A first-time homebuyer with limited earning power and a sketchy credit history would seem to have little in common with a blue chip corporation. But thanks to some creative investment vehicles they've now been tied together.

Like an object dropped over the side of a high building, housing prices in the Phoenix metro area picked up speed on the way down, reports Karl Guntermann, real estate professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Housing prices in the Phoenix metro area continue to plummet and the rate of decline has accelerated, according to Karl L. Guntermann, a professor of real estate and finance at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

The home-equity loan industry is crowded with competitors, making it tough for mortgage companies to hang onto market share — much less grow revenue, according to Brad Connor, president of Chase Home Equity, who recently spoke at the 18th Annual Compete Through Service Symposium, sponsored by the

The most popular indices currently in use today, such as those developed by the National Association of Realtors, measure the median home prices nationally and in a given region. But is median price the best way to measure the trend in home prices?

If you are in the market for a house, the news is good: Sellers will answer your calls and consider your offer.

January — usually the slowest month of the year for home sales — turned out to be the second quietest in 14 years.

More than two years of rising prices in the Phoenix real estate market appear to be coming to an end, says Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and practice and author of the monthly housing report.

What will growth in the real estate industry look like post-recession? That depends on a number of factors. Development will be much more focused on fulfilling specific needs and on infill. Development on the periphery will not cease, but it will likely be less grand in volume.

A group of the Valley’s most successful brokers, meeting at a real estate forum at the W. P. Carey School of Business, agree that although the commercial real estate market is recovering, improvement will be slow.