2009 is in position to be the 3rd best year in last decade for Phoenix homes for sale. The housing market forecast in the Phoenix area is looking very promising going into 2010. As of November 12, over 79,500 residential home sales have been completed in the metropolitan Phoenix area. Homes sales should easily reach 90,000 by the end of December. The only years that were better were the boom years of 2004 and 2005.
Housing sales in 2007 and 2008 averaged 56,754 residential homes. 2009 home sales will be an estimated 58% higher than in the two previous years. We can clearly signal the end of the buyer's market in the Phoenix area.
There were plenty of doomsayers to begin this year. The Phoenix housing market forecast was uncertain and many home buyers debated what to do. Continuing lower prices and the first-time home buyers tax credit helped people to a decision. It was also very helpful that mortgage interest rates stayed very low.
The increase was slight, but October 2009 home sales in Phoenix surpassed those of September by about 200 sales. These numbers continue to be evidence of confidence from buyers looking for homes in the Phoenix area.
The confidence can be attributed lower housing prices and the first-time home buyers credit. It also helps that the number of active listings in Phoenix has remained stable thereby keeping the balance between a "buyers" and "sellers" market in check.
This is great news for the housing market in Phoenix. Increased sales always stimulates the overall economy. People who have "gotten off the fence" and contributed to Phoenix home sales are making this the 3rd best sales year in the last decade.
As seen in the charts, 8,145 homes sold in October of 2009. Only four months had higher sales in the Phoenix area. It is also important to note that in the previous two years home sales were already tapering off by October. However, Phoenix area sales over the last three months have been stable.
if you are comfortable with housing prices, president Obama's policies, and interest rates -- this may be your time to consider homes for sale in the Phoenix area.
The $8000 / $6500 Home Buyer Tax Credit is alive and well. As anticipated, President Obama signed the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit extension into law on Friday. You can now collect the credit if your home purchase is under contract by April 30, 2010 and is complete by June 30, 2010. The good news for current owners: The extension also offers a tax credit for people who are purchasing a new residence, but aren't first-time homeowners.
A refundable credit means that if the amount of income taxes you owe is less than the credit amount you qualify for, the government will send you a check for the difference.
For example:
All qualified homebuyers can take the tax credit on their 2009 or 2010 income tax return.
The tax credit is a true credit. It does not have to be repaid unless the home owner sells or stops using the home as their principal residence within three years after the purchase.
History of the $8,000 tax credit
Detailed Tax Credit Explanation
IRS Rules about the $8,000
Calculating the Tax Credit
Put the $8,000 tax credit on line 69 of this form
How to do it right:
Use these questions to determine the expertise of Arizona Mortgage Lenders. The largest financial transaction of your life is too important to risk with someone or a company who is not capable of advising you properly on the best options for your specific mortgage loan situation. But how can you tell?
Here are four simple questions your Arizona Mortgage Company absolutely must be able to answer correctly. If they do not know the answers, run -- don't walk -- to a lender who does.
This is one of the largest and most important financial transactions you will ever make. You may take this voyage only two - five times your entire life. Professional mortgage lenders cruise these waters every single day. It’s your home and your future in Arizona. Place them in the hands of a professional loan officer and Arizona Mortgage Company.
Thanks to my good friend and trusted lender, Craig Bohall, for helping to put these words onto virtual paper.
Phoenix foreclosures comprise 30.8% of all real estate listings in the metropolitan area. Foreclosure listings are comprised of REO property (bank owned) and short sales. REO property used to be the majority of active listings in the foreclosure arena. However, bank owned properties have been on a decline for most of 2009. They are being replaced by short sales because more distressed homeowners are seeing short sales as a better alternative to foreclosure.
The chart indicates 12,539 foreclosure listings in the Phoenix real estate market to begin November 2009. Since there are 32,351 total listings in the Phoenix market (seen in my last post), foreclosure listings make up almost 39% of all listings in the area. Of that 39%, 35.2% (4,417) are REO listings and 64.8% (8,122) are short sales. There are several reasons for the decline in REO property listings over the last year:
Homeowners are increasingly seeing short sales as a viable alternative to foreclosure. Although the short sale process can take between three and five months to complete, buyers in the Phoenix area real estate market are paying much more attention to short sales. The percentage of completed short sale transactions continues to grow each month in the Phoenix area.
Foreclosure listings have been on the market for an average of 80 days less than their counterparts -- "normal" listings -- during 2009. The second chart indicates that current foreclosure-type listings have been on the market for 105 days, while normal listings have been on the market for 182 days. The obvious reason is the difference in price between two categories of listings. REO property and short sales are always priced much lower than normal sales making them much more attractive to home buyers.
It can also be seen by the chart that overall days on the market has been steadily trending downwards for Phoenix area foreclosures. However, if we were to isolate REO properties we would find that the average sold home would be on the market for less than 60 days. The longer selling cycle for short sales is what keeps the foreclosure "days on the market" higher.
Designated broker/owner specializing in residential and multi-family units.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
