Better days are forecast, but at a cost

Better days are forecast, but at a cost, from The Arizona Republic, reports that housing analyst RL Brown told a crowd of about 1,300 that Phoenix's new home market will get better after this year, but only if builders get serious about reducing spec-home inventory and prices and making a bigger commitment to service. Brown estimated that as many as 25,000 unsold spec homes are sitting on the market, the result of buyers backing out of deals when they couldn't sell their existing homes. Brown reported that the Valley finished 2006 with a building permit total of 42,460, down from the over 60,000 permits pulled in 2005. Brown expects permits to total 41,000 this year and 48,000 in 2008. They expect the market to hit 47,000 permits in 2009 and 50,000 in both 2010 and 2011. Even with the reduced building, Brown expects that Valley will continue to be one of the country's top housing markets.

Better days are forecast, but at a cost
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