Report: Housing market may stabilize this spring

The hard-hit Phoenix-area housing market may finally stabilize this spring. According to a new report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, a record stretch of price drops may soon come to an end.
The Arizona State University-Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) measures changes in average Phoenix-area home prices from year to [...]

Resource to Reduce Short Sale Stress

According to the most recent REALTORS® Confidence Index, buyers continue to be discouraged with the extended short sale process, which frequently results in foreclosures that could have been prevented.
New resources from the National Association of REALTORS® aim to help REALTORS® and consumers successfully navigate the short sale process to help more home owners avoid foreclosure.
“Our [...]

10 Home Features Buyers Want

Home designers and builders speaking at the recent International Builders Show in Las Vegas say that buyers are seeking cost-effective features and rejecting things that don’t have lasting value.
“It’s all about family togetherness – casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces,” says Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio.
Paul Cardis, CEO of [...]

Phoenix Luxury Condos on the Road to Foreclosure

Most of the units in 44 Monroe, the swank, 196-unit luxury high-rise could be headed for foreclosure. The bank has filed a notice of trustee’s sale, the first step toward taking over 182 unsold condos.
The units are scheduled to be sold to the highest bidder on April 14, according to county documents. A notice of [...]

Elevation Chandler Ownership Uncertain

CHANDLER, AZ-The saga of the halfway-completed condo project Elevation Chandler continued as attorneys for the two parties who claim they own the see-through project duked it out in court last week. The Arizona Republic reports that the Maricopa County Superior Court judge, who heard both sides early last week, delayed an opinion to take the [...]

Actor Nicolas Cage’s Foreclosure Sells Quickly

Actor Nicolas Cage’s foreclosed 14,306-square-foot, Las Vegas home sold the first day it was on the market for $4.95 million. The deal was expected to close this week.
Cage purchased the six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bathroom home in September 2006 for $8.5 million. He owes the Internal Revenue Service nearly $6 million in back taxes, and the IRS [...]

Rebates for Appliance Buyers in 2010

The 2010 plan to encourage energy efficiency is the government rebate for appliance buyers. The plan lets people swap their old appliances for new energy-efficient models at very low prices.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
· State plans vary. For state by state specifics, check out the state-by-state rebate [...]

Valley Foreclosure Prices May Have Hit Bottom

The Phoenix-area housing market may level off this spring, and the prices of foreclosed-on homes in the Valley may have hit bottom already. That’s according to a new report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
The Arizona State University-Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) measures changes in average Phoenix-area home prices from [...]

Home Buyers Face Tax-Credit Delays

Home buyers who purchased a property after Nov. 6, 2009, when the extension and expansion of the first-time and move-up home buyer tax credit took effect, have reportedly been unable to get their rebates—or even file for them—because paperwork isn’t available.
Robert Dietz, an economist with the National Association of Home Builders, says the delay is [...]

Tempe Centerpoint towers in foreclosure

The empty Centerpoint high-rise condominium towers that loom over Tempe, once a symbol of the city’s downtown residential boom, have fallen into foreclosure.
A foreclosure auction date is set for April, according to documents filed on Tuesday with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. The property could be sold to the highest bidder.
ML Manager LLC, acting on [...]