Foreclosures as a percentage of market still drifting down, but for how long?

The volume of home sales in May in the Phoenix market was about on par with the rest of this spring's resale season, although the percentage represented by foreclosures continued a modest decline. But whether this portends better things to come is yet to be seen, according to the W. P. Carey School's real estate expert Jay Butler. Meantime, the absence of move-up buyers continues to dampen prices, with the median price in May coming in at $129,000. This is on level with April, but notably down from the $144,000 of a year ago. Investors smelling a deal also pushed the foreclosure median price down, to about $136,000, compared to almost $149,000 in May 2010. In a recent talk with Knowledge@W. P. Carey, Butler discussed the numbers and what they mean in context.

The volume of home sales in May in the Phoenix market was about on par with the rest of this spring's resale season, although the percentage represented by foreclosures continued a modest decline. But whether this portends better things to come is yet to be seen, according to the W. P. Carey School's real estate expert Jay Butler.

Meantime, the absence of move-up buyers continues to dampen prices, with the median price in May coming in at $129,000. This is on level with April, but notably down from the $144,000 of a year ago. Investors smelling a deal also pushed the foreclosure median price down, to about $136,000, compared to almost $149,000 in May 2010. In a recent talk with Knowledge@W. P. Carey, Butler discussed the numbers and what they mean in context.