Up to now I had to explain why prices in Phoenix were going up while the media reported they are going down...It seems like it's a matter of timing and they just get to see the full picture after a while.
So- please enjoy this 2 VERY relevant updates about the real estate market that finally reflect that we see and make your decision accordingly.
"Homes Available for Sale ( Supply ) Shrink to Four-Year Lows " The number of homes listed for sale in October reached its lowest level in more than four years, according to MLS data compiled by Realtor.com.
About 2.12 million homes were listed for sale nationwide last month, which is down by 3.5 percent from September. And at year-over-year levels, that number is down by 21 percent. Inventories are declining due to banks taking longer to process foreclosures and sellers taking their home off the market after seeing their properties linger or getting low-ball offers from buyers, according to Zelman & Associates. Source: “ Housing Inventories Fall to New Four-Year Low in October, ” The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 21, 2011)
"Industry shadows continue to shrink"-That ominous shadow inventory of repossessed and soon-to-be repossessed homes is getting smaller.
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has released its third-quarter shadow inventory update, which shows both the volume of distressed assets and the amount of time it’d take to liquidate these properties is contracting.
S&P says the volume of distressed residential mortgages included in its shadow inventory estimate remained “extremely high” at $384 billion in the third quarter, but it has declined in each quarter since mid-2010. S&P’s third-quarter evaluation is down from $405 billion at the end of the previous quarter.
“We believe this points to a continued drop in the amount of time it will take to clear this ‘shadow inventory’ over the next year assuming national liquidation rates do not decline abruptly,” the analysts at S&P said in their report.
Regional default and liquidation rates varied widely in the third quarter of 2011, but overall improvements prompted S&P to lower its projection of the number of months to clear the supply of distressed homes on the market and coming down the pipeline.
The agency now estimates that it will take 45 months to work through the national shadow inventory. This assessment is seven months below S&P’s peak estimate of 52 months in March 2011, but is three months longer than the agency’s estimate a year ago.
S&P calculates shadow inventory as the number of properties for which borrowers are 90 days or more delinquent on their mortgage payments, properties in foreclosure, and properties that are REO. (Dsnews.com, Nov. 21st, 2011).
So do not procastinate if you are considering investing in real estate, as inventory shrinks, prices go up!Our next tour to Phoenix, AZ: December 17th- 18th.New houses coming up soon- follow this blog for more...
Naomi.
naomiesal@gmail.com
