PHOENIX HOUSING — BIDDING WARS

It was bound to come to this.  During this down

market, there are many investors who see the opportunity.  In addition, there are many home buyers who would like to take advantage of the good deals that are to be had in the Phoenix metro market.  There was an article in Saturday’s Arizona Republic outlining the problems home buyers are facing in this market place.  Many buyers are finding themselves up against investors with a lot of cash who are coming in and buying up properties.  The number of foreclosed properties is overwhelming and the number of buyers seems to be exceeding that (at least in some neighborhoods).  Most buyers cannot compete with all cash investors….that’s a clean deal.  In addition, many banks are taking multiple offers and then start a bidding war to bid up the price of the home.  It won’t get as bad as it was years ago, because the value is not there — at least not yet.

In addition, there are some unscrupulous realtors who are taking multiple offers on short sale properties or they are not taking offers that are not way above the asking price.  This is just wrong.  I’ve spoken with a couple of those agents.  They aren’t long for this business.  Some agents, who have been in the business for years, say this is the worst market they’ve seen.  Many buyers are frustrated at not only the amount of foreclosed properties and lack of any communication on the selling side, but that there are fewer “normal” sales out there.

A lot of people are staying put.  They will ride out the craziness and hopefully, will be able to sell when the market calms.  However, if you’re in one of the hardest hit areas, i.e., Queen Creek, you will most likely not see your values increase that much.  If you have equity in your home, hang in there.  Better days are ahead.  For those of you looking to buy, also hang in there because the short sales will morph into lender owned and you may luck out!