Arizona Real Estate News Access
All the real estate and mortgage news you need to know in Arizona
Categories:

Archives:
Meta:
September 2007
S M T W T F S
« Aug   Oct »
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
09/15/07
Housing slump taking a toll on car dealers
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 5:01 pm

It seems that when the housing market sneezed, the automobile industry caught a cold. Car dealers in the Valley are starting to feel the fallout of the mortgage market collapse that has swept across the country. Industry insiders say car sales are down dramatically, largely because of buyer hesitation and uneasiness over taking on new debt.  More…

comments (0)
Debt, subprime pressure biting into luxury sales
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:59 pm

Consumers are caught in an economic bear trap whose teeth include the slow housing market, subprime adjustable-rate mortgages, high debt ratios, and inflationary pressures on staples such as energy and food. Those economic daggers are straining household finances and taking a bite out of “discretionary” consumer spending — purchases of luxury durable goods and big-ticket items such as boats, cars and motorcycles.  More…

comments (0)
Phoenix named No. 1 market for job growth
Filed under: General, Business
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:57 pm

It’s easy to forget that just a half-decade ago, America was reeling from an economic double whammy: the dot-com bust and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But despite the national housing slowdown, there’s no other city in the U.S. where the recovery has been stronger than Phoenix, which is the nation’s hottest employment market, according to a new Bizjournals study.  More…

comments (0)
Greenspan didn’t see danger of subprimes
Filed under: General, Mortgages
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:52 pm

WASHINGTON - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledges he failed to see early on that an explosion of mortgages to people with questionable credit histories could pose a danger to the economy. In an interview to be televised Sunday, Greenspan said he was aware of subprime lending practices where home buyers got low initial rates only to see them later jacked up, causing severe payment shock. But he said he didn’t initially realize the harm they could do.  More…

comments (0)
Valley market has life, but just too many houses for sale
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:50 pm

If you look closely enough, you can find hints of hope in the southeast Valley’s market for new homes. Chandler, Mesa and the city of Maricopa had more single-family permits taken out for the first half of this year than they did during the same period in 2006. Prices for new homes have dropped into the $130,000s in Maricopa, which likely will entice buyers. And although its permit numbers are down, Gilbert remains one of the busiest places in the Valley for housing construction.  More…

comments (0)
2 Humana call centers planned
Filed under: General, Business
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:49 pm

Humana Inc. announced plans Friday to open new call centers in Phoenix and Tempe that will process customer service calls for the insurer’s Medicare and mail-order prescription business. The move will bring 530 jobs to the state. The Louisville, Ky.-based insurer is currently recruiting workers and expects to fully staff the call centers by January 2008.  More…

comments (0)
Mortgage bailout stirs controversy
Filed under: General, Mortgages
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:47 pm

As more states and cities struggle to find the money to bail out homeowners caught up in the housing downturn, some Americans are wondering why government should be rewarding people for their greed or irresponsibility. Some, like Thomas Roach of Sarasota, Fla., are even actively campaigning against a bailout for people who, using easy credit and exotic mortgages, bought more home than they could afford on a bet to make easy profits from rising real estate prices.  More…

comments (0)
Developers scurry to meet demand for medical offices
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:45 pm

The market for medical-office space in the Valley is robust and healthy. The number of medical-office complexes has burgeoned in Metro Phoenix during the past several years, thanks to demand from doctors who want their clinics and outpatient-care facilities located just a stone’s throw away from major hospital campuses. Developers are scurrying to meet the need, breaking ground on new buildings before they’ve finished putting touches on projects already under way.  More…

comments (0)
FTC : Firms’ mortgage ads potentially are deceptive
Filed under: General, Mortgages
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:42 pm

WASHINGTON -The Federal Trade Commission has warned more than 200 companies about “potentially deceptive” mortgage advertisements that could give borrowers a false impression of the cost of home loans. The FTC on Tuesday said ads that ran in newspapers and magazines, online and in the mail “may violate federal law” by giving a deceptive picture of mortgage terms. It sent the warning letters to mortgage brokers, lenders and media outlets.  More…

comments (0)
Scottsdale office sells for $22.2 mil
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:39 pm

Investment firm Scottsdale Atrium LLC bought a 71,462-square-foot office building in Scottsdale for $22.2 million, according to brokers involved with the deal. The Mammoth Professional Building at 14300 Northsight Boulevard was 90 percent leased at the time the company purchased it from Mammoth Equities Capital.  More…

comments (0)
Housing crunch breeds uncertainty
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:35 pm

WASHINGTON - The first significant crack in the economy’s foundation appeared when a government report last week showed employers cut jobs for the first time in four years. But it’s not clear what’s going to happen next.  More…

comments (0)
Recession could hit strained economy
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:33 pm

WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy, strained by an ailing housing market and credit woes, could log its worst growth in five years, forecasters said Monday. The No. 1 risk, though, is that the economy will lose its footing altogether and fall into a recession. A forecast released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics puts the growth of gross domestic product at an anemic 2 percent for this year.  More…

comments (0)
Delinquent mortgages on the rise in Arizona
Filed under: General, Real Estate
Posted by: Lillian Wong @ 4:25 pm

More Arizona homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments this summer, indicating foreclosures will keep climbing. The number of delinquent mortgages rose half a percentage point during the second quarter of the year. Now, 3.55 percent of all home loans in Arizona are delinquent and could fall into foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.  More…


comments (0)