This was advertised in the Kingman paper, but the homes are in Casa Grande and Maricopa. New homes with starting bids more than 50% off of the previous asking prices.
http://www.publicredcauction.com/auction_details.php?auctionID=D-004
Community details and pictures.
Here is a good column from the nytimes called “A Reality Check for Home Sellers”
I’m seeing exactly this in home prices in Mohave county. The sellers appear to be using a dart board to pick prices and you can have two houses next door to each other with the same floor plan, the same builder and built in the same year and a 30% difference in price.
If you are planning on buying now, you better have an honest realtor who will make sure you have all the facts about the listings in the area you are looking at.
I’ve always been interested in realtor’s “code” words. Like “cozy” usually means it’s so small you can’t turn around. “Bright and sunny” usually means it’s painted yellow or orange. “Needs TLC” might mean bring a contracter or possibly just a shovel and a few trash cans.
I’ve noticed now that so many foreclosures are hitting the sales listings, realtors have different ways of listing. Probably most just ignore the foreclosure part and don’t acknowledge it. Some might say bank owned or foreclosure in the description.
I saw two new ones this week that were very creative. One said “bank acquired”. The other was my favorite. It said “under new ownership”.
I’ve been reading a lot of UK articles lately. Here is a sample of a couple of fairly recent ones. Scary stuff.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/09/19/bcnsaudi119.xml
Fears of dollar collapse as Saudis take fright
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor
Last Updated: 10:35am BST 21/09/2007
Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve for the first time, signalling that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom is preparing to break the dollar currency peg in a move that risks setting off a stampede out of the dollar across the Middle East.
“This is a very dangerous situation for the dollar,” said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas.
“Saudi Arabia has $800bn (£400bn) in their future generation fund, and the entire region has $3,500bn under management. They face an inflationary threat and do not want to import an interest rate policy set for the recessionary conditions in the United States,” he said.
The Saudi central bank said today that it would take “appropriate measures” to halt huge capital inflows into the country, but analysts say this policy is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to the collapse of the dollar peg.
As a close ally of the US, Riyadh has so far tried to stick to the peg, but the link is now destabilising its own economy.
China threatens ‘nuclear option’ of dollar sales
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 8:39pm BST 10/08/2007
The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.
http://www.mcso.org/include/pr_pdf/s%20Mobile%20Illegal%20Immigration%20Billboards.pdf
Date: September 15, 2007
ARPAIO AUTHORIZES 24 MOVING BILLBOARDS TO BOLSTER CALLS TO SHERIFF’S ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION HOTLINE
‘DO NOT ILLEGALLY ENTER’ BILLBOARDS
WILL BE SEEN ALL OVER COUNTY, CITY STREETS
(Phoenix, AZ) In a move that is certain to inflame illegal immigration activists, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans to unveil a unique method of advertising his illegal immigration hotline on Sunday afternoon.
I found this really cool site called legends of america. I love this site, tons of interesting things.
This page is on Chloride.
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/AZ-Chloride.html
This one mentions Cerbat, Mineral Park and even Kingman.
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/AZ-Cerbat.html
Arizona fun facts.
The latest news on the Lords bankruptcy. Multiple homes and land parcels by one of the builders in the subdivision have been auctioned in recent months also.
Lords looks to ‘move forward’
By NEIL YOUNG/The Daily News
Monday, September 17, 2007 9:08 PM PDT
BULLHEAD CITY – “Everything seems to be tracking as planned,” said Laughlin Ranch President David Lords regarding his bankruptcy proceedings.
It was announced on July 13 that Laughlin Ranch had filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and a California-based company was interested in buying the master-planned upscale community on the Bullhead Parkway.
The bankruptcy was filed “in order to implement a planned acquisition of Laughlin Ranch by The Lewis Group of Companies,” a press release stated.
“Between now and October is their due diligence time,” Lords said of Lewis. “And then at that point, we move forward,” in late October, he said. During due diligence, a potential investor analyzes and appraises a business.
With an infusion of $10 million from Lewis to keep Laughlin Ranch going, it’s business as usual, according to Lords. “All operations are open.”
http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2007/09/18/news/top_story/top1.txt
By David Leonhardt
Published: September 19, 2007
NEW YORK: The U.S. Federal Reserve has sent the stock market soaring. So can it stop the decline in home prices, too?
Don’t count on it. And that is bad news for the global economy, which heavily depends on the U.S. consumer.
From the late 1960s until 2000, the price of the typical American home and the income of the typical family moved almost in lockstep. House prices rose a bit more quickly than incomes during the occasional real estate boom, but would always settle down again. In 2000, the median home cost about $130,000, roughly three times the typical household income – almost precisely the ratio that had held since the ’60s.
Then came a real estate boom unlike any before it. By last year, this ratio of prices to incomes had suddenly shot up to four and a half. For it to return to its old level, home prices would have to fall by an almost unthinkable one-third, and probably more in California, Florida and the Northeast.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/19/business/leonhardt.php
I have been saying that the no-doc loans aren’t coming back for a while if ever and have been made fun of and called stupid. Looks like even Countrywide agrees with me.
By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide Financial (CFC), outlined a new strategy Tuesday that would transform the nation’s largest mortgage lender from an aggressive funding source for borrowers with tarnished credit into a more conservative thrift, dependent on savings deposits instead of Wall Street investors.
“We are out of the subprime business,” Mozilo told investors at a conference in San Francisco. Nearly 25% of Countrywide’s subprime borrowers were behind on their loan payments at the end of June.
Countrywide has also stopped making loans to people with good, or prime, credit who lack documented proof of their income or assets. Starting next year, Mozilo said, 80% of its mortgages will meet the standards of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the government-backed institutions that buy loans to provide liquidity to the market. That’s up from 60% at the end of last year.
“It’s a reflection of the current market. The loans that are in demand are the ones with all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “This further signifies the easy credit of days gone by will be a relic of the past.”
As the shakeout in the mortgage industry continues, Mozilo said he expects Countrywide’s business to decline 25% next year compared with this year. The company has announced it will fire up to 12,000 of its employees. The plan unveiled Tuesday includes hiring more people in India who would take calls from delinquent borrowers hoping to renegotiate the terms of their loans and avoid foreclosure.
Record default rates and turmoil in the credit market, Mozilo said, have “repainted the entire mortgage landscape.”
And the paint hasn’t dried.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-09-17-mortgage-outlook_N.htm
By Greg Robb
Last Update: 2:15 PM ET Sep 18, 2007
In a statement, the FOMC said the action “was necessary to forestall some of the adverse effects on the broad economy that might otherwise arise from the disruptions in financial markets and to promote moderate growth over time.” The Fed said that some inflation risks remain. It said the credit crunch could hurt the economy.
