Buying a home in Chandler ? or ??? (Phoenix, Mesa: sales, foreclosure, condo)

[dragracer]

Looking to purchase a part time home in a gated community since we will part time residents. We thought Chandler might be nice since it is fairly central and close to Airport. Dont want to live in high crime area or where
most homes have been bank properties as investors only seem to be purchasing them. Any suggesting would be great looking to spend 125k or less

[tashina]

Needs? House or condo? Must be near anything in particular? Details would help.

[Captain Bill]

There isn't a lot available in that price range in a gated community.

I took a quick check and only found 3 in Chandler.

Your best bet would be to find a Realtor and have him/her help you do the search based on your criteria. You'll find it much faster.

[EnicAZ]

Would recommend staying away from buying right now. Prices are predicted by our live data system to fall more than 10% in the next 4 months alone. Ever since the end of the buyer tax credit and the foreclosure gate crisis, the market has gotten really bad in the Phoenix area. I have to be honest and let people know about this, as it isn't right to hide the certainty of catching a falling knife from people.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

Would recommend staying away from buying right now.

Well, of course you do. "EnicAZ's my name - gloom and doom's my game."

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

Would recommend staying away from buying right now. Prices are predicted by our live data system to fall more than 10% in the next 4 months alone. Ever since the end of the buyer tax credit and the foreclosure gate crisis, the market has gotten really bad in the Phoenix area. I have to be honest and let people know about this, as it isn't right to hide the certainty of catching a falling knife from people.

People buy homes based on their needs and desires, not based on people telling them to "buy now" or others telling to "don't catch a falling knife"
Most people are intelligent enough to understand their own financial situations, to weigh the interest rates today, and the cost of housing today and make an educated decision as to when and where they should buy.
The future direction of a market is very difficult to forecast without a strong trend having been built.

Here's an excerpt from the Cromford Report The Cromford Report. The ARMLS uses a lot of the Cromford Report statistical data:

The Cromford Market Indexâ„¢ is intended to give us a simple measure of the balance between supply and demand and hence the long term direction for pricing.



Since the beginning of October the Cromford Market Indexâ„¢ has moved higher but is still well below the balanced figure of 100. The recent increase is due to an improvement in pending listing counts relative to normal seasonal patterns coupled with slightly stronger sales volumes, suggesting that the significant drop in prices over the summer is boosting demand higher.



In addition although supply has still been increasing it has done so at a more moderate rate. It seems however, that this is largely due to a decline in new REOs which is natural with certain lenders (notably Bank of America) suspending all trustee sales.



Once that suspension is lifted we may see a sudden increase in the completion of trustee sales and hence an influx of active REOs coming to market.
The REO effect is likely to be most pronounced in the lowest priced and outlying areas.



Longer Term Outlook by City

Most of the major cities have seen improvements in their Cromford Market Indexâ„¢ over the last two months, particularly Scottsdale.
We can group cities into the following short-term supply/demand patterns:


Improving:

• Scottsdale (101)
• Chandler (82)
• Gilbert (86)
• Peoria (95)
• Queen Creek (79)
• Avondale (90)
• Tempe (73)
• Anthem (135)
• Fountain Hills (110)

Slight but noticeable improvement:

• Phoenix (84)
• Mesa (85)
• Glendale (93)
• Goodyear (95)
• Maricopa (53)
• El Mirage (67)
• Tolleson (59)

[dragracer]

Thanks for responding to my concerns. Captain Bill is their a different
suburb i should be looking at which would be a better long term investment and has more to offer than Chandler
cheers

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by dragracer

Thanks for responding to my concerns. Captain Bill is their a different
suburb i should be looking at which would be a better long term investment and has more to offer than Chandler
cheers

It depends on what you're looking for. Most of the areas have golf close by, hiking is not far, shopping and dining are all around.

Cultural events are all over the area within a 45 minute drive.

As far as future price, the east valley cities should fare about the same in up and down markets. Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert are very popular east valley cities so, in my opinion, in a recovery they should do better than some of the areas like Maricopa and Queen Creek that were harder hit.

With the gated community requirement there are not as many homes to choose from in that price range. There are 3 in Chandler; none in Gilbert at the present time, and a few in Mesa in the nicer areas.

When you have the opportunity to sit down with your Realtor to discuss your needs in detail, especially what is most important for you, she or he will be able to provide more personal guidance and help you find what you're looking for fairly quickly.