Source: The Republic | azcentral.com
Feb 21, 2013
Most metro Phoenix homeowners will see the first increase
in their property’s assessed value since 2007 when they receive their
annual statement from the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office.
The median value of a house in metro Phoenix climbed almost 16percent during 2012 after falling 7.6percent in 2011.
The increase won’t surprise anyone who has watched the region’s
housing market recover over the past 18 months. However, the overall
increase in values for Maricopa County might be confusing because the
overall median price of the area’s home sales climbed 34 percent in
2012.
“Our analysis is based on both home sales and the valuations of the
even greater number of houses that didn’t sell last year,” County
Assessor Keith Russell said. “If a house doesn’t sell, we don’t know if
it has new carpet or plumbing, but we must still do the research to
assess its value.”
The overall median value of single-family houses in the county climbed to $127,000 in 2012 from $109,600 in 2011.
Statements will be mailed to Maricopa County residents over the next
two weeks, with the first group expected to receive their statements as
early as today. About 1.5 million properties were valued by the county
assessor during 2012.
In 2010, Maricopa County home values fell 11 percent. In 2009,
property values dropped 15 percent. In 2008, they plummeted 23 percent,
the biggest drop of the prolonged retreat in home values. In 2007,
values declined 13 percent.
The property-valuation assessments being mailed out now will be
reflected in 2014 tax bills. This year’s tax bills will reflect 2011
valuations.
Despite the drop in home values in 2011, homeowners shouldn’t count
on a significant drop in taxes this fall. Many Valley municipalities and
school districts still face budget gaps and could raise property-tax
rates again this year.
Russell said the county’s residential assessments are conservative,
so homeowners can expect to sell their houses for as much as 10 percent
more.
Some Phoenix-area cities fared better than others. Home values
climbed the highest — 34 percent — in El Mirage and Youngtown. Tolleson
homeowners saw a median increase of 33 percent. Those communities
experienced some of the biggest drops in home values during the crash
because of higher foreclosure rates.
Property owners can appeal valuations with the Assessor’s Office until April 23. To appeal the 2012 assessment, go to maricopa.gov/ assessor or call 602-506-3406.
A house’s value has to decline significantly through a reassessment
to lower its property taxes, which fund municipalities, school districts
and more. Tax bills cannot be appealed.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Latest Market Stats for Paradise Valley and Scottsdale
The
latest market stats for PV and Scottsdale have been posted at my
website. These are current through January 2013. Contact me if you
would like stats for any other Metro Phoenix city or zip code.
Monday, February 11, 2013
It's Time to Fertilize Your Citrus Trees
The big freeze is behind us and we're all getting the urge to trim back our dead plants and shrubs, plant some new flowers and vegetables, and revitalize our citrus trees. Is now the time to start? Assuming that we won't have another extended period of freezing nights, it's time to at least start thinking about it...
There's lots of great information to be found out there for both new homeowners who are just trying to figure it all out and seasoned veterans of low desert plant care.
An excellent resource for general planting information is http://www.gardeninginarizona.com.
Below are some additional great links to information about fertilizing citrus here in the low desert.
- http://www.gilbertaz.gov/water/popups/citrus.cfm
- http://www.azcitrus.com/
- http://www.gardenguides.com/79292-fertilize-citrus-trees-arizona.html
One tried and true source for great information is the The University of Arizona/Cooperative Extension Service/Maricopa County. Below are their guidelines for fertilizing citrus and for planting vegetables in the desert.
House Prices: When Will 2006 Values Return?
Courtesy of Keeping Current Matters/The KCM Blog
Posted: 11 Feb 2013
There is a lot of optimism regarding house prices. The most recent Home Price Expectation Survey
projects a 3% -3.5% increase in values for each of the next 5 years. We
concur that most parts of the country will see varying levels of
appreciation over that time. However, we must realize that we will not
see 2006 values any time soon.
Barclays’ U.S. residential credit strategy team recently predicted that 2006 values would return in 2021. From an article in DSNews:
Posted: 11 Feb 2013
There is a lot of optimism regarding house prices. The most recent Home Price Expectation Survey
projects a 3% -3.5% increase in values for each of the next 5 years. We
concur that most parts of the country will see varying levels of
appreciation over that time. However, we must realize that we will not
see 2006 values any time soon.Barclays’ U.S. residential credit strategy team recently predicted that 2006 values would return in 2021. From an article in DSNews:
“While the floor appears to have materialized, they stress that home prices are likely to recover slowly over the next 4 to 5 years.In an article for CNNMoney, the analytics firm Fiserv projected that 2006 prices would not return until 2023:
“We expect on average a 3-4 percent annual increase in home prices [nationally] in coming years,” they said in an updated market outlook.
At that rate, Barclays’ analysts explained, home prices will be slightly below their 2006 peaks even in 2020, finally returning to pre-crisis peak levels in June 2021.
“Fiserv forecasts prices will bounce back an average of 3.7% a year for the next five years — a rate that would still leave prices 20% below the peak. At that forecasted growth rate, the national average high of $238,000 would not be hit again until 2023.”If you are waiting for 2006 values to return before selling your house, realize it will take years.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Phoenix Area Home Prices Rise 34% in 2012
The Republic | azcentral.com
Thu Feb 7, 2013
The median price of a metro Phoenix home climbed 34 percent
in 2012. The rapid rise in home prices over the past 12 months means
that many homeowners have regained more than one-half of the value their
houses lost during the crash.
At the end of last year, the region’s median home price was $164,000, compared with $122,500 the year before.
Home prices climbed last year for two key reasons: Homes resold by lenders typically sell for lower prices, and foreclosures plummeted 51 percent in 2012 compared with 2011. Also, the supply of houses on the market fell 6 percent, according to a report released Thursday by Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.
“Foreclosures and short sales have gone down, eliminating the sources of many cheap homes, so the more expensive types of transactions, like normal resales and new-home sales, went up,” said Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at ASU.
Fewer houses on the market also translated to a 12 percent decline in home sales for the year. Approximately 8,000 houses changed hands in metro Phoenix during 2012.
Orr said the number of homes on the market started to climb late in the year, but prospective buyers appear more reluctant.
“We still see multiple bids for many resale listings, but demand isn’t as strong as it was in spring 2012,” Orr said.
Investor home purchases in the Phoenix area began to decline in the fall, Orr said. Overall, about 36 percent of all home sales were cash deals last year. Early in 2012, cash deals made up more than 50 percent of all transactions.
At the end of last year, the region’s median home price was $164,000, compared with $122,500 the year before.
Home prices climbed last year for two key reasons: Homes resold by lenders typically sell for lower prices, and foreclosures plummeted 51 percent in 2012 compared with 2011. Also, the supply of houses on the market fell 6 percent, according to a report released Thursday by Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.
“Foreclosures and short sales have gone down, eliminating the sources of many cheap homes, so the more expensive types of transactions, like normal resales and new-home sales, went up,” said Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at ASU.
Fewer houses on the market also translated to a 12 percent decline in home sales for the year. Approximately 8,000 houses changed hands in metro Phoenix during 2012.
Orr said the number of homes on the market started to climb late in the year, but prospective buyers appear more reluctant.
“We still see multiple bids for many resale listings, but demand isn’t as strong as it was in spring 2012,” Orr said.
Investor home purchases in the Phoenix area began to decline in the fall, Orr said. Overall, about 36 percent of all home sales were cash deals last year. Early in 2012, cash deals made up more than 50 percent of all transactions.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Pook's Message - 1/14/13
Today I have included 2 articles that discuss the current Phoenix housing market. As
you've heard from me for some time now, the market here has turned
around and we continue to see considerable price increases each month.
The article titled As Phoenix-area Home Prices Rise More Ordinary Buyers Find Opportunities comes from the ASU Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice / W.P. Carey School of Business and discusses a reduction in the
number of investors in this market as a result of increasing prices.
This will come as great news to those Buyers who have found themselves
competing against (and losing out to) investors. The second article, Phoenix Continues Its Run As Strong Housing Market comes from the L.A. Times and is included to show how the Phoenix market is being discussed outside of the local area.
What I'm seeing right now is a surge in activity by both Buyers and Sellers now that we're into the new year. Many folks waited out the month of December in anticipation of looming economic changes. There seems to be a more positive outlook for 2013, although many of the questions that concerned consumers at the end of the year have not yet been answered. The following stats provided by Empire Research Group may help to explain why the Phoenix metro area is doing so well...
Wishing you a great 2013!
What I'm seeing right now is a surge in activity by both Buyers and Sellers now that we're into the new year. Many folks waited out the month of December in anticipation of looming economic changes. There seems to be a more positive outlook for 2013, although many of the questions that concerned consumers at the end of the year have not yet been answered. The following stats provided by Empire Research Group may help to explain why the Phoenix metro area is doing so well...
- The number of underwater mortgages in Phoenix is decreasing more rapidly than anywhere else.
- Phoenix is one of the top 10 growing metro areas, adding 148 residents every day.
- Phoenix home prices are expected to grow 12% this year, 12% next year, and 10% in 2015, according to national housing analyst John Burns.
- Phoenix home prices in 2012 were up 19.9% from a year earlier, which was the largest percentage gain among major U.S. cities.
Wishing you a great 2013!
Could You Get Priced Out of the Housing Market in 2013?
Source: MSN Real Estate News
Article by Melinda Fulmer of MSN Real Estate
January
Buying Advice: In some areas, the recovery is causing double-digit
increases in housing prices, making it difficult for many people to
afford to buy.
Some real-estate analysts are predicting that the nascent housing recovery could accelerate more quickly than expected in 2013, jacking up prices in some areas by double digits. Would an increase like that price you out of the market?
In this installment of Buying Advice, we'll look at the forecast for prices in the year ahead and examine how this outlook might affect your home search. We'll also check in with the latest housing data and get some advice on the best way to evaluate a condominium's association fees. (Bing: Homebuyer checklist)
Can you afford to wait?
The housing recovery seems almost too new to pose much of a threat to affordability. But in some areas, it's chugging along a lot faster than in others, as demand pushes up against a dwindling supply of homes for sale.
J.P. Morgan last month revised its U.S. housing forecast upward, predicting an overall gain of 3% to 4% in home prices for 2013. In some markets, however, the pace of gains has already been dramatic enough to strain the budgets of many first-time buyers before the spring selling season even begins.
Phoenix
saw the biggest increase in year-over-year prices in October at 21.7%,
according to S&P Case-Shiller data. Detroit, Minneapolis, San
Francisco and Miami also posted big gains: 10%, 9.2%. 8.9% and 8.5%,
respectively. With increases like that, price-sensitive buyers in these
markets have cause to act quickly or risk being priced out.
Not so in many other markets: Prices in Case-Shiller's 20-city index were up 4.3% year-over-year in October, the last month for which data are available. Chicago and New York actually posted small price dips, and Boston and Cleveland saw gains of less than 2%. In those markets, buyers have less incentive to jump off the fence quickly.
"I expect the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to stay under 4% for most of the year," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com. "It could trend slightly higher if economic improvement continues, but could move lower if the economy falters."
Given the increase in demand and prices, Trulia's Housing Barometer says the real-estate market was 51% back to "normal" in November. Indeed, the almost 6% rise in existing-home sales in November seemed to back up economists' rosy view of 2013. (More on that below.)
Of course, the wild card, J.P. Morgan analyst John Sim says, is the so-called shadow inventory of distressed homes, which CoreLogic pegs at 2.3 million units, a seven-month supply at the current sales pace. Just how quickly this huge supply of homes is sold, and what the homes sell for, will help determine how quickly home prices will rise in some large markets.
How long can you afford to wait for the right home?
Link to complete article: CLICK HERE
Article by Melinda Fulmer of MSN Real Estate
Some real-estate analysts are predicting that the nascent housing recovery could accelerate more quickly than expected in 2013, jacking up prices in some areas by double digits. Would an increase like that price you out of the market?
In this installment of Buying Advice, we'll look at the forecast for prices in the year ahead and examine how this outlook might affect your home search. We'll also check in with the latest housing data and get some advice on the best way to evaluate a condominium's association fees. (Bing: Homebuyer checklist)
Can you afford to wait?
The housing recovery seems almost too new to pose much of a threat to affordability. But in some areas, it's chugging along a lot faster than in others, as demand pushes up against a dwindling supply of homes for sale.
J.P. Morgan last month revised its U.S. housing forecast upward, predicting an overall gain of 3% to 4% in home prices for 2013. In some markets, however, the pace of gains has already been dramatic enough to strain the budgets of many first-time buyers before the spring selling season even begins.
Not so in many other markets: Prices in Case-Shiller's 20-city index were up 4.3% year-over-year in October, the last month for which data are available. Chicago and New York actually posted small price dips, and Boston and Cleveland saw gains of less than 2%. In those markets, buyers have less incentive to jump off the fence quickly.
- MSN Money: They'll pay you to move here
"I expect the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to stay under 4% for most of the year," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com. "It could trend slightly higher if economic improvement continues, but could move lower if the economy falters."
Given the increase in demand and prices, Trulia's Housing Barometer says the real-estate market was 51% back to "normal" in November. Indeed, the almost 6% rise in existing-home sales in November seemed to back up economists' rosy view of 2013. (More on that below.)
Of course, the wild card, J.P. Morgan analyst John Sim says, is the so-called shadow inventory of distressed homes, which CoreLogic pegs at 2.3 million units, a seven-month supply at the current sales pace. Just how quickly this huge supply of homes is sold, and what the homes sell for, will help determine how quickly home prices will rise in some large markets.
- Realtor.com: What kinds of homes are for sale right now?
- On our blog, 'Listed': Housing saved from 'fiscal cliff'
How long can you afford to wait for the right home?
Link to complete article: CLICK HERE
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