Report: Valley housing market continues recovery
Jun 6, 2012, 2:36 PM | Updated: 7:01 pm
A new housing report from Arizona State University said the Valley housing market continues its recovery.
Single-family home prices last month were up 25 percent from the same time last year. Realtor Joe Liberty said investors are super heating the market and paying all cash.
“They’re looking at the Phoenix market as a good place to invest,” he said. “They’re coming from Canada, South America and the Middle East.”
And while the investors are buying up a lot of homes and getting them off the market, the investors bring a downside, according to Liberty.
“The regular homeowner looking to buy a home now is in competition with investors who are coming in and offering cash which makes their deal more attractive,” he said.
And even though home prices are moving in a positive direction, Liberty said he is concerned that consumer confidence remains low and people are sitting on their cash.
“Their concerned about jobs and unwilling to invest in the future because there’s not much consumer confidence,” he said. “Meanwhile investors are throwing alot of cash into the market. They’re superheating the market.”
ASU said El Mirage, Glendale, Maricopa and Tolleson, which took a beating in the recession, are now seeing some of the greatest home sale rebounds.