Foreclosures up for investors.....Moody's market predictions

The first article, Foreclosures up for investors, from the Arizona Republic, reports that at least one quarter of all Phoenix-area homes to fall into foreclosure this year are owned by investors, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of residential foreclosure records. Many cannot charge high enough rents to break even or sell their property at a time when the market is flooded with listings. The effect on some Valley neighborhoods with many rentals and vacant homes can be significant. Through May, 8, 597 notices of trustee sales for homes were filed in Maricopa County, putting metro Phoenix on pace to top 18,000 this year. "Investors drove up the Valley's housing market. Now, they are driving it down with foreclosures," said Jay Butler, director of Realty Studies at ASU. "You won't find a lot of people feeling sorry for them now," he added.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0609investor0609.html

The second article, Where housing will bounce back and when, from MSNBC.com, reports on which real estate markets are projected to bounce back, and how will their rebound look. The article suggests that there are three types of recovery patterns-- a "V" shaped recovery where the market experiences a sharp, fast decline but comes out strong once it hits bottom; a "U" shaped recovery, where prices decline gradually and recover slowly; and a "L" shaped curve-- a hard, fast fall with paltry price bounceback following the market trough. Areas with good local economies and population and job growth are candidates for a "V" shaped recovery. The article states that Phoenix is one of those markets. Good affordability rates and a surging job market suggest that once Phoenix bottoms out, price growth will be strong. Moody's projection model has Phoenix reaching its price trough in the fourth quarter of 2008 and then growing by 7.7 percent the following year.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19116753/