In April 2009, Scottsdale-based homebuilder Michael Ripson opened and then quickly shut down a subdivision project called Sonoran Acres.

Ripson, who founded Ripson Homes in 2001, said no buyers materialized at the time for his product — moderately priced luxury homes on 1-acre lots near Surprise.

“The demand just wasn’t there,” he said.

Now, Ripson thinks the housing market has improved sufficiently to give the project another go. In an effort to further improve his chances, Ripson said he has “value-engineered” the homes at Sonoran Acres so he can sell them for about 25 percent less than what he originally had tried to charge.

Essentially, he has replaced some fixtures and finishes with lower-priced versions. Customers can upgrade to the higher-priced features.

The least-expensive model at Sonoran Acres, a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 2,200-square-foot home, starts at about $200,000. The most-expensive model, a five-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 3,500-square-foot home, starts at about $330,000.

More details about the community are available at sonoranacres.com.

Ripson is so confident things will be different this time that he’s even obtaining the permits to build two speculative homes inside the community. He said the shrinking inventory of available homes, rising prices for existing homes and robust investor activity are all factors that have lifted the Phoenix-area housing market since 2009.

“They (investors) really gave us a shot of adrenaline to get our market started again,” Ripson said.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/04/11/20120411sonoran-acres-revived-near-surprise.html#ixzz1strIsKwj

Here’s a look at some of metro Phoenix’s 12 most expensive homes. Homeowners include local and national businesspeople and sports moguls. Most rankings, except for a home that recently sold, are based on the Maricopa County Assessor’s full-cash value of the properties in 2011. Values declined significantly on some of these mansions, while other either retained their value or saw it increase.

By Catherine Reagor and Joanne Dawson
The Republic | azcentral.com

Here’s a look at some of metro Phoenix’s 12 most expensive homes. Homeowners include local and national businesspeople and sports moguls. Most rankings, except for a home that recently sold, are based on the Maricopa County Assessor’s full-cash value of the properties in 2011. Values declined significantly on some of these mansions, while other either retained their value or saw it increase.

By Catherine Reagor and Joanne Dawson
The Republic | azcentral.com

Here’s a look at some of metro Phoenix’s 12 most expensive homes. Homeowners include local and national businesspeople and sports moguls. Most rankings, except for a home that recently sold, are based on the Maricopa County Assessor’s full-cash value of the properties in 2011. Values declined significantly on some of these mansions, while other either retained their value or saw it increase.

By Catherine Reagor and Joanne Dawson
The Republic | azcentral.com

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/04/05/20120405Phoenix-scottsdale-most-expensive-homes-real-estate.html?page=1#ixzz1reI4LQGe

Here’s a look at some of metro Phoenix’s 12 most expensive homes. Homeowners include local and national businesspeople and sports moguls. Most rankings, except for a home that recently sold, are based on the Maricopa County Assessor’s full-cash value of the properties in 2011. Values declined significantly on some of these mansions, while other either retained their value or saw it increase.

By Catherine Reagor and Joanne Dawson
The Republic | azcentral.com

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/04/05/20120405Phoenix-scottsdale-most-expensive-homes-real-estate.html?page=1#ixzz1reI4LQGe

WASHINGTON – U.S. builders requested the most permits in March for single-family homes and apartments in 31/2 years, suggesting that many expect the housing market to improve over the next year.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that permits, a gauge of future construction, rose 4.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 747,000 in March. That’s the highest level since September 2008.

The rise in permits helped offset a slower month of construction.

Jonathan Basile, director of economics at Credit Suisse, said more permits is a “good sign for broader economic activity” and should lead to increase in construction in the coming months.

Builders broke ground at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 654,000 homes last month. That’s down 5.8 percent from February. Apartment construction, which can fluctuate sharply from month to month, fell nearly 20 percent. Single-family homebuilding was mostly unchanged.

Yet the rate of construction and the level of permits requested remain only about half the pace considered healthy. Economists say that construction activity is still depressed and the housing market has a long way to go before it is back to full health.

Since the fall, builders had slowly grown more confident in the market after seeing more people express interest in buying a home. But that interest has yet to materialize into many sales. As a result, builder confidence fell this month for the first time since September.

Part of the reason for the previous optimism was a mild winter allowed builders to keep working in most parts of the country. And an improving job market has many slightly more optimistic about home sales this year.

January and February were the best for sales of previously occupied homes in five years. And an average of 212,000 jobs was created each month from January through March. Unemployment has sunk from 9.1 percent in August to 8.2 percent last month.

Though new homes represent just 20 percent of the overall home market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

There are some hurdles to a smooth recovery: Builders are struggling to compete with deeply discounted foreclosures and short sales — when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what’s owed on the mortgage.

After previous recessions, housing accounted for at least 15 percent of U.S. economic growth. Since the recession officially ended in June 2009, it has contributed just 4 percent.

Another reason sales have fallen is that previously occupied homes have become a better deal than new homes. The median price of a new home is about 30 percent higher than the median price for a re-sale. That’s nearly twice the markup typical in a healthy housing market.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/04/17/20120417homebuilding-permits-most-years.html#ixzz1stpzliIl

WASHINGTON – The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped near its all-time low this week, making home-buying and refinancing a bargain for those who can qualify.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan fell to 3.88 percent from 3.98 percent. That’s just above the rate of 3.87 percent reached in February, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The 15-year mortgage, a popular option for refinancing, plunged to a fresh low of 3.11 percent from 3.21 percent last week. The previous record of 3.13 percent was hit last month.

Mortgage rates are lower because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Last week’s disappointing report on March job growth led more investors to sell stocks and buy Treasurys, which are considered safer investments. As demand for Treasurys increases, the yield falls.

Employers added just 120,000 jobs last month — half the monthly pace from the previous three months. Many economists downplayed the weak March figures, noting that a warmer winter may have led to some earlier hiring in previous months.

The mild winter has helped lift expectations for the housing market after four years of sluggish sales.

January and February made up the best winter for re-sales in five years, when the housing crisis began. And builders in February requested the most permits to construct homes in more than three years.

Cheap mortgage rates are also brightening the outlook. They have been below 4 percent for all but one week since early December.

Applications for new mortgages have fallen over the past month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, But there has been a sharp rise in the average loan size, suggesting a bigger appetite for home loans. The average size of mortgage applications has increased by $20,000 since December, to about $235,000 last month.

Home prices continue to fall. Prices tend to lag sales and millions of foreclosures and short sales — when a lender accepts less than what is owed on a mortgage — remain on the market. And the housing crisis and recession have also persuaded many Americans to rent instead of buy, which has led to a drop in homeownership.

To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on just Monday through Wednesday of each week.

The average rates don’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fees for the 30-year and 15-year fixed loans were unchanged at 0.7.

For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate fell to 2.85 percent from 2.86 percent, and the average fee fell to 0.7 from 0.8.

The average on the one-year adjustable loan rose to 2.80 percent from 2.78 percent, and the average fee was unchanged at 0.6.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/04/12/20120412rate-year-mortgage-falls-percent.html#ixzz1stod1Xcg

Here’s a look at some of metro Phoenix’s 12 most expensive homes. Homeowners include local and national businesspeople and sports moguls. Most rankings, except for a home that recently sold, are based on the Maricopa County Assessor’s full-cash value of the properties in 2011. Values declined significantly on some of these mansions, while other either retained their value or saw it increase.

By Catherine Reagor and Joanne Dawson
The Republic | azcentral.com

Here’s a look at some of metro Phoenix’s 12 most expensive homes. Homeowners include local and national businesspeople and sports moguls. Most rankings, except for a home that recently sold, are based on the Maricopa County Assessor’s full-cash value of the properties in 2011. Values declined significantly on some of these mansions, while other either retained their value or saw it increase.

By Catherine Reagor and Joanne Dawson
The Republic | azcentral.com

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/04/05/20120405Phoenix-scottsdale-most-expensive-homes-real-estate.html?page=1#ixzz1reI4LQGe

Here’s a look at some of metro Phoenix’s 12 most expensive homes. Homeowners include local and national businesspeople and sports moguls. Most rankings, except for a home that recently sold, are based on the Maricopa County Assessor’s full-cash value of the properties in 2011. Values declined significantly on some of these mansions, while other either retained their value or saw it increase.

By Catherine Reagor and Joanne Dawson
The Republic | azcentral.com