For Sale By Owner: Risky Business

  Selling a home without a real estate agent is one of the riskiest decisions anyone could ever make. Would you drive your cars uninsured? Would you build a new home without insurance? Those are no-brainers to almost anyone.  It’s also the law in most cases....
New-Build Construction: To Buy or Not to Buy?

New-Build Construction: To Buy or Not to Buy?

Anyone looking for their next home has asked the question: Is there an advantage in buying a brand new home over one already existing? The answer to the question is simple: Yes. However, there’s also another answer to this question: No. Purchasing a new-build...

Home Price Update: May 2018 Median Prices

The Median Home Prices are inching UP↑ in Metro Phoenix! The report for May 2018 shows the Median Home Price now exceeds $263k, up from a 5-yr average of $226k. The big reason? Supply and Demand, of course! (We don’t even need to consult an ‘Idiot’s...

Luxury townhomes to be built near ASU Tempe campus

courtesy of Catherine Reagor, The Republic | azcentral.com  September 12, 2014 Called 4 TwentyOneWest for its address on Sixth Street, townhouses in the project will have three and four stories. Prices start at $365,000 and go up to $534,000. Irene Catsibris Clary of...

5 myths about buying a home

By Les Christie  @CNNMoney August 13, 2014 From housing bubble to foreclosure crisis to somewhere in between, the housing market has changed dramatically over the past decade — and so have many of the rules of homebuying. Myth #1: Buying a home is a great...

What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit

What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are big factors in determining whether you’ll qualify for a loan and what your loan terms will be. So, keep your credit score high by doing the following: Check for and...

Tips for Buying in a Tight Market

[courtesy of Realtor Mag] Tips for Buying in a Tight Market Increase your chances of getting your dream house in a competitive housing market, and lower your chances of losing out to another buyer. Get prequalified for a mortgage. You’ll be able to make a firm...

New home permits soaring around Phoenix

courtesy of Kristena Hansen Reporter- Phoenix Business Journal The continued surge in existing home prices and a tight supply of properties on the market throughout metro Phoenix has been causing a ripple effect on the new home market, which saw a 65 percent...

Unemployment rates fell in 45 states in January

Courtesy of CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER – Mar. 13, 2012 AP Economics Writer Is this good news for Arizona? WASHINGTON – The unemployment rate fell in 45 U.S. states in January, a sign that nearly all of the country is benefiting from an improving economy...

Americans to get property tax breaks

Courtesy of Mar. 13, 2012 USA Today More than five years after real estate prices began to tumble, Americans are finally starting to get property tax breaks on their devalued homes, a USA TODAY analysis finds. Cities, counties and school districts today collect 20%...

Scottsdale home prices dip 7 percent

Mar. 13, 2012 | courtesy of The Republic | azcentral.com Scottsdale’s median home price of $330,100 in January was down 7 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest monthly report from the Arizona State University Center for Real Estate Theory and...

Distressed properties take toll on Chandler market

by Edythe Jensen – Mar. 13, 2012 10:00 AM Courtesy of The Republic | azcentral.com Central Chandler continues to have more distressed properties on the market than other parts of the Southeast Valley while Mesa and Chandler have the largest citywide numbers of...

Phoenix-area homebuyers squeezed out by investors

Cash-up-front deals shut out competition for tight supplies Courtesy of Catherine Reagor – Mar. 10, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com Many potential homebuyers who sat on the sidelines watching metro Phoenix’s house prices fall during the past five years...

Report: Upbeat findings for Arizona housing market

Courtesy of Catherine Reagor – Feb. 23, 2012 The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com Editors Note: LRA Real Estate can find the perfect home for you. Please Contact Us today to start your Search on MLS. Metro Phoenix home prices are up. Fewer inexpensive homes are...

New American Dream Is Renting to Get Rich

Courtesy of Lou Carlozo | Reuters – Thu, Feb 16, 2012 Editors Note: LRA Real Estate provides clients with successful property search results. CONTACT US TODAY to find your property! Rich Arzaga owns a luxury home in San Ramon, California, but he’s not betting on...

Homeownership: The ultimate dating aphrodisiac

Courtesy of Les Christie | CNNMoney.com – Tue, Feb 14, 2012Editors Note: LRA Real Estate provides clients with successful property search results. CONTACT US TODAY to find your property! When it comes to dating, homeownership can be the ultimate aphrodisiac. In a...

Kiss These 10 Once-Popular Home Features Goodbye

Courtesy of  Steve Kerch | MarketWatch – Fri, Feb 17, 2012 Editors Note: LRA Real Estate provides clients with successful property search results. CONTACT US TODAY to find your property! Times are tough in the home-building industry, meaning the 500,000 or so new...

What Happens When You Walk Away From Your Home?

Courtesy of Reuters through Yahoo News By Chris Taylor | Reuters – Mon, Jan 30, 2012 Editors Note: LRA Real Estate provides clients with successful property search results. CONTACT US TODAY to find your property! It was just last summer that Charlotte Perkins made the...

It Can Pay to Snoop on Neighbors

By AMY HOAK Wall Street Journal, Marketwatch Going to the open house of a home for sale down the block may make you feel like a nosy neighbor. But there are good reasons, beyond sheer curiosity, to take a peek inside. By knowing the selling prices and how properties...

Home Sellers Become Lenders to Poor-Credit Buyers

By Prashant Gopal – May 10, 2011 Bloomberg News Sue and Douglas Reed knew no bank would give them a mortgage — not with a bankruptcy and two foreclosures fresh in their credit history. They turned to Hilarie Walters, whose childhood home on 15 acres (6...

6 Arizona laws limit HOAs' power

by Edythe Jensen – May. 8, 2011 The Arizona Republic Arizona homeowners associations are losing a few more of their powers. They can no longer ban political and real-estate signs, flagpoles or parking on public streets, according to six bills signed into law by...

Realty Executives Phoenix likely to file Chapter 11

Phoenix Business Journal – by Jan Buchholz Date: Friday, April 29, 2011 The flagship franchise of Phoenix-based Realty Executives International likely will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization within the next few days. The franchisor, Realty Executives...

Investors find housing niche

by Peter Corbett – Apr. 22, 2011 The Arizona Republic A Scottsdale real-estate investment company has carved out a small niche in the troubled housing market by putting investors together with homebuyers who cannot get traditional financing. For the past 18...

It Pays to Own a Multi-Family Home

Charles Passy Published April 7, 2011 SMARTMONEY MAGAZINE House prices are still tanking in many parts of the country, mortgage rates are inching up, and job growth is subpar. So what are some homebuyers doing? They’re buying even more home—as in two-, three-...

Credit Score Confusion Leads to Controversy

AnnaMaria Andriotis Published April 8, 2011 Wall Street Journal Smart Money For a key to your financial future, $7 to $20 doesn’t seem like much to pay – which is why consumers regularly pony up for a peek at their credit scores. Now a new lawsuit suggests that...

Why New Homes Don't Sell

A shift in consumer psychology has also hurt new home sales. Pre-recession, buyers expected high-end appliances and fancy countertops, and builders delivered. Now consumers are more enthusiastic about a home that’s easier and cheaper to maintain, says Vogel. For many buyers, that even includes smaller rooms – a rarity in homes built during the real estate boom – that are more affordable to heat or cool. More buyers are also looking to live in or near a city – where relatively fewer new homes exist – to be closer to their job and to spend less on gasoline costs.

Read more: Buyers Shun New Homes – SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/buyers-shun-new-homes-1301521568482/#ixzz1JmlBjc31

Beazer buying up Phoenix foreclosures

courtesy of the Phoenix Business Journal Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2011 Beazer Homes (NYSE:BZH) is buying up bank-owned or auctioned properties in Phoenix and converting them into rentals with the Beazer name. “We think this makes sense. It’s a way to put our corporate...

Empty houses taking toll on Valley

by Catherine Reagor – Apr. 3, 2011 The Arizona Republic With upkeep difficult, vacancies hurt neighbors, market On a typical block in metro Phoenix, there’s at least one empty home, often several. Overbuilding during the housing boom, record foreclosures...

Completed Foreclosures Nearly Halved In Q4

Courtesy of Mortgage Orb The number of foreclosures completed by the nation’s largest bank and thrift mortgage servicers fell by nearly 50% to 95,067 in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to a report released this week by the Office of the Comptroller of the...

Phoenix Sales Up, Thanks To Investors

Courtesy of Mortgage Orb A record-high portion of investor and all-cash purchases lifted Phoenix-area February home sales to a four-year high for that month, DataQuick Information Systems reports. At the same time, foreclosures rose sharply, increasing by 17.5% from...

Five Signs That Say 'Buy' a house

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal The national housing market still seems shaky, but what about your area? The following yardsticks can help you gauge whether your neighborhood is poised for a comeback. Jobs. Some parts of the country were less affected by the...

Home Sellers Need Inspections, Too

By AMY HOAK The Wall Street Journal A visit from the home inspector can be nerve-wracking for a seller, especially in a market like this — when the potential buyer isn’t afraid to demand that a long list of problems be addressed before the sale is...

Why 2011 May Be the End of the Housing Crash

By SIMON CONSTABLE Wall Street Journal There might finally be some good news this year about the nation’s dismal housing market. Or, at least, the bad news could stop. Either way, it will be welcome relief for current homeowners as well as for potential...

Home Equity Lending Is Back

REAL ESTATE by AnnaMaria Andriotis, Wall Street Journal Once every homeowner’s answer to a cash shortfall, the ability to borrow against your home equity all but disappeared a few years ago right along with, well, home equity. But now, at a growing number of...

Google drops real estate listings

Search giant cites low use, proliferation of search sites By Inman News Inman News™ January 26, 2011 Search giant Google will no longer support real estate listings uploaded to its classifed listings site on Google Maps, the company announced today. Consumers will no...