Highlights for 2014

Friday, December 19, 2014 Phoenix housing market highlights for the year After several years of wild roller-coaster activity, the Phoenix-area housing market is ready to end a relatively flat year. Highlights for the year include: * The median single-family-home sales price went up 4% in October from a year ago - from $200,000 to $208,000 * Sales of single-family homes down 5% from last October * The Valley is experiencing a small bump up in two areas - investor interest and new-home sales * The market share for new-home sales is doing better and has recovered to 14% Read article - ASU News

3% down payment

3% Down Payments May Be Game Changer
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has announced that first-time home buyers can now qualify for loans with down payments as low as 3%. Freddie Mac launched Home Possible Advantage, a conventional mortgage with a 3% down-payment requirement geared to low- and moderate-income borrowers. To qualify, first-time home buyers are required to participate in a borrower education program. With Fannie Mae's 3% down-payment offering, borrowers must still meet standard eligibility requirements, including underwriting, income documentation, and risk management standards. At least one of the co-borrowers must be a first-time buyer. The loans will require private mortgage insurance.
Read article - Realtor Magazine

      

Phoenix a growing Market

Monday, December 8, 2014  10 Markets to Grow the Most Next Year The U.S. housing market is expected to make strides overall in 2015, but 10 metros in particular are "ready for significant acceleration across housing metrics" next year, according torealtor.com®'s latest housing report. The Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale market made the list at #8 thanks to the following expectations: income growth; increase in new-home construction by 22%; home sales expected to grow by 11%. Read article - Realtor Magazine

Rental prices on the rise!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Rents on the rise for metro Phoenix houses, apartments
Renters are paying more for apartments and houses in metro Phoenix than they did a year ago. The average rent on an apartment climbed 4.9% during the past year to reach $815 a month at the end of September. Monthly rents on houses are up 5.8 percent from last year. In September, there were 4,342 houses, not including vacation homes, for rent that were listed on the ARMLS.
Read article - azcentral.com

purchase vs rent

Buying in metro Phoenix is as much as 34 percent cheaper than renting a house, based on current home prices, rents, types of mortgages and interest rates. The comparison comes from home-buying website Trulia, but the data appears to be unbiased.

Falling interest rates over the past few weeks have made buying more affordable for most people. The average rate for a 30-year mortgage is 4.12 percent, according to Freddie Mac. That's compares with 4.23 a month ago.

Nationally, Trulia says buying is now 38 percent cheaper than renting if you stay in a house seven years, get a 30-year mortgage, put 20 percent down, itemize deductions at the 25 percent tax bracket and get a 4.3 percent mortgage rate. The formula also takes into account closing costs, insurance, maintenance and taxes.

What is really surprising about the survey is that buying is cheaper in all of the U.S.'s 100 largest metro areas.

The benefit is the smallest in Honolulu, where purchasing a house is 17 percent less expensive than renting. Detroit home buyers get the best deal because Trulia found it's 63 percent cheaper to own than rent.

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