Arizona Real Estate Informer

Park Place condos open in Surprise; Bellazano next

Park Place condominiums opened to the public this month and is a preview of other upscale condo projects expected to land in Surprise.

The resort-style, 258-unit complex features amenities such as a movie screening room, an aerobic room and Tuscan-inspired architecture, according to its developer, Diversified Real Estate Group of Las Vegas.

With about 100 units still available, the community is hosting a series of events through Sunday that allows visitors to browse the condos. More...

KB Home posts quarterly loss

LOS ANGELES - KB Home, one of the nation's largest home builders, swung to a loss Thursday, citing a deep deterioration in the housing market and warning the sales slump will likely extend into next year.

KB's financial results were released the same day the Commerce Department reported new home sales in August fell 8.3 percent from the previous month to the lowest level in seven years. More...

New homes sales in the U.S. dip to lowest level in seven years

New home sales decreased in August to the lowest levels in seven years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

New home sales came in at 795,000 units in August down from 1 million in August 2006 and 867,000 in July 2007, according to the federal statistics. More...

New-home sales down 20% in West from July to August

Sales of new single-family homes in the West dropped by 20.8 percent to a seasonally-adjusted average rate of 179,000 in August from July, and were down 16 percent compared to a year ago, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures released today.

An estimated 226,000 homes sold in July in the West, while 213,000 sold in the region in August 2006, according to the Commerce Department survey of contract sales among a sample of homes selected from building permits. More...

Phoenix firms add two Broadstone apartment complexes

Opus West Corp. and an affiliate of Alliance Residential Co. plan to construct two Broadstone-branded apartment complexes in Houston on opposite sides of town.

The Phoenix-based firms will break ground in mid-October on Broadstone Cypress on a 14-acre site in northwest Houston. Located at State Highway 290 and Mueschke Road, the project will include 312 units. More...

Mortgage Applications Dip

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced this morning that applications for mortgage loans decreased 2.8 percent last week when compared to the week prior.

The report showed the Purchase Index decreased 7.3 percent and the Refinance Index increased 3.3 percent from the previous week. More...

House panel OKs mortgage forgiveness bill

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones/AP) -- Homeowners who have part of their debt forgiven by lenders to avoid foreclosure won't get stuck with a tax bill under legislation approved Wednesday by the House's tax-writing panel.

Debt that is forgiven now is treated as income and subject to tax. The legislation is a response to the subprime lending crisis and a move by homeowners to renegotiate their mortgages to avoid foreclosure. More...

Mortgage meltdown: Vulture investors

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Real estate investor Matthew Martinez is the point man for a private equity group that plans to invest $200 million in Florida condo developments.

But recent forecasts show many housing markets in the Sunshine State are looking at double-digit drops in home prices. What is he thinking? More...

Auctions Gain Traction As Housing Market Lags

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The excess inventory of condos is creating an ultimate buyer's market in areas of Florida. So this fall, Ben Anderson is taking a different tactic to finding buyers for some of these lonely units languishing on the market without many nibbles: He's organizing an auction.

The real-estate broker and auctioneer is gearing up to hold a three-day grand auction in November where some 45 to 60 Florida condos in three communities will be on the block. More...

Home Prices Are Falling Faster, Case-Shiller Says

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. home prices in major cities are falling at the fastest rate in 16 years, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday.

For 10 major cities, home prices fell 0.6% in July and are down 4.5% in the past year, the fastest decline since 1991, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released by S&P. For 20 major cities, prices fell 0.4% in July and are down 3.9% in the past year, the largest decline in the seven-year history of the index.  More...