Real Estate and Growth - CatherineReagor's Blog - azcentral.com
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Controversial Arizona foreclosure law, SB 1271, repealed
Arizona owners of second-homes or investment properties facing foreclosure have one less thing to worry about. The law that could have made them liable for tens of thousands of dollars, SB 1271 was repealed on Monday when Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1004.
Controversial SB 1271 required some Arizona homeowners in foreclosure to prove they had lived in a home for six straight months or they would be liable for their lenders loss on the property.
SB 1271 was repealed in the Arizona's special budget legislative session a few months ago. But then in October, the Arizona Bankers Association filed a lawsuit ...
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Ilegal foreclosure auctions in Maricopa County
When foreclosure homes come up for public auction in Phoenix, a minimum opening bid is set and bidding is open to anyone.
At least that is the way it's supposed to work.
But a Republic investigation into the daily public auctions held on the Maricopa County Courthouse steps and at some local law offices suggests a growing number of homes are sold for less than the posted opening bid.
Prices on some foreclosure homes are being dropped below the opening bid just hours or even minutes before the auction. Buyers aware of the "drop bids" scoop up the houses before other bidders know ...
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Phoenix foreclosures flat in October
Phoenix-area foreclosures climbed in October but pre-foreclosures were almost flat.
Last month, 4,826 homes were foreclosed on, compared to 3,759 in September, according to the Information Market. The monthly foreclosure, or trustee sale, rate hit a record in July when 5,316 houses taken back by lenders. Pre-foreclosures totaled 7,841 in October, compared to 7,857 in September. The record for Valley notice of trustee sales was 10,689 in March.
“With the Federal government firmly planted in the banking system, monthly numbers tend to jump up and down quite a bit, especially during the onset or conclusion of fiscal quarters,” said Tom Ruff, Information ...
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Move to repeal controversial Arizona foreclosure law, again
Opponents of a controversial Arizona law that could make some homeowners liable for tens of thousands of dollars on homes that go into foreclosure aren't giving up. Real estate groups, including the Arizona Association of Realtors, are trying to have the SB 1271 repealed again in the current special legislative session.
SB 1271 was repealed in the Arizona's special budget legislative session a few months ago. But then in October, the Arizona Bankers Association, which backed SB 1271, filed a lawsuit in Arizona Supreme Court saying the repeal of the law was unconstitutional because it exceeded the scope of the session.
“Legislators ...
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Mesa mortgage broker guilty of bank fraud in cash-back scheme
The crackdown on mortgage fraud in Arizona has resulted in another conviction in the Valley. Jeffrey Todd Crandell, 33, of Mesa has pled guilty to six counts of Bank Fraud
According the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Arizona, Crandell was the leader of a sophisticated cash-back mortgage fraud scheme. In 2005, he obtained the rights to properties in Queen Creek, then hid his interest in those properties by putting them in his brother-in-law's name. Then Crandell recruited friends to buy the properties for inflated prices—often hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the cost of the land.
Crandell brokered the ...
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Slow recovery for Arizona economy and real estate, says Federal Reserve president
“Thing are beginning to look up in Arizona as they are for the nation. Still the Phoenix housing market is nowhere near a return to health.”
The pronouncement came from Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen on Tuesday to a group of the Valley's leading real estate and banking executives.
“As the housing market collapsed and the nation fell into financial crisis and recession, your desert metropolis was set back on its heels,” she said to the Phoenix chapter of the land economics group Lambda Alpha International. “Just as you (Phoenix) grew faster than the nation as a whole ...
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Federal Reserve President in Phoenix to talk about the economy
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen will be in Phoenix to talk about the key issues Arizona is facing for an economic recovery.
She's the keynote at Lambda Alpha International's Phoenix real estate conference on Tuesday Nov. 10th. The event starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix. Lambda Alpha is the honorary society for land economics.
Go to Visit www.lai-phx.org for more information. ...
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President signs homebuyer tax credit extension
Today, the homebuyer tax credit extension was signed as expected by President Barack Obama.
Real estate leaders at the Urban Land Institute fall conference in San Francisco believe the tax credit has helped boost home sales and prices during the past several months. The extension and expansion of the credit is expected to buoy the housing market until next summer.
In metro Phoenix, the area's median home price has slowing been ticking up since April.
Now that many homeowners can tap the credit to buy other homes, it could help the Valley's ailing luxury market. ...
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U.S. economic recovery to be quicker than Europe's, says world economist at Urban Land Institute meeting
Former editor-in-chief of The Economist, Bill Emmott tells crowd at Urban Land Institute's fall meeting that U.S. could rebound quicker than Europe.
He said U.S. businesses can react more quickly to recession, meaning laying people off sooner. But on the flipside, U.S. businesses quick reaction time, also means they can rehire sooner.
Emmott also believes the U.S. will see a "u" shaped economic recover. The first leg of the "u" was the boom, now we are at the bottom and possibly looking moving up towards the last leg in the "u."
One reason the U.S. could see a quick boost is that ...
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Real estate leaders convene for Urban Land Institute's fall meeting. When will the market recover?
Is the real estate market showing signs of a recovery? Will there be a rally in the market? How is the federal stimulus plan helping the economy and real estate.
Those issues will all by analyzed and debated at the fall Urban Land Institute conference in San Francisco. Thousands of the world’s top analysts and most influential developers are at the three-day event, considered one of the most important annual real estate meetings in the world.
I will be covering the event and keep you updated on forecasts for Arizona and key trends affecting the state, and particularly the Valley.
The ...
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