phoenix real estate news
Lenders Use Deception to Get Promissory Note Signed
June 25, 2010 by The Urban Team · Leave a Comment
Many of our readers know we are very involved with people trying to sell their home by short sale. We have a dedicated short sale site, Short-Sale-Phoenix.com and have written dozens of articles on the subject including our newest about how some lenders and PMI companies use lies, mistruths and threats to intimidate homeowners into signing promissory notes. I know you are shocked a bank would do such a thing… Not.
Anyway, we just posted a real world example of the email one of our clients received from their lender. Our clients are ideal short sale candidates… they both lost their jobs, the husband’s new job pay 40% less and is 30 miles from their house, they can no longer afford their house payments, they had just one loan and they did not refinance and take money out.
We listed their home last January and a well qualified buyer was brought in by an agent. The short sale package was professionally put together by a law firm who handled the conversations between the lender and the homeowner. Five months later we finally get conditional short sale approval from the lender.
Check out what the bank had to offer after 5 months of lender red tape on our sister site, UrbanLIfe Blog.com.
Lenders and PMI Companies Use Mistruths and Intimidation
phoenix real estate news
Phoenix Real Estate Market News May 2010
May 26, 2010 by The Urban Team · Leave a Comment
Good day Urban Connection readers. Michael Orr’s real estate market report for May 2010 just arrived in our mail box and we wanted to share the info with you. The full report and Michael’s numbers and analysis of the Phoenix residential real estate market is below. Just click on a page to have it open in a larger view for easier reading.
THE URBAN CONNETION TEAM’S THOUGHTS:
The report covers all of Phoenix and excludes other cities in Maricopa County. Since many of our readers are downtown types, please understand this is a big Phoenix picture and does not necessarily reflect the downtown market. Also, Michael’s data is for single family homes only so does not include info on the downtown condo/loft sector.
Much of the news is what we expected to see. The tax credit pushed a lot of home sales last month so the pending sales figures jumped a bit. This helped the days on market numbers to fall as more homes sold quickly.
On the goods news front, we continue to see some strength in home prices with lower priced homes actually seeing gains… good news for a lot of homeowners.
Good news item #2 is the number of notices of trustee sale (the date a home is scheduled to go back to the investor) has fallen. We feel this is due to more lenders trying to work out loan modifications or short sales. We feel homeowners will find greater success as banks are better equipped to handle the volume of requests than in 2009 and early 2010.
To get a clue of the problem banks face look at this statistic. Bank of America/Countrywide had 65,000 short sale applications filed in April 2010 compared to just 12 filed in all of 2007.
As we’ve mentioned in other articles, we do not expect improvement in the condo/loft market in 2010. Lenders simply are not giving mortgages on condos except in rare cases like One Lexington. The single family home market should continue to see modest strength, however, until the jobs market gets better don’t expect too much.
If you have any question or would like more information about the report, toss us an email and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
THE PHOENIX REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT FOR MAY 2010:
The data used to create this report is obtained from public records and extracted under license from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc (ARMLS).
Although certain corrections and checks have been applied to this data, Cromford Associates LLC, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, Realty Executives and ARMLS expressly disclaim and make no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, as to the accuracy of the data used or the merchantability
or fitness for any particular purpose. This report is copyrighted in 2010 by Cromford Associates LLC and used with permission on UrbanConnectionRealty.com
phoenix real estate news
Real Estate and Home Values 85014
May 18, 2010 by The Urban Team · Leave a Comment
Today, May 18 2010, we’ll be taking a look at the real estate and home/condo market in Phoenix zip code 85014. The map to the right shows you the boundaries to this narrow region of mid-town and central Phoenix, AZ. As you can see, Camelback sits midway and 7th Street and the 51 bound it on the sides.
Zip code 85014 offers a diverse selection of real estate opportunities from condos, townhomes, single family homes, multi-family housing and some historics. It is this eclectic blend that gives the area its personality and diversity.
The 85014 zip code is one of the most popular in Phoenix. Relative to the general region, home prices are generally lower. At the same time, there are a lot of benefits with great access to downtown Phoenix, Sky Harbor airport, proximity to the Biltmore area and it is fairly close to Metro Light Rail and the ASU downtown Phoenix campus for ASU. The job market is strong with ASU, many law firms, numerous hospitals, hotels and other businesses.
Recent real estate data shows some strength in the single family home market. As of this post, only 72 homes are for sale and home inventory is in the 3-4 month range. The graph to the left comes from Mike Orr of the Cromford Report and shows pretty good sales from traditional homeowners and a growing inventory of short sales. As you can see, buying a short sale or bank owned home offers some strong price advantages. With short sales getting a bit easier, it may be wise to explore these opportunities. (If you would like more information about short sales please visit our short sale information site.)
The condo market is a completely different story. As we’ve discussed in the past, financing for condos is a nightmare. Lenders are afraid of condos these days due to financial problems with homeowners associations. Thus, most lenders are staying as far away from condos as possible and its easier to find a fiscally responsible politician than obtaining an FHA loan.
The loan issues surround condos has made values pretty soft. A few projects like Brick Commons and One Lexington qualify for financing but the majority do not. If you are a cash buyer there are some great deals out there. I’d advise caution though and make sure to have a CPA take a look at the HOA’s financials and don’t expect much, if any, appreciation until the mortgage issues are resolved and a larger buyer pool becomes available.
If you would like to take a look at what’s for sale in 85014, we’ve included a nifty home search tool below. If you click on any home it will open a window with lots of information and an opportunity to modify the search for your particular needs. If you have a question, need more information or what to take a look at a place, we’d be happy to help.
Best to you,
Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777
SEARCH FOR HOMES % CONDOS IN 85014
phoenix real estate news
Vote For The Melrose Garden Project Now!
May 6, 2010 by The Urban Team · Leave a Comment
The 7th Avenue Merchants Association needs your help to make a community garden possible in the Melrose District. Please read on and vote now so we can garner the grant that will make this happen.
The Seventh Avenue Merchants Association has applied for a $250,000 grant from Pepsi Refresh. The grant money, with additional help from Clear Channel Communications will create a community garden on what is described as a weed infested lot at the corner of 7th Ave. and Montecito. The design for the garden has already been achieved by combining community input and student talent from the ASU School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture; A fine collaboration of local talent and minds.
The key to success lies with you and others who can vote on the Pepsi grant website. If we get enough votes, we win and so do our community. There is heavy competition for the grant money, so don’t hesitate. Take action now and use the following link to vote for the Melrose Community Garden. Even if you don’t live here, we ask you to help make Phoenix a better city by voting.
VOTE NOW FOR THE MELROSE COMMUNITY GARDEN PROJECT
or use the following link:
http://www.refresheverything.com/M7project
To learn more about this exciting project, take a look at the video below. Thanks for your support and we look forward to seeing this become a reality. Voting ends on May 31st, 2010, so please don’t delay.
We will keep you updated on the vote and together we can make something very special happen in the way of a community garden in the Melrose District. Pass this info on to your friends too, we need everyone’s votes.
Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
phoenix real estate news
Phoenix Real Estate Market Report April 2010
April 30, 2010 by The Urban Team · 1 Comment
We are beginning a new feature on the Urban Connection Realty site. Each month we will be providing a report on the happenings in the Phoenix real estate market. The report is provided by Mike Orr of Cromford Report fame in conjunction with Fidelity National Title.
For those who do not know Mike Orr, let us say he is the guru of market stats for the Greater Phoenix real estate market. He tirelessly compiles, reviews, digests and produces the finest information about what’s happening with real estate in the Phoenix area. We, the Urban Connection Team, have been working with Mike for several years now and find his information invaluable for keeping us on top of the market and our clients safe.
The report includes 3 pages of information. Each page is an image file and if you click on an image it will open in a new window at full size for easy viewing. We hope you enjoy our monthly Phoenix real estate market update.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Mike studies and evaluates the single family home market and his analysis currently does not include condo data. Thus, the figures for 85003 & 85004 do not necessary reflect the entire real estate market for the downtown area where condos have such a strong influence. We asked him to provide condo analysis and he assures us it will be included in the future.
The data used to create this report is obtained from public records and extracted under license from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc (ARMLS).
Although certain corrections and checks have been applied to this data, Cromford Associates LLC, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company and ARMLS expresslydisclaim and make no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, as to the accuracy of the data used or the merchantability
or fitness for any particular purpose.This report is copyrighted in 2010 by Cromford Associates LLC and used with permission on UrbanConnectionRealty.com
phoenix real estate news
Historic Preservation Needs Your Voice
April 20, 2010 by The Urban Team · 1 Comment
The April 19, 2010 Historic Preservation Commission meeting was held yesterday and what a meeting it was. On the agenda was talk of consolidating the HP office with Development Services. Not a popular idea among many and there were a number of people who voiced such concerns.
David Krietor, Deputy City Manager, and others from the City came to the meeting and listened thoughtfully as person after person voiced both their concern and disdain for the proposed merger.
Among the many speakers were Paul Barnes, GG George, Jim McPherson, Robert Melikian, Steve Dreiseszun and others. They had a common message: Do not undermine the great work HP has done by putting them under the thumb of Development Services.
There were several great statements made including:
Preserve our future by preserving our past.
History is what sells our city.
An autonomous, independent Historic Preservation Office is essential to the future of historic preservation.
Historic Preservation builds community and sustainability.
HP is the key to the past, present and future of downtown Phoenix.
The Historic Preservation office is in jeopardy with budget cuts and consolidation. It is my belief they need our voice and backing while the City investigates options. The fear and possibility is HP will be hamstringed and made impotent if combined with Development Services. Such an outcome is conceivable.
HP provides an important check and balance in the planning and use of current and future historic buildings and neighborhoods. HP provides an important barrier to development that would destroy our city’s history and once gone, it can not be brought back.
If Historic Preservation’s independence is compromised we could see developers slip in projects that neither conform or preserve our history. As we’ve all learned, it is rare to find a developer who puts history ahead of profit.
I encourage all of you who love and value our historic districts, neighborhoods, homes and building to make your voice heard. Please contact the Deputy City Manager, David Krietor, and let him know how much you value the good work of our Historic Preservation office and that you want nothing done that would weaken their role in the planning and development of our City. In fact, if you value what they do, ask the City to give them more power and influence as they re-structure some of the city departments and organizations.
David Keietor can be reached as follows:
David Keietor
Deputy City Manager
602-262-7957
david.krietor@phoenix.gov
Don’t forget to CC the Mayor and Council members while you are at it.
Thank you in advance for your interest in preserving our history and taking the time act.
Gene Urban
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777
connecting you to your perfect space
phoenix real estate news
Phoenix Housing Market News 2010
April 17, 2010 by The Urban Team · Leave a Comment
According to the University of Arizona’s Economic and Business Research Center, the Phoenix housing market will see a bit of a rebound this year. Don’t know if I agree completely, but I do like hope and good news. Here is what they have to say:
The UA Economic and Business Research Center report predicts that new-home permits in metro Phoenix this year will jump 54 percent from last year to 13,320. Then, permits will more than double to 28,060 next year.
That is still a long way from the Valley’s peak building years of 2004-05 when close to 60,000 new homes were built in each of two straight years.
The university’s forecast predicts that new-home permits will fluctuate from 35,000 to 40,000 annually from 2012-16.
That would appear to be a more sustainable number than 60,000 permits annually, especially with the Valley’s expected population growth.
Cassidy Turley/BRE Commercial, in its latest Phoenix Housing Market Report, notes the metro area will grow from 4.2 million this year to more than 5 million in 2015.
Longer term, Arizona is expected to grow to 16 million by 2050. That is up from 5.1 million in the 2000 census.
Cassidy Turley’s report also notes some strengths as well as concerns about the Valley market, including foreclosures, job losses and low appraisals of homes.
On the plus side is affordable housing. Six out of 10 homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2009 were affordable for families earning the Valley’s median income. That is much better than in California but less affordable than in other Sun Belt markets, such as Albuquerque, Dallas and Houston.
As you can see, they are basing their opinions on the new-build market. Many economists use new build permit data to evaluate the general housing market. My only concern is this approach is generally accurate in a normal market and somewhat untested in our current state of affairs. In addition, most of the new build permits are for lower priced homes and may not give a clear picture of the above $500,000 market, a sector still waiting for rebound and good news.
Anyway, we are liking the jump in new home permits and agree it points to a brighter future as it adds construction jobs back to the market and jobs are what we need most.
Gene Urban… your connection to real estate news and opinion
phoenix real estate news
One Lexington HOA Fees
April 8, 2010 by The Urban Team · 1 Comment
We’ve gotten a few calls and emails asking about the financial strength and fees for the homeowners association at One Lexington. We like people who ask this question as it is very important, especially with the many developments around the Valley whose HOA’s are in trouble.
We asked Rob McDonald, the president of McDonald Development, to give us some details about the HOA’s at One Lexington during a presentation last week. He indicated the overall HOA fees are 41 cents/sq.ft. Of the 41 cents, 9 of it goes to support their capital improvement fund used to maintain the integrity of the property. The balance of the fee is used to pay for general maintenance, pool/exercise facilities, grounds keeping, HVAC operations and staff. Homeowners will pay, privately, for electric, water, phone and cable/high speed Internet.
One Lexington offers daytime concierge services Tuesday through Saturday and nighttime security Friday through Sunday. These services are included in the HOA fee. Building security is enhanced by key fob operated elevators.
Another important consideration is the central heating and AC system. The operation of the main HVAC system is part of the HOA fees. Each homeowner will, however, pay for the electricity to power the individual condenser/blower units found in each condo. Overall, heating and cooling costs are expected to be much lower than if the units had individual AC systems.
McDonald assured everyone that the HOA is well funded and in great shape to move forward to a safe and happy future.
If you have additional questions about One Lexington or would like to make an appointment to view the property, use the form below and we’ll take good care of you.
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Other Articles about One Lexington
http://urbanconnectionrealty.com/2010/04/one-lexington-has-affordable-one-bedroom-condos/
phoenix real estate news
One Lexington Has Affordable One Bedroom Condos
April 6, 2010 by The Urban Team · 1 Comment
We discussed the two bedroom condo/lofts at One Lexington in a prior post. this time we are going to talk about the 1 bedroom condo units.
One Lexington is offer 2 different 1 bedroom floor plans with pricing from the mid-$160’s to low $200’s.. that thousands. Each unit features many fine elements including:
- Contemporary Color Scheme selected by international design agency Creative License.
- Lofty 11’10 ceilings with exposed mechanicals and some structural elements.
- Over sized 8’ flat panel doors.
- Eco-friendly wood flooring in the living, dining and kitchen areas.
- Walk-in closets in the master bedrooms.
- UV rated blinds on the floor to ceiling windows.
- Central heating and cooling.
- Private Balconies
- Caesar Stone counter tops in kitchen.
- Contemporary Italian cabinetry.
- High-end energy efficient Bosch appliances
- Designer tile backsplashes in a variety of materials and finishes.
- Fully outfitted fitness center
- Outdoor pool area with spa, sun deck, fire pit and putting green
- The building offer superior soundproofing with double layer drywall and insulated staggered studs.
The one bedroom floor plans called A1 and A2 vary in size from 734 to 777 sq.ft.. All have 1 bathroom, living room and come with balconies. Below are the floor plans for the one bed room offerings. Just click on the picture to open the full image that you can then print out.
Although you can walk in and buy a condo at One Lexington on your own, we strongly advise coming in with your own agent. When you walk in to a project on your own you will end up being represented by the builder’s agent. We believe your deserve your own representation. It does not affect the price you pay and you have someone dedicated to protecting your rights. If you are already working with an agent, bring them. If not, we’d be honored to take care of you. We, obviously, know the project pretty well and our 20+ years of experience will keep you safe and happy.
If you would like to take a look at One Lexington just fill out the form below and we’ll set up an appointment and be there with you.
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phoenix real estate news
Pending home sales mark 5th month of growth
August 4, 2009 by Lyle Plocher · Leave a Comment
Source: Phoenix Business Journal, August 4th, 2009 – Article by Adam Kress
Pending home sales were up for the fifth consecutive month in June, and according to the National Association of Realtors, that’s the first time in six years for such a hot streak.
The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in June, rose 3.6 percent to 94.6 from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May. The index is now well above last June’s reading of 88.7.
Pending homes sales in NAR’s West region — which includes Arizona — rose 2.9 percent to 100.4, but remains 0.2 percent below June 2008 levels.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a combination of positive market factors is fueling the gains.
“Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who have been on the sidelines,” he said. “Activity has been consistently much stronger for lower priced homes.”
