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Investor demand is so strong in fact, that Artunian says first-time buyers are having difficulty competing with investors paying strictly with cash. Local agents are reporting bidding wars among prospective buyers, with homes going for more than the asking prices. Artunian notes that single-family rental rates are now averaging $12,500 a year. With the selling price of a distressed home usually well below the median home price of $127,000, he says investors can expect to achieve between a 5 percent and 10 percent annual return, after operating expenses and before any home price or rental appreciation. Investor demand has driven up home prices in the area. According to Michael Orr, director of the Real Estate Center at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, the median price of single-family homes in the Phoenix area rose to $134,900 in March of this year, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier. He says the increase signals a shift in the mix of properties being sold, with fewer lowprice foreclosures moving through the market. Median and per square foot pricing are moving up as traditional sales account for a greater percentage of activity, Orr explained. The average price per square foot for homes in Phoenix during the first quarter of this year was $956, according to the online real estate marketplace Trulia. That's an increase of 999.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Local investors say homes priced at the lower end of the market—under $100,000 —are becoming increasingly harder to find. Once you do find a bargain-priced gem, it's snapped up and off the market before you know it. Artur Ciesielski, a Realtor and partner with Phoenix Realty Group, noted in a recent blog post that the nose-dive in Phoenix home prices since the bubble burst is now fueling investor appetite, especially in a market with such high rental demand. "Expect investor demand to continue and to be part of the demand that is driving prices up," Ciesielski writes, "and forget about shadow inventory, it's not coming." The housing inventory in Phoenix has fallen to a mere 2.4-months supply, down from nearly 5 months just one year ago and more than 12 months in early 2008. According to JBREC, months-of-supply has not been this low in Phoenix since late 2005, when sales activity was at feverish levels. Listings of existing homes for sale have fallen 43 percent since March 2011, and 82 local practitioners are now calling "shadow inventory" nothing more than a myth. They say if banks were holding properties off the Phoenix market, now would be the time to release them, and it's just not happening. Where are all the real estate investors descending from? Artunian points to Canada. While there are a growing number of local investors taking advantage of current conditions, he says Canadians are increasingly flush with cash, many because of their own real estate boom in recent years. That combined with a favorable currency exchange rate has given them "unusual buying power," according to Artunian. He cites data from the Cromford Report, a local real-estate publication, which shows one in every 25 sales registered in February went to a buyer that listed a Canadian address. Arkansas The World Wide Web rank: 37 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate RateRate march 2012 is a busy place. DSNews.com cuts through the noise. 4.28%1.99% 7.4% year ago 3.16%2.11% 8.0% percent point change 35.4%-5.3% -7.5% Top County BRADLEY COUNTY 90+ Day Delinquency Rate march 2012 The information you need, Loud and Clear. Foreclosure Rate 3.42%4.81% year ago 3.45%3.12% percent point change -0.9%54.3% Top Core-Based Statistical Area FAYETTEVILLE-SPRINGDALE-ROGERS, AR-MO 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate march 2012 2.93%4.02% year ago 3.40%3.25% percent point change -13.8%23.5% note: The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the March 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary March 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. STAT INSIGHT 4.8% Year-over-year home price increase in Little Rock, Arkansas, in April. Source: Trulia Call 214.525.6700 or visit DSNews.com.