Tempe real estate market

The Tempe real estate market, a small portion of the larger Maricopa County and Phoenix area housing markets, showed signs of improvement in the month of May, as foreclosures began to taper off. According to a June 10, 2010 article from the Arizona Republic, “A new Arizona State University real-estate report shows home foreclosures may be leveling off, but the author says it’s unclear if the trend will continue because of the number of defaults and late payments still plaguing the market. Foreclosures were 33 percent of the market’s recorded activity in May, down 40 percent in March, according to the latest realty-studies report.” The piece, composed by John Yantis, went on to state that “A number of issues will continue to affect the real-estate market, he said. Defaults and late payments remain at record levels, and they could be a precursor to additional foreclosures. Income may not increase enough for people to hold onto their current homes, especially if they are confronted with a change in an adjustable-rate mortgage that could reset in coming months, Butler said.”

The report itself went into more detail about the challenges confronting Tempe and Phoenix-area homes for sale. The Arizona State University study quoted professor of real estate Jay Butler as saying “The key question is whether this is a harbinger of the future of steadily lower foreclosure activity or a ‘blip’ with a return to higher levels. Defaults and late payments are still at record levels and could be a precursor of additional foreclosures. The main issues center on whether income will increase enough for people to hold onto their current homes and whether they can maintain payments on their houses, especially if confronted with a change in an adjustable-rate mortgage that could reset in coming months.”

The amount of land purchased in the Tempe housing market and other sectors of the Valley increased dramatically in recent months. According to a June 14, 2010 article from ABC 5 News, “Analysts say the Valley’s housing market could be showing another sign of making a comeback. Experts with Land Advisors, a Scottsdale-based brokerage firm, say home builders have bought $90 million dollars worth of land in the Valley so far in 2010.”