Phoenix home sales show promising trends Long-term buyers return

Thank you Catherine for your comments on the real estate market. I can’t believe some of the comments I see from readers. They really have no clue what is happening, or they are sick of the good news not really being good. Who knows? As usual, I wonder why the Republic waits until late May to release numbers that were available nearly 3 weeks ago. People need real time information. You can count on finding it on my BLOG!

Phoenix home sales show promising trends Long-term buyers return

by Catherine Reagor – May. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

April figures for existing-home sales in metro Phoenix reveal several promising shifts for those searching for signs of a housing-market recovery.

The overall number of home sales in the region continued to hover near record levels last moth.  Beneath the sales figures were other encouraging numbers:

• Foreclosures did not dominate sales of existing homes in the Valley for the first time in more than a year.

• The number of investors purchasing homes from lenders dropped.

• More buyers purchased homes with the intent of living in them.

• More buyers financed their purchases with long-term mortgages.

April sales included the last wave of first-time buyers who rushed to buy before a federal tax credit expired. Many did not want to purchase foreclosure homes.

More than 1.8 million people nationally, most of them first-time buyers, used the tax credit to purchase homes, according to early government- and housing-industry estimates. The figures haven’t been broken down by state yet, but Phoenix-area real-estate agents have seen a significant increase in first-time buyers.

The return of average buyers to the market suggests more people are buying for the long haul rather than for a quick resale. The shift away from foreclosures also means more Valley homeowners were able to sell their houses last month.

“It appears foreclosures may have finally made their downward turn,” said Tom Ruff, analyst for real-estate-research firm Information Market. “The number of home sales might drop now, but prices could go up.”