For years, renters and homebuyers were told they couldn’t afford a home if it cost more than 30 percent of their income.
Now, an influential research center has come up with another yardstick that it says more accurately measures whether your choice of housing is beyond your means: The combined cost of housing and transportation shouldn’t exceed 45 percent of your income. more…
The number of Phoenix-area homeowners losing houses to foreclosure fell 20 percent in April, a drop that could signal more successful, or at least temporary, loan modifications.
There still are many people facing foreclosure, even though pre-foreclosures dropped as well. Last month, lenders started foreclosure proceedings on 7,064 Valley homes, down 12 percent from March. Foreclosures for April hit 4,446. more…
A bill seeking to regulate a powerful group of intermediaries in the home-appraisal process received approval in the waning hours of the legislative session Thursday and now awaits Gov. Jan Brewer’s signature.
A group of Arizona real-estate appraisers helped draft Senate Bill 1351, which they said would force a group of real-estate firms known as appraisal-management companies to meet higher standards of conduct and to disclose their fees to consumers. more…
People looking for family-size houses to rent in Phoenix-area neighborhoods have far fewer choices.
Since September, the number of available rental homes in metropolitan Phoenix has dropped by 40 percent, and probably even more than that when it comes to three- to four-bedroom homes in desirable neighborhoods.
The sharp drop is another ripple effect of the foreclosure crisis. more…
Freddie Mac released its financial reports for the first quarter of 2010 showing a net loss of 6.7 billion and announced that its Conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), will be asking the Department of the Treasury for a draw of $10.6 billion under the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. more…