Mar 10, 2015
Phoenix is the eighth most-affordable metropolitan area according to new research from mortgage publisher HSH.com. HSH.com used fourth-quarter data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to calculate the minimum salary a buyer must earn to pay the principal, interest, insurance and taxes associated with home purchases across 27 metropolitan areas and average interest rates for fixed-rate, 30-year mortgages. To afford a typical house in Phoenix with a home price of $200,000, a home buyer needs a minimum salary of $40,658 along with a 20% down payment. The study indicated a home buyer would need a minimum salary of $48,603 to afford the median priced home in the U.S. For more information and to find out how much money home buyers in 27 major metro areas would need to earn in order to purchase the median-priced home in their market click here.
Jan 14, 2015
Holding the number one spot as the Most Powerful Person in residential real estate brokerage for 2014/15 for the second consecutive year is Richard A. Smith the Chairman, CEO and President of Realogy. “While there are others who have higher personal profiles, within the industry there is no doubt that none have more power and influence in almost every aspect of the residential real estate brokerage industry than Smith,” says Stefan Swanepoel, Editor-in-Chief of the SP200 list. Realogy owns half of the top 10 brands in the industry including Sotheby’s International Realty. Realogy is simply residential real estate’s most important company.
Jan 9, 2015
The Cromford Report observation for the first week of the year indicates new listings are down 11% compared to 2014 and down 5% compared with 2013. This observation refers to the broader Phoenix Metropolitan Market but is observed in the Scottsdale market segment as well. This is very good news for sellers and means that supply is likely to remain tight. The Cromford® Market Index moved up to 97.8 yesterday, meaning that the market is very close to perfect balance (100). Since the trend is currently firmly upward, we believe the 
market is moving control away from buyers. The White House estimates that an additional 250,000 buyers will emerge over the next 3 years because of the FHA loan changes announced yesterday. If they are correct, this represents a 1.6% increase in demand. Along with the 3% down payment offerings from Fannie Mae, and shortly from Freddie Mac, this is probably enough to swing the market in favor of sellers over the next few months. Only a sharp increase in the supply of new listings is going to prevent this outcome. Such an increase is currently not looking very likely, but you never know for sure. If demand does increase significantly while supply remains low then upward pricing pressure will almost certainly re-emerge.
Dec 15, 2014
Phoenix identified by NAR as one of the top ten metro areas poised to see an increased number of baby boomers moving in and buying a home.
Dec 11, 2014
Phoenix is one of the Top 10 Hot Housing Markets to Watch in 2015 according to Realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. The Phoenix Metropolitan are was chosen because it’s one of the top five markets for new construction and it continues to see an increase in overall population and household growth.
Dec 4, 2014
Survey: Consumers Optimistic About Housing Market for 2015
Author: Brian Honea December 3, 2014
The level of optimism for the housing market in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2014 is at its highest point as it has been at any point during the recovery, according to a recent survey conducted by Trulia.
The majority of American adults surveyed for Q4 said they expect all five real estate activities – selling a home, buying a home, getting a mortgage to buy a home, getting a mortgage to refinance a home, and renting a home – to be better in 2015 than they were in 2014. According to Trulia, 36 percent of respondents said 2015 would be much better or a little better for selling a home, compared to 16 percent who said they believe the coming year will be much or a little worse. The difference of 20 percentage points between the two was the highest for any of the five categories; the percentage of respondents who answered much or a little better was higher than the percentage of those who said much or a little worse in all five categories.
Of those surveyed, 74 percent said that home ownership was part of the American Dream, tying its post-recession high set in Q4 2013 and slightly higher than the percentage who felt the same way in 2012, 2011, and 2010, according to Trulia.
Among younger adults, the percentage of those who say homeownership is part of achieving the American dream is at an all-time post-recession high, according to Trulia. Of the adults from ages 18 to 34 who were surveyed, 78 percent answered yes to the question of homeownership and the American dream. The previous high was 73 percent, set in Q4 2013, and the lowest was 65 percent set in Q3 2011. Also, 93 percent of young renters said they hope to buy a home someday, according to Trulia.
Trulia reported that while optimism is high toward the housing market, barriers remain to homeownership. While the biggest barrier to home ownership is still saving for a down payment, affordability has become a bigger concern in the last year – 32 percent of respondents said increasing home prices were the biggest barrier to owning a home, compared to just 22 percent from the same period a year ago. Poor credit and qualifying for a mortgage were also cited by respondents as obstacles to homeownership.
