Mike Foulds to Lead Teams at West USA in Phoenix

West USA Realty in Phoenix recently hired Mike Foulds to lead their IBA Division. In this position, Mike will be responsible for recruiting, training, and motivating members of real estate teams within West USA. The Internal Broker Alliance (IBA) Division is a new focus on the growth and development of successful teams within the organization.
In this ever-changing real estate market, realtors are finding many benefits by forming teams. In most teams, there is an experienced team leader and at least one team member who has less time in the business.
By operating as a team, the leader can help motivate and train less experienced team members, while up-and-coming agents get leadership, direction, and support that they could never get practicing real estate alone.
West USA has realized the value and importance of teams within the industry and has committed the IBA Division and Mike Foulds to building stronger, more viable teams within West USA Realty.
Mike comes to West USA after nine years in the real estate business, including eight as a team leader and most recently as Designated Broker for a small real estate company in the Phoenix market. Mike has owned or managed businesses in several industries in the Valley of the Sun. Mike also has a Bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in the field of Personnel Management.
Any realtor who is not performing to their expectations is encouraged to contact Mike to get more information on how being part of a real estate team can benefit their career. Mike is also looking for realtors who are with other brokerages, but looking for a new opportunity at success by joining a team at West USA.
You may reach Mike Foulds by email at Mike@MikeFoulds.com or at 602-316-9220.

Phoenix Housing Inventory Continues to Plummet? Where are the Foreclosures?

It’s almost eerie!! Where are all of the listings? As of 5/17/2011, there are only 26,253 homes available for sale on the Phoenix area MLS. That is down from November’s nearly 40,000 homes on the market.
Meanwhile, homes that are under contract total 22,220 as of this date. That is up from 16,150 in November.
So, what happens to a market when there are more homes under contract than there are “active” on the MLS? I believe that would turn this buyer’s market that we’ve had for the past 5-6 years into a Seller’s Market!!
I don’t think prices are going to start rising dramatically, but i am very confident we have seen and passed the bottom of the market! I thing that passed in January or February. So, I anticipate some appreciation!
The big question is where are all of the foreclosures? You know the banks are still foreclosing on homes! There has to be a “shadow inventory” of at least 15,000-20,000 homes that aren’t on the market, but aren’t being lived in or paid om. Where are these homes and when will they begin hitting the market?
When that becomes clear, we will be better able to gauge where the market is heading!
As usual, stay tuned! The Phoenix Real Estate Market is going to continue to be interesting!

Phoenix Real Estate Market Finally Hits Bottom! Time to buy!

In January, I suspected we were nearing a bottom of the market in the Phoenix area!! The latest numbers reveal that we have, in fact, reached bottom!!

The first solid sign is listing inventory. There are currently only 28,263 homes actively for sale on the MLS! That is the lowest since early 2005. Compare that to November’s 39,723 active listings and our inventory has dropped 29% in 5 months!

Pending sales now total 21,615. It’s hard to believe, but we could have as many homes under contract as we do active on the market soon! And there were 10,000 closings in March. That is the highest number of closings since August, 2005.

So, where are all of the buyers coming from? The bulk of the purchasers are still investors! Yes, we are seeing some first-time buyers getting off of the fence, but investors are still dominating the market.

We also are seeing some people start to recover from short sales and foreclosures that occurred at the beginning of this slump begin to enter the market again. But, the majority of homeowners are still upside down on the homes and unable to upsize or downsize because they can’t get out of the house they’re in.

The real question is, where is the inventory? Banks are still foreclosing, but we aren’t seeing as many homes hitting the MLS. Many foreclosed homes are being scooped up at the trustee sales. Some of those homes are being renovated and listed for resale on the MLS. Others are being held as rental properties.

There is still a shadow inventory that is unaccounted for. It could be as many as 25,000 homes that are not owned by individuals, but not actively for sale. How or when these homes hit the market could determine the nature of the rebound that our market may experience for the rest of 2011.

In any case, buckle your seatbelt!! The Phoenix market could be in for another wild ride!!

Has Phoenix Reached the Bottom of the Market?

In Jan 2011, we saw the lowest Median Home Price the Valley has seen since the Mid- ’90′s! The median home sold for only $100,000 last month. Compare that to the peak of the market in ’05 when the median home price was $265,000. That’s a drop of 63% in just over 5 years!

So, does that mean we’ve finally reached the bottom of the market? It’s hard to imagine home prices dropping any more than they have already, but I’ve been saying that for some time! It is always possible for prices to slide further.

But, recently we have noticed increased buyer activity. It appears that investors still dominate the market. However, we are seeing some first-time home buyers enter the market as well as relocators.

Now, the question is, will the buyer activity keep up with the anticipated inventory of homes that will be hitting the market over the coming months? We are expecting more foreclosures and more short sales to add to our over-supply of homes.

How the balance of inventory plays out will dictate whether the market begins a slow rebound or continues it’s downward trend.

I do believe that we will see some increased confidence in 2012! The powers that be want to keep their jobs, so expect some “Election Year Miracle” to cast a more positive light on the economy. But, I don’t expect much appreciation for the rest of this year.

Give me a call of more info! Equity has the Best Trained, Most Customer-Service-Oriented Realtors in town!

Uniquely Different, Simply Better

Make 2011 More Successful than 2010 – Join Equity Today!

Equity Real Estate Arizona offers low fees, great broker support, training and much more!  If you are unhappy with your current brokerage, please call me Today!  602-316-9220, Mike@MikeFoulds.com, www.JoinEquityArizona.com

Holidays Present Great Opportunity for Buyers!!

The Phoenix area Real Estate is already a Buyer’s Market!  But, the Holidays are an especially great time to buy!  We already have excess inventory, record low interest rates, and prices at 55% our peak!  Now, take advantage of the Holiday Slow-down!  Not many Buyers in the market between Thanksgiving and New Years!  Get Great Deals!  Call Me TODAY – 602-316-9220.

Equity Arizona Broker offers “100 Days to Greatness”!

I am pleased to announe that my brokerage, Equity Real Estate Arizona is hosting the successful Brian Buffini training program “100 Days to Greatness’!  The program begins 1/10/11 and is open to any Equity Realtor.  Although the program was initiated for new Realtors, I believe it will help any Realtor to improve their business for 2011 and beyond!  Please call or email me for details – 602-316-9220 or Mike@MikeFoulds.com !!

Bigger and Better Things!!!!!

Drum Roll Please . . . . I am now the Designated Broker of Equity Real Estate, Arizona!!! If you know of anyone who needs 1st Class Real Estate Services, please direct them to your favorite Real Estate Broker (me, silly)!!! All of my contact info remains the same!

More Inventory to Hit Market

One in every 7.5 U.S. homeowners were either behind on their mortgage payments or in foreclosure in November, according to a report by Lender Processing Services, a mortgage performance data and analytics firm. It summarizes mortgage industry performance indicators based on data collected as of November 30, 2009.

Total delinquencies excluding foreclosures rose to a record high of 9.97 percent, which represents a 5.46 percent increase over the previous month and a 21.29 percent increase over a year ago. The report also finds that 5.01 percent of loans became more delinquent during the month, compared to 1.52 percent of loans that improved.

The November foreclosure rate rose to 3.19 percent, but foreclosure starts declined as a result of loss mitigation efforts. Fewer foreclosure starts, combined with the steady increase in delinquencies, is resulting in a growing shadow inventory of troubled properties, the report concludes.

Ever-Changing Phoenix Housing Market Changes again! Inventory Up – Sales Down

After a Hot Summer real estate market, things have cooled off again in the Valley. Several summer months approached all time sales records that were only surpassed by the frenzy of 2005. But, now the sales are retreating and the inventory is beginning to pile up again.

There are several reasons for the most recent market changes. The US Congress was slow to extend the First-Time Homebuyer tax credit. It was finally passed in early November, but after many first-time buyers had given up on closing on a home before the previous act expired.

We hope these buyers will re-enter the market place, but we are now in the typical winter slump for home buying. Typically, there is very little buyer activity in our market from just before Thanksgiving until after New Year’s Day.

Another factor that is hampering sales activity is the reluctance of banks to pro-actively negotiate short sales. While we had a lot of success earlier in 2009, most banks are dragging their feet on giving approvals for short sales recently. The process which was taking less than 3 months earlier in the year, is now taking 4-5 months or longer. Countrywide, now serviced by Bank of America is the worst bank to deal with.

Supposedly banks are trying to implement systems and procedures to negotiate short sales more quickly but we haven’t seen any improvements yet.

While buying activity has been reduced lately, the number of listings coming on the market is increasing too. Banks had been slow to foreclose on properties, but are now are increasingly motivated to move the process along more quickly.