy next week.
She’s the keynote at Lambda Alpha International’s Phoenix real estate conference on Nov. 10th. The event starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix. Lambda Alpha is the honorary society for land economics.
Go to Visit www.lai-phx.org for more information. …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
A University of Arizona professor has some new advice for homeowners who owe more than their house is worth: consider walking away.
The controversial advice comes from Brent White, an associate law professor, who recently completed a discussion paper called “Underwater and Not Walking Away: Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis.” His theory is more homeowners could be walking away from their mortgages but aren’t because they’re being shamed by banks and politicians to keep paying or their credit will be ruined, and that isn’t fair.
“It’s unfair that responsible homeowners, who bet on the housing market just …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog