Phoenix housing market update Here’s a quick look at the latest statistics. April showed another month of positive gains for metro Phoenix’s housing market. The region’s median monthly resale home price climbed to $138,325,from $131,000 in March, according to Tom Ruff’s analysis with AZbidder and Information Market.In October, the median was $115,000. Last month, there were 8,552 home sales across the Phoenix area, down from 9,581 in March but up from 7,293 in February. The number of metro Phoenix homes taken back by lenders fell to 1,642, down from almost 2,000 in March. In spring 2011, there were more than 4,000 foreclosures a month. There were 4,225 foreclosure starts, known as notice of trustee sales, in April. That’s down slightly from the previous two months ... Continue reading →

Capitol Mall Assoc. raffling off Phoenix houses - only $20 a ticket Here’s a chance for homebuyers to not be outbid by investors and get a house for $20. The Capitol Mall Association is raffling off two homes, one in south Phoenix and the other in west Phoenix. Tickets are going for $20 apiece or six for $100, and the houses are renovated and ready to move into. “These are great houses. Anybody who can get one for $20 will be very happy,” Capitol Mall Executive Director Shannon Dubasik said “But we are running out of time.” The non-profit must sell 27,000 tickets by May 31, the day of the drawing, to make the raffle work. So far, the group has sold only a few ... Continue reading →

Home building in metro Phoenix show signs of a recovery The rebound of metro Phoenix’s new home market continues to build. New home permits were up 61 percent in the region during March, accord to the latest Phoenix Housing Market Letter. The increase is more staggering than the actual numbers, but still it signals “evidence of a new housing rebound,” according the report’s publishers RL Brown and Greg Burger. In March, there were 1,036 single-family permits issued. It was the first month in awhile where home- building permits topped 1,000. Last year in March, there were 645 single-family permits issued across the Phoenix-area. Overall, home building – one of the region’s biggest economic drivers – was up 74 percent during the first quarter of this ... Continue reading →

Hogan to Horne: budget raid on mortgage fund illegal Tim Hogan of the Center for Law in the Public Interest says the GOP Legislature’s raid of mortgage settlement money for the state budget is illegal. Not surprising, he’s ready to sue. Here’s the text of a letter Hogan sent to Attorney General Tom Horne. May 8, 2012 Tom Horne Arizona Attorney General 1275 West Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Re: Request to Refrain from Unlawfully Transferring Court Ordered Trust Fund Monies into the General Fund Dear Attorney General Horne: The undersigned represent Joseph Morones, an Arizona taxpayer. This letter is submitted to you pursuant to A.R.S. § 35-211 et. seq. The legislature recently enacted SB 1523 which was transmitted to the Governor on May 1, ... Continue reading →

Arizona housing leaders fight to keep money from lender settlement The Arizona Housing Alliance, made up of leaders in the housing industry, is considering legal action to stop a proposed $50 million sweep from the mortgage settlement fund to balance the state's budget. Arizona received a payment of $97.7 million to a mortgage settlement fund as part of a settlement reached by 49 states and the country’s five largest mortgage loan servicers who engaged in fraudulent foreclosure practices. The consent judgment stipulates the money should be used to avoid preventable foreclosures, to ameliorate the effects of the foreclosure crisis, and to prevent mortgage fraud. Governor Brewer’s and top Republican legislative leaders’ state budget deal includes a $50 million sweep from the mortgage settlement fund to ... Continue reading →

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I doubt Arizona lawmakers will be flattered to find out that someone in Las Vegas has a nearly identical version of the state's new Web site to collect private donations for a border fence. The state launched www.buildtheborderfence.com last week. According to Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, they've raised more than $100,000 and received donations from all 50 states. But those interested in contributing to the state's effort to build its own border fence should be careful when they type in the Web address. If you enter www.buildaborderfence.com, you'll find a Web site that looks very similar to the state's official site. It asks viewers to "donate now to help us promote the need for an ... Continue reading →

Watch out for scams on $25 billion lender settlement Scams to try to cash in on the $25 billion settlement with the nation’s largest lenders have already begun, and the deal was finalized just last month. The Arizona Attorney General is warning consumers to watch out for companies contacting them about the settlement. People who are eligible for part of the settlement will be contacted directly by one of the five major lenders involved — BofA, Citigroup, the former GMAC (now known as Ally Financial), JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Arizona's portion of the settlement is $1.6 billion. About $1.3 billion of that amount will go toward principal-reduction on mortgages and won’t be cash paid directly to the state or consumers. Only borrowers with loans ... Continue reading →