Valley rebounding... thanks to winter visitors

Valley rebounding as winter-visitor mecca - This season's influx of snowbirds delivered the best numbers in years for the Valley's winter-visitor industry. The snowbird season started to rebound last year, and the trend has continued as more winter visitors arrived earlier and stayed longer. "We've seen a lot of activity," builder Jeff Blandford said. "We've had a big influx of Canadians in the last two years, but this year, they came earlier and are going home later. Some of them come back to enjoy Phoenix or to buy a house. It's a very nice thing that's happened to our industry." Read article:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/04/12/20110412phoenix-winter-visitor-capital.html

Avoid refinancing after divorce

Avoiding Refinancing Costs After Divorce - Divorced homeowners wrangling with the task of removing a former spouse’s name from the mortgage after buying out his or her equity stake in the marital house may think that refinancing is the only choice. There is another, little-known option that can avoid refinancing and its costs, which generally run 3 to 6 percent of the outstanding loan principal. Not all lenders or mortgage servicers offer this option, known as release of liability. Read article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/realestate/10mortgages-refinancing-divorce.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

this weeks brew

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Up Slightly for Second Week - 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.86% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 31, 2011, up from last week when it averaged 4.81%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.08%. 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.09% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.04%. Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, reports, "Low rates have benefited from relatively benign inflation reports. Inflation as measured by the 12-month growth in the core price index for consumer spending, a metric preferred by the Federal Reserve, is hovering near the lowest pace since 1960 when this data series began." Read article:
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20110401_rates.htm

Whats brewing this week

Peoria enters talks on development near sports complex - Plans are in the works for a four-star hotel, a three-story parking structure, retail shops, restaurants and luxury lofts on what is now a city-owned 17-acre parking lot west of the spring-training ballpark. The Peoria City Council Tuesday voted unanimously to accept a development proposal submitted by Osage West LLC, a partnership between local developer Mike Oliver and Osage LLC, a business arm of the Oklahoma-based Osage Nation. Read article:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/2011/03/28/20110328peoria-development-sports-complex.html

Real estate: It's time to buy again - Metrostudy is finding an extraordinary reversal of the new-home glut that helped sink prices just a few years ago. In the 41 cities Metrostudy covers, a total of 78,000 houses are now either vacant and for sale, or under construction. That's less than one-fourth of the 343,000 units in those two categories at the peak of the frenzy in mid-2006, and well below the level of a decade ago. "If we had anything like normal levels of buying, those houses would sell in 2½ months," says Mike Castleman of Metrostudy. "We'd see an incredible shortage. And that's where we're heading." Read article:
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/28/real-estate-its-time-to-buy-again/

more brewing in Phoenix

HUD home sale to ban investors - Organizers of a foreclosure-home auction scheduled for Saturday in Phoenix said their event will be unlike any previous home auction in Arizona for one simple reason: No investors are allowed. BLB Resources is tasked with disposing of all Arizona homes foreclosed on by HUD. Saturday's auction will feature 150 detached homes and condo units in Phoenix, Maricopa, Mesa, Glendale, Buckeye and other Valley communities. Read article:
http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2011/03/23/20110323hud-home-auction-investors.html

How to finance a duplex or multi-unit home - Mortgages are available for buyers of duplexes, as well as of three- and four-unit dwellings. The options for financing multifamily homes depend on whether the buyer intends to occupy one of the units. Owner-occupants can choose between FHA or VA or conventional financing, but investors are limited to conventional mortgage loans. Read article:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/how-to-finance-a-duplex-or-multi-unit-home.aspx

first time buyers

Selective First-Time Buyers Can Miss Deals - In a recent poll, 87% of respondents felt that finding a "move-in ready" home was important. Some agents say first-timers are being more selective; and some are turning away from well-priced homes because they do not have granite countertops or they need a new carpet. Agents believe TV shows have made buyers more knowledgeable about home design, but some worry that such programming also has given buyers unrealistic expectations. Read article:
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011030804

new first time home buyer new rules

New Rules for First-Time Home Buyers - Without a house to sell , first-time home buyers have had a field day in the depressed housing market. Until recently, anyway. A series of new rules, regulations and policies have changed the landscape, making buying that new home harder and more expensive. This month, fees on most new mortgages will rise by up to 0.50%. In April, fees on small-down-payment mortgages, a first-time buyer favorite, will spike. Meanwhile, more lenders are requiring larger down payments, and new proposals from the Obama administration call for mortgages to become more expensive and limited in size. Read article:
http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/new-rules-for-firsttime-home-buyers-1299539050817