Anthem Buy The Numbers

As the busy season is on the way, I'm asked what the price per foot is in Anthem Parkside and Anthem Country Club. These values very as premuim view lots sell for quite a bit more than a standard internal lot. Parkside goes for around $80.00 a SF while the Country Club goes $113.00 per SF. With that said, there was a 2400 SQ FT homes that sold for $166.00 a SQ FT in 6 days in the club. Also, numerous that sold in Parkside for over a $100.00 a SQ. FT. So, as you can see it depends on the home.

Anthem Real Estate

According to the Cromfort report which is based off MLS stat's, the Anthem and Carefree market have remained flat for over a year. The Cave Creek market has actually increased $0.54 per square foot compared to last year. The market in Anthem is still showing low inventory.

Anthem Inventory

We are at all time low inventory in Anthem. There are 300 active listings but only 207 active listings without contingencies. In a normal market, usually 5 percent of the totals number of homes are for sale. With ~18,000 homes, you can see the numbers would indicate that it is a seller's market. However, as we know most people are upside down in their homes. This why the Anthem market is 70 percent short sales. Eventhough people dislike short sales, it might be your only choice. Also, you tend to get a better deal than foreclosures. Foreclosures tend to bring a sale price over list based on the number of people bidding on the property.

Anthem, Carefree, and Phoenix Market Update

According to several sources, 2009 in the greater Phoenix area had the 3rd highest number of sales over the last 9 years. Only 2004 and 2005 saw more closings for a given year. At this time, the average sales per month are 7,729. At a closer look, I see the months of inventory under $100K are less than 2 months, whereas the price range over $1,000,000 has an overwhelming 38 months of inventory. Currently, there are 41,755 on the market while at the same time last year there were 52,624. This could be due to the banks holding their inventory.
The monthly medium price shows that the market trend bottomed out on April 2009 and shows that prices have risen upward by a small percentage every month. Within the Greater Phoenix area, 46% were Banked Owned Properties, 23.6% were short sales, and 30.4% were normal transactions. Banked owned properties shows the pricing decreased 7.3 percent per SQ. FT, and short sale pricing increased 3.6% per SQ. FT.
Forecast:
Short sales and Bank Owned properties will continue to dominate the market. Actually, I would expect short sales to overtake Bank Owned properties in 2011. The high priced areas through the valley (Paradise Valley, North Scottsdale, and Carefree) lagged behind the medium price homes by about 2 years. So, expect to see an increase of bank owned properties and short sales in these areas.

Buyers Outlook:
As a qualified buyer you will enjoy the ability to pick up properties at a great price. In the price range under $200,000 there are lots of buyers so you will see multiple offers on these properties. Once you get over $350,000 there are less qualified buyers, so these may be the best deals. Buyers can still take advantage of the tax credit and low prices so why wait. Interest rates will go up so it is time to buy.

Sellers Outlook:
If you are willing and able to price your home at current Fair Market Value, there are plenty of buyers in today’s market. If you overprice your home you can expect to see it remain on the market for months to come. Clean is king and views/upgrades are a bonus in today’s market place.
If you have exhausted all options, you may want to short sale your home. There is a new government program called Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. This program is scheduled to launch in April. Be sure to contact a Realtor with knowledge and experience in short sales.

This published in the Arizona Republic in the Broker Corner Section for the North and West Valley.

Short Sales are here to Stay

Get ready for the short sales. According to a Treasury spokeswoman, Treasury officials will soon announce a $2,500 subsidy ($1,000 to the servicer and $1,500 to the seller) to encourage short sales as a way to clear the excess inventory. The fees are designed to help compensate the servicer for the extra effort, and to incent the seller to be cooperative and leave the home in good condition. Presumably, the Treasury is trying to help facilitate a transaction that will result in less loss to the lender than in the case of a foreclosure.
To date, short sales haven't been particularly effective for a variety of reasons, including:
1. Banks have been slow to approve the high bid, particularly when it is below the last appraisal in the banks' file.
2. Realtors typically don't want to deal with all the extra work involved in a short sale.
3. Buyers typically don't want to deal with the length of time involved in a short sale, which can take 4 to 5 months because of the bank bureaucracy.

In Anthem, AZ, 61 percent of our market are short sales. Banks are not releasing inventory so many buyers must wait until they get approved. I utilize a 3rd party to work with the banks and strongly believe this is the best practice to get these approved. If an agent is doing it themselves, it may not be the best solution since many agents do not have the time to call the lenders. Take advantage of short sales if you can wait becuase often times you will get a better deal but you must wait 2-4 months in most cases. Call me with any questions.

Phoenix and Anthem Foreclosures

As you may be aware, the larger banks have yet to release inventory, thus causing a lack of inventory. I have been in contact with several of the banks agents and they are as perplexed as I am. We all know that they have to release inventory since they have in access of 8 months of inventory. The big question is when they will release the homes? According to my sources, they fully expect the banks to release inventory by the mid-June. The other question is how many homes will they release? We have heard that Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae will release 30K units in Maricopa County soon and that Bank of America/Countrywide will release 30% of their inventory soon as well. I know that everybody is frustrated but we have to be patient. It will be interesting to see the list prices when the homes hit the market. You will be updated and I expect to see the amount of multiple offers decrease. However, as you know, the good inventory will always bring multiple offers. Please contact me with any questions.

USDA Loans Available in Anthem, AZ

Great news for home buyers in Anthem. There is a new loan program that is offered in Anthem called the USDA loan. This is a true 100 percent loan. Not all areas are authorized for this loan but Anthem has been approved. Here are a couple of highlights of the loan program.

102% financing based on appraised value, if appraised value exceeds sales price,
borrower can finance closing costs!
• No monthly mortgage insurance, 1-time guarantee fee of 2% that can finance above the
appraised value.
• No asset requirements.
• No first time homebuyer restrictions.
• No minimum credit scores.
• Borrowers must not own adequate housing.
• Declining markets do not affect Loan To Value.
• 6% seller concessions and 100% gifting is allowed – Borrower’s can purchase a home with
no money of their own into the transaction.
• Geographic and income restrictions apply.

Please contact me if you would like to learn more about these restrictions or visit this link:

http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do