Increase seen in Phoenix-area home prices

For the first time in three years, Phoenix-area housing prices are showing an overall year-over-year increase for the market. A new report from the W. P. Carey School of Business contains positive news for Valley homeowners, who have been waiting for relief from dropping home values. “This report reflects an important milestone in the recent [...]

Is Arizona’s Recession Over? How Will We Know?

After three consecutive quarters of solid growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), economy watchers and politicians are increasingly comfortable with declaring that the national recession is over. Further, many observers postulate the most likely end point was as long ago as nine or ten months, in mid-year of 2009. At the national level, the official [...]

Podcast: Median Price Not Full Story For Phoenix Market

The median price for resale homes in the Phoenix area has been edging up for several months. Does this signal that the market is approaching normalcy? Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate and author of the Realty Studies report from the W. P. Carey School of Business, talks about the factors affecting median price, [...]

Phoenix housing prices up 5.5 percent this year

Phoenix-area housing prices have consistently gone up every month this year, despite tough economic times. The latest Realty Studies report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University confirms the median single-family home price in the Valley has steadily increased. However, it’s unclear whether the momentum will continue. The median price [...]

Report: Phoenix-area home prices should level off soon

Phoenix-area home prices should level off soon, if the current trends continue. A new report from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University shows price drops slowing and likely to come to an end after about three years of falling. “The rate of decline has been slowing for several months, and [...]

Housing Experts Say Real Estate is Recovering

Some of the nation’s top economists believe the housing market has turned and better days are on the way for the housing industry. Increases in jobs, credit, and affordable homes will overcome impediments such as rising interest rates, and the expiration of the Federal stimulus program to push the housing market toward recovery, says Dean [...]

HOAs Seek Association Fees from Banks

Condominium and home owners associations desperate for money are experimenting with a tactic called “reverse foreclosure” to force banks to pay association fees. The process works like this: When a borrower stops paying the mortgage, banks often delay taking the property into foreclosure. When banks delay, neither the former home owner nor the bank is [...]

Fewer Sellers Are Cutting Prices

The prices on 19 percent of homes for sale as of March 1st have been reduced at least once, the lowest percentage in the last year, according to Trulia.com. In October and November, when the market was feeling the effect of the tax credit, 26 percent of sellers cut their asking prices. “Better pricing is [...]

Home Owners Fight Property Tax Increases

Taxpayers in high property-tax states all over the country are fighting back, including packing up and moving to states where the property tax burdens are lower. They find it particularly galling that tax bills continue to rise as home values decline, a common phenomenon. A recent survey by the National League of Cities reported that [...]

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 [...]