The Phoenix real estate market continues to face a disastrous combination of foreclosures and distressed properties, although a few indicators seem to point towards recovery. According to a March 30, 2010 article from Housing Wire, “Home sales were up Phoenix during the month of February, and it was the first time since January 2007 that the overall median price for the market didn’t decline year-over-year, according to MDA DataQuick.” The article, written by Austin Kilgore, continued to say that “There were a total of 6,824 new and resale houses and condos sold in Maricopa-Pinal counties metropolitan area in February, up 9.6% from January and up 13% from February 2009. A rise in sales between January and February is typical for the market, and since 1994, Phoenix has experienced an average 9.4% increase between the two months.”

The commercial real estate market, compared with Pleasanton homes for sale, has also been facing serious problems. According to a March 27, 2010 article in the Phoenix Business Journal, “Today, office vacancies in the Valley are again over 20 percent. Industrial vacancies are at 17 percent, and the retail market is struggling after an overabundance of shopping properties were delivered in 2007 and 2008.” The piece, composed by Jan Buchholz, continued to find that “Foreclosures on Phoenix homes still generate dismal headlines, and many touted commercial developments are either on hold or scrapped. Real estate pundits continue to decry the area’s ongoing reliance on population growth and real estate to fuel its economic engine, and they’re calling for change.”

The importance of foreclosure sales to Pleasanton real estate for sale was established by a March 30, 2010 article in the Arizona Republic. According to the piece, “Foreclosures continue to drive indicators and much of the news about the Phoenix housing market. Homebuilding and new-home sales remain near historic lows due to the many foreclosure homes being resold.” The article, composed by Catherine Reagor, continued to state that “In February, there were 532 new houses sold in the Valley, according to the ‘Phoenix Housing Market Letter.’ That compares with 713 sales a year earlier.”

Considering buying a house or a real estate property?  Keep in mind that purchasing such a property is not as easy as buying a car or investing in stocks.  To help you with the buying process, consider researching and talking to friends and family who have had experience in going through such.

When choosing a house as an investment, you have to consider a couple of things.  First of all, think of the location.  Are you planning to settle down in a suburban area or would you rather stay in the city?  How big is the family you have in mind?  Try to have a house and lot which you could possibly expand, should you find yourself with a greater number of individuals living with you.  Check out the facilities of the village or subdivision your house is situated at.  There may be other fees that you have to take care of such a club memberships or association payments.

After considering these things, decide on a final budget.  Try to stay as close as possible to the reasonable budget you have set.

Making an Offer

After making the big decision of choosing which real estate property to purchase, you are now ready to embark on your first step to negotiating the price.  This is usually referred to as making an offer.  When you make an offer to the seller, be very reasonable.  Emphasis was put on making your budget reasonable so that you can write an offer that is equally reasonable.  The seller should see that you are serious with buying the property, and writing an offer that is very unjust would make him or her see that buying this real estate property is not very important to you after all.

Moreover, when writing an offer, you are not only indicating the amount you are willing to pay for the said property.  You should also consider including how you plan to pay for house, financing programs you wish to use, house insurance policies, repairs you want to have made and who would pay for them, other services and contingencies.

Earnest Money Deposit

You have decided which property to get, you have made an offer, so what do you do next?  Think about how much deposit you are willing and capable of making.  Keep in mind that you want to show the seller that your earnest money deposit is actually reasonable enough to qualify as a serious bidder for the property.  Although you want to get the best deal, you cannot give unreasonably low amounts.  Try to put yourself in the seller’s shoes.  Think about the market today and the actual market value of the property you are eyeing.  The location, the land area and the overall make of the house should also be guiding factors that could help you in determining what a ‘reasonable deposit’ is.

Experts also suggest that buyers follow the two to three percent rule.  They say that the deposit should be about two to three percent lower than the actual offer.  By doing such, you are showing the seller that you are very serious about buying the property and at the same time you are not putting your money in so much risk.  Should the transaction unfortunately fail, having a lower deposit would mean that a relatively small amount of your money would be tied with the transaction until it has been resolved.

Consider these steps and equip yourself with knowledge so that you can make the best decision when making a real estate purchase.