Blog
N. Mark Kramoltz, JD, GRI, CIPS writes blog articles on the metro Phoenix, Arizona, national and global real estate markets. Written from his perspective as a designated broker and real estate attorney, his articles avoid the inaccuracies and vacuous industry propaganda common to most real estate writings. He also blogs about animals (mostly dogs in the military) due to his love of pets and military history.
Are Lenders Holding Back REOs?
In normal market situations, a bank will repossess a home and usually get it to a Realtor for listing in the local Multiple Listing Service in as short as 30 days. Therefore, in a relatively short period of time, virtually every marketable lender owned property (a...
The New Tax Credit – Not Limited to First Time Buyers.
The $8,000 tax credit scheduled to expire November 30, 2009 has been extended. Now a purchase agreement can be entered into up to May 1, 2010, as long as the transaction closes no later than July 1, 2010. It continues to cover first time home buyers, but has also been...
Questions a Buyer should ask before Closing.
When you buy a house, there are a lot of things to think about. One item that should be on every buyers to do list is to obtain as much information about the property as possible. Before closing, an opportunity exists to learn important things about the home from the...
Foreclosures and Equity in Arizona – How do we Rate?
The West has been a leader in the number of foreclosures in the United States in first half of 2009. But have things changed? What about the amount of equity in homes? How much have Arizona homeowners lost, and how does that compare to our neighbors? First, in...
Canada’s Economy is Going South, Part 2.
In Part 1, I detailed that Canada recorded its first ever surplus in bilateral direct investment with the U.S. last year. Direct Canadian investment in the United States was $17.1 billion greater last year than U.S. direct investment in Canada in 2008. This amount...
The Rules have Changed – Frustration in a Buyers’ Market (Part 1).
Arizona’s residential real estate market is schizophrenic right now - a dichotomy of healthy sales in some segments versus years on the market in others. The good news is that lower sale prices overall have allowed buyers once priced out of the market to enter the...
The Rules have Changed – Frustration in a Buyers’ Market (Part 2)
The buying process should be easy, right? A seller should be desperate to unload their devalued property in this market, so buyers should get what they want quickly. In some parts of the metropolitan Phoenix and Scottsdale market, this can be true. But in those areas...
Free Money For Arizona Home Buyers!
As of July 1, select home buyers in Maricopa County can take advantage of the Your Way Home AZ program. An offshoot of the HUD for Home Purchase Assistance project, the state version provides eligible buyers with up to 22% of a home’s purchase price. The statewide...
Have the New Canadian Border Rules Hurt Arizona?
The U.S. government’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative has impacted travel by Canadians to the U.S. The question is whether the passport requirement portion of the law has been as disruptive to Canadians traveling to the U.S. as once was feared. As of June 1 all...