Notes and Opinions from one of Arizona's Most Trusted Loan Teams

Catherine Reagor is a real estate writer for the Arizona Republic. She and I don't always see eye-to-eye on real estate and mortgage issues, but this weekend's article is important and should be read by consumers and business people alike.

The article deals with new figures for the median price of a home in the Phoenix market, which has dropped from a high of $267,000 to $232,000.

I'm going to quote the article so I don't make a mistake, because she is making a VERY important point:

"Based on the 6 to 10 percent Valley home prices climbed annually before the boom, $232,000 is pretty close to where the median home price would be without the boom."

This conclusion hangs pretty close to my own opinion.

You should look up the article in the business section of Sunday's (1/13/2008) Arizona Republic and read the balance. Catherine expresses some other's opinions as well.

Overall, I think it is a very positive sign for the recovery of the housing market here.

Nothing about this eliminates the current backlog of homes on the market. However, it does signal that sellers are getting back in touch with reality about the prices they are asking and getting for their homes. This doesn't mean that the glut of homes on the market is going away next month, but it does mean that potential buyers should get off the fence and buy a home.