Sub-prime Woes Not Spilling Over To Over Other Credit Areas

Builder enticements stymie home resales
from the Arizona Republic, reports that sales of existing homes in the Valley fell to 4,855 in April, down from 5,385 resales in March. This compares with 5,980 sales in April 2006 and 8,735 in April 2006. New home builders offering incentives like free pools and discounted upgrades were cited as one of the reasons for the slower sales. Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at ASU, said "while the resale market is tracking near historical norms, the levels should be well below those of the last few years because the current market lacks the market frenzy to own and/or invest at almost any price and reasoning." So far this year, 19,045 homes in Maricopa County have sold, compared with 23,960 for the same period in 2006 and 36,000 sales in 2005. The median price in April was $265,000 versus $265,470 in March and $264,900 in April 2006.

Ahwatukee housing sales up, prices down from the AZ Republic,
reports on sales and prices for resales in the Southeast Valley. It reports that Ahwatukee is the only Southeast Valley city that showed an increase in sales in April compared with April 2006. However, prices dropped 15 percent, compared with other Southeast Valley cities that showed price increases. Jay Butler at ASU said "April is historically not a month that shows improvement over prior months. It's not a disaster market; it's not a horrible market; it's a fairly normal market." Here are the April stats for the Southeast Valley cities: Ahwatukee had 125 sales and the median price dropped to $325,000. Chandler had 375 resales and the median price rose to $297,950. Gilbert saw 285 resales and its median price dropped to $295,195. Mesa showed 530 resales and the median price dropped to $234,510. Tempe saw sales decline to 120, but the median price rose to $285,000.

Sub-Prime Woes Not Spilling Over To Over Other Credit Areas

Bankrate.com said mortgage rates continue to fluctuate in a very narrow range. In recent weeks, watching the normally volatile mortgage rates has been like watching grass grow. The reason stems from the hands-off interest-rate policy of the Fed. With little likelihood of a Fed rate change any time soon, a view reinforced by the May 9 FOMC statement, yields on longer-term Treasury securities -- to which mortgage rates are closely tied -- have been remarkably docile.

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