Green building conference comes to Phoenix

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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 …

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Federal Reserve president to talk about Arizona's economy

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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. …

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President signs homebuyer tax credit extension

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Today, the homebuyer tax credit extension was signed as expected by President Barack Obama.
Real estate leaders at the Urban Land Institute fall conference in San Francisco believe the tax credit has helped boost home sales and prices during the past several months. The extension and expansion of the credit is expected to buoy the housing market until next summer.
In metro Phoenix, the area’s median home price has slowing been ticking up since April.
Now that many homeowners can tap the credit to buy other homes, it could help the Valley’s ailing luxury market. …

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Federal Reserve President in Phoenix to talk about the economy

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen will be in Phoenix to talk about the key issues Arizona is facing for an economic recovery.
She’s the keynote at Lambda Alpha International’s Phoenix real estate conference on Tuesday 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. …

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Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog

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Slow recovery for Arizona economy and real estate, says Federal Reserve president

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

“Thing are beginning to look up in Arizona as they are for the nation. Still the Phoenix housing market is nowhere near a return to health.”
The pronouncement came from Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen on Tuesday to a group of the Valley’s leading real estate and banking executives.
“As the housing market collapsed and the nation fell into financial crisis and recession, your desert metropolis was set back on its heels,” she said to the Phoenix chapter of the land economics group Lambda Alpha International. “Just as you (Phoenix) grew faster than the nation as a whole …

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Ilegal foreclosure auctions in Maricopa County

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When foreclosure homes come up for public auction in Phoenix, a minimum opening bid is set and bidding is open to anyone.
At least that is the way it’s supposed to work.
But a Republic investigation into the daily public auctions held on the Maricopa County Courthouse steps and at some local law offices suggests a growing number of homes are sold for less than the posted opening bid.
Prices on some foreclosure homes are being dropped below the opening bid just hours or even minutes before the auction. Buyers aware of the "drop bids" scoop up the houses before other bidders know …

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Various measures of Valley home prices heading in same direction: up or at least flat

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Tracking metropolitan Phoenix’s home prices can be done in several ways, so there are different medians or index numbers for the area’s housing market. What’s key is the direction the numbers or indicators are heading.
And all measures now show Valley home prices inching up or at least holding steady.
S&P/Case-Shiller, the leading national home index, shows metro Phoenix home prices ticked up 0.8 percent between August and September. The index lags a few months because it compares national home prices. Nationally, the 20-city index shows home prices climbing 0.3 percent during the period, so the Valley is faring better.
The median price …

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Short sales jump in Phoenix; lenders making faster decisions on deals

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Short sales may be a new best option for Valley homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure.
Home-loan modifications, endorsed by the federal government, are most borrowers’ first choice when they fall behind on their mortgage payments because of a drop in their income. But short sales are also part of the federal housing plan to slow foreclosures. Unlike their slower-than-expected actions on loan modifications, lenders are now moving quickly on many short-sale requests in the Phoenix area.
New figures for the Valley show a record number of short-sale deals in various stages of completion. Pending short sales, including all of the deals …

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Ariz. Attorney General working with feds to crackdown on loan modification scams

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said his office is teaming with the federal goverment to stop more loan modification scams.
Today, at the end of the National Association of Attorneys Generals meeting in Phoenix, Goddard said his office recently met with federal regulators, including the U.S. Department of Justice. He said the prosecutors plan to work together to stop firms from cheating struggling homeowners.
Non-profit housing counselors currently offer free help to homeowners trying to receive government-backed loan modifcations to avoid foreclosure. However, a growing number of firms are solicting homeowners and offering help for fees as high as $5,000. Instead of providing loan modification help, …

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Forecast for Phoenix real estate

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Here are some key data and predictions from the event “Real Estate: Evolution of an Industry.”
The final tally for home building permits in the Phoenix area this year will be about 8,800, which is down 85 percent from 2005′s peak. But building market is picking back up as the oversupply of speculative-built homes sells.
“Home builders are out of their depression,” said Greg Vogel, chief executive of Scottsdale-based Land Advisors. So far this year, 7,200 home lots ready for construction have sold in the metropolitan Phoenix. About 42 percent of those lots were bought by home builders, and they don’t plan …

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