LOCAL HOUSING MARKET

Home builders busy in Gilbert
from the Arizona Republic, reports that even with the slowing housing market, homes continue to go up in Gilbert. Homebuilders including Taylor Woodrow Homes, Lennar, and Cachet Homes are planning to bring about 3,600 houses to the southeastern sections of Gilbert. Gilbert is perceived as an infill community, which may be fueling popularity of new home projects in the area, said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at ASU. IN January, Gilbert was the third largest issuer of residential permits in Maricopa County. Some of the new developments include Layton Lakes, a 1,965-home Lennar project at Lindsey and Queen Creek Roads; Adora Trails, a 1,871 unit planned community at Riggs Road in between Val Vista Drive and Higley Road which will have numerous builders; Shamrock Estates near Higley and Chandler Heights Road will have 800 homes built by Taylor Woodrow Homes and Element Homes; and two additional Taylor Woodrow Homes developments-- Stratland Estates with 114 lots and Carrara Estates, containing 78 lots.

Valley's housing market shows more of a pulse
from the Arizona Republic, reports that according to some housing experts, the Valley's housing market is showing signs of a rebound. Home building permits across metro Phoenix climbed to a five-month high in January, according to local housing analyst RL Brown. The chart on his Phoenix Housing Market Letter is still "code red", but he is considering changing it to "yellow", signaling caution. Brown still estimates 12,000 to 14,000 spec homes Valley-wide, but builders are dropping prices and drawing buyers back to the fringe areas. There were almost 16,000 new listings for Valley homes in January, down a couple of hundred from December 2006. From national housing analyst Tim Sullivan's newsletter sent out Feb 22: "Many of our home-builder clients in the Southwest report a notable uptick in sales in the last four weeks. None of our clients are going so far to say that the market has been corrected, but the general sense in that the last month or so has been better that in any in the last six to eight months. Now if builders can continue to pay attention to sales prices, the market might find some equilibrium."

Builders throw out welcome mat to real estate agents
from the East Valley Tribune, reports that with once massive waiting lists dried up and thousands of spec homes sitting empty in subdivisions, Valley builders are trying to jump start sales by offering hefty financial perks to real estate agents. That's a far cry from just two years ago when builders mind sets were "We don't need you," said Christa Burlakoff, owner of Principal Residential Group in Phoenix. "They started ignoring Realtors." Agents went from receiving 3 percent commissions to referral fees of $250, Burlakoff said. Then the market turned, and now builders are offering commissions of 6 and even up to 10 percent to help burn through the 12,000 to 14,000 spec homes on the market. For Scottsdale-based Hacienda Builders, roughly 60 percent of its business comes from agents. "We know Realtors are a vital partner," said Susan Paul, vice president of sales and marketing.

Buy a House With Cash Or Take Out a Mortgage? from The WSJ
reports that a home buyer is in an enviable position: She and her fiance have socked away enough money to purchase their first place together without a home loan. June Fletcher on whether they should take the plunge, or if should they borrow the money to free up their savings for other investments.