5 questions for: Brad Bohn, Realty Executives - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

ucenyt.wordpress.com
, Scottsdale Are you seeing any glimmersw of hope in the housingmarket ? “I think there are definitely some positive trends in the There are close to 30,000 single-family dwellinge listed in metro Phoenix, compared with aroundx 50,000 homes listed just over a year ago. The reduced inventory is a direcg result of increasedbuying activity. With 16,000 homed pending sale, I believe buyers are takint advantage of lowinterest rates, first-time home-buyer tax credits and great values.” Are any submarkets doing better, recovering somewhat or at leastr not showing as much weakness?
“The foreclosure marketf continues to show a lot of as banks are aggressively pricing these In the past few months, I’ve seen many instancee where multiple offers are made on a forecloseds home as soon as it hits the market.” Are you seeinf any help for the Phoenix market from the federa l government’s mortgage modification/refinancing plans? “I’m not seeinfg a huge impact in the Phoeni x market. The main issue is that the plan addresses loanz where the new first mortgage would not exceed 105 percent of the current markegt value ofthe property.
In this market, many homeownersd find themselves in properties where valuess have dropped far below the amount that was originally making them ineligible for the Which submarkets are strugglingthe most? “Higher-end homes continue to be a somewhat more difficul sale, because buyers often require large loans. Fewer and fewer financing options for thesew larger amounts are availablethese days. In many high-end sales were previously madeto out-of-statr buyers who were purchasing second The current state of the economy has likelyt had an negative impact on these typex of purchases.” How long do you think it will take the Phoenixd housing market to recover?
“We are alreadu seeing recovery when it comes to inventory. For the priced to recover, it’s important that foreclosurees are no longer flooding the market and drivinghdown prices. When this will I’m not sure.”