As the Rate of Arizona Foreclosures Slows, It May Be the Best Time to Buy Arizona Foreclosure Homes

Good news for homeowners on the Arizona foreclosures front, and that's that the near record foreclosure rate highs we've seen in the state in the past year seems to be tailing off. During December of 2007, over 5,700 Arizona foreclosure homes entered some stage of the foreclosure process, whether the first notice of default was issued or a home was actually sold at auction. This number is down almost 10% from the previous month, but more importantly this rate is down more than 35% since August. This could mark the beginning of an upturn in the real estate and foreclosures market in Arizona. Many attributed the sky high rate of foreclosures to heavy investment in the area during 2004 and 2005. After the housing bubble in the area burst and, the market suddenly became flooded with properties for sale or rent, investors were stuck with investment properties they were unable to sell. Many of these properties also carried short term, adjustable rate mortgages, which carried extremely heavy monthly mortgage payments. With no other options, many investors allowed these homes to become foreclosed. Tucson foreclosures, Phoenix foreclosure homes and other foreclosure homes in desirable areas were suddenly available in droves. This made foreclosure investing in the area very profitable, and now that the market seems to be slowing, it may be a perfect time to get involved in investing in Scottsdale foreclosure homes, Flagstaff foreclosures or other potentially lucrative properties in the area. Foreclosure purveyors like banks and HUD have a huge inventory right now, and are looking to sell for very low prices. While experts predict that Arizona still has the potential to see more foreclosures in the near future, it seems that the worst of it may be behind the state, as the effects of the heavy investment and subsequent drop in property value and demand seems now to be slowing.