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Phoenix real estate market

Fri, 14 May 2010 19:12:41 +0000

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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.”

Austin Real Estate

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:10:42 +0000

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Despite real estate development activity in the Austin region, many real estate experts are concerned that the recent developments aren’t enough to promise improvements in the Austin real estate market in the coming months. Since the economic recession of 2008 began, Austin’s commercial real estate market has struggled greatly with high foreclosure and vacancy rates, and real estate experts have noted that Austin’s residential real estate is largely overpriced, which is not good given that during the current economic times, prospective homebuyers are only interested in affordable housing. Although slight improvements may be made in the coming months, real estate experts believe that Austin real estate levels will most likely remain stable throughout 2010, with 2011 bringing about recovery.

According to the Austin American Statesman, the commercial real estate in Austin has suffered great losses since the beginning of the economic recession that began in 2008. Commercial real estate foreclosure rates have more than doubled between 2008 and 2009, making Austin one of the worst-performing cities in Texas. Residential real estate in Austin has also suffered from high foreclosure rates. Real estate experts have attributed the high commercial foreclosure rates to the numerous local businesses struggling to stay afloat. Austin also suffers from high unemployment rates, with many businesses continuing to layoff workers. The concern for job security plays a major role in determining the success of the residential real estate market in Austin, because many prospective buyers will only invest in real estate if they are confident that they will keep their job and a steady source of income to use towards paying off the house.

The Austin Business Journal has reported that the residential real estate in Austin will also continue to suffer in the coming months if sellers aren’t willing to lower prices. National realtors have found Austin to contain a large inventory of overpriced homes, which is surprising given that Austin tends to be one of the more affordable housing market in the nation. However, as long as prices remain high, homes are unlikely to find buyers. Throughout the nation, only the affordable markets are the ones showing improvements, luxury markets continue to remain sluggish. Many homebuyers are only interested in investing in affordable or “bargain” priced homes that have been previously foreclosed on or are being drastically reduced in price out of desperation.

Beverly Hills Real Estate

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:29:20 +0000

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Although luxury housing markets throughout the nation continue to suffer as a result of the economic recession of 2008, Beverly Hills seems to be one of the few luxury real estate markets showing promising signs of recovery. Throughout the nation high-end home sales are down significantly, and in many regions they are nonexistent. Many homebuyers aren’t willing to pay millions of dollars for a home during these difficult economic times and are opting for the “bargain” prices offered by foreclosed and distressed properties. However, Beverly Hills, considered to be the popular home to many of the rich and famous, has recently experienced an increase in real estate activity.

According to DQNews.com, Southern California real estate markets have shown improvement over the past few months, with many regions posting increases in both home sales and median prices. In November of 2009, there were almost 20,000 new and resale houses sold in the Southern California region, down 13.3 percent from the previous month, but up 14.7 percent from November of the previous year. Realtors aren’t concerned about the decline between the months of October and November though, as historical data trends have shown sales to decline during the same period even during times of economic prosperity. However, foreclosures are still a major concern for real estate experts because high foreclosure rates continue to plague the region’s real estate market. Foreclosures and distressed properties continue to dominate home sales, as most prospective buyers are only interested in affordable housing. Nevertheless, the median price in Southern California did rise by 1.8 percent between the months of October and November, even though median prices are still about 43 percent below the peak experienced in early and mid 2007.

Despite Beverly Hills’ general lack of affordability, many realtors believe that the Beverly Hills real estate market may be making a comeback, one of the first comebacks for luxury home markets in the nation. Prices for housing in Beverly Hills are low relatively speaking, and the flourishing entertainment industry has been an attractive force for prospective homebuyers. Local realtors are reporting a 25 percent increase in sales between the months of October and November, and a 109 percent increase from low seen two years ago. With home values 30 to 40 percent below peak levels a few years ago, realtors are optimistic that the future will show significant improvements in the Beverly Hills real estate.

Buying a House? Consider this!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:12 +0000

: Image by thinkpanama via Flickr

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.

CORPORATE COMPASS

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:53:17 +0000

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Chipmaker Intel sets up R&D labs near colleges Berkeley one of 3 U.S. sites

In a bid to tap into the University of California at Berkeley’s brain trust, Intel Corp. is opening a lab just blocks from the campus, hiring a Cal computer science professor to run it and hoping to enlist other professors and graduate students in its research efforts.

The lab is one of three research facilities Santa Clara’s Intel is setting up near universities. Besides UC Berkeley, the others are adjacent to the University of Washington in Seattle and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Intel hopes to add at least three more labs to the mix, including at least one overseas.

The chip giant is by no means the first high-tech company to set up shop near a college, but it is one of the first to hire professors to run the show and open it up to faculty and students, said David Tennenhouse, an Intel vice president and head of research.

“Lots of people have set up research labs next to universities, . . . and most of those labs don’t really collaborate with the university, and sometimes they are competing with university researchers on similar projects,” he said. “We want these labs to actually do joint projects.”

Intel and the universities will work out issues of intellectual property and ownership of potential patents before each project gets off the ground, said David Culler, the Berkeley computer science professor who will run the new lab for Intel. Culler has taken a leave of absence from the university and gone on the company’s payroll.

Ignacio Chapela, a UC Berkeley professor of environmental science policy and management who has been outspoken in the past about corporate-funded research projects, said he likes the fact that Intel is keeping a “healthy arms-length distance” from the university.

In the past, he said, other companies have tried to exert control on university projects by funding research efforts or pouring money into departments.

“I do like the fact that (Intel is) out of the campus,” Chapela said. “There’s clear distinction and space between Intel and the university.”

The lab sits on the penthouse floor of a 13-story building in the heart of downtown Berkeley. It will have a staff of about 20 full-time Intel employees plus 20 to 25 graduate students, Culler said.

Culler, who has been teaching computer science at the university for 15 years, took a one-year leave of absence to join Intel and run the lab.

“The whole idea is to tackle research together . . . and harness the (resources of the) two organizations together,” he said. Tennenhouse said while the research at these labs will remain open, Intel plans to “mirror” the same kind of work in its own in-house research labs.

“You don’t get ahead by hiding things,” he said, noting that the key to making research profitable is turning it into commercial products. “These labs mean we’ll be getting out of the gate faster, and we’re going to need to keep running faster.”

Investing in research facilities such as this one is important even during one of the worst downturns in high-tech history, Tennenhouse said, adding that Intel is on track to spend about $3.9 billion on R&D this year — just a shade below its original plan. He wouldn’t say what the research budget will be next year.

Craig Barrett, Intel’s chief executive officer, encouraged other executives at a semiconductor-industry dinner to support university research.

“The future of our industry depends on technology and innovation and R&D,” he said. “That’s our absolute key to our future.” But more than potential for new products, Tennenhouse hopes the labs will also be a magnet for top technical talent.

“No. 1 value is people — that’s a much bigger benefit than you might think, ” he said. “I’m talking about a relatively small group of people who’ll become the technical franchise for the company.”