Recently, Arizona housing advocates held a forum alerting people to foreclosure scams at a Phoenix church. The event was part of a new movement to reach out to faith-based community leaders to help spread the word about loan modification scams and where homeowners can find free help.
“People with problems often turn to their church or spiritual center first,” Mark Linton, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Center for Faith Based Initiatives, told the crowd at Mountain View Lutheran Church. “We are asking you all to tell people in your community how to avoid these foreclosure scams ...
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Two “walk-in” clinics to help struggling homeowners are now open in Phoenix. Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix and Chicanos Por La Causa are partnering with government-owned mortgage giant Freddie Mac to operate what are being called Borrower Help Centers. These new centers provide free, financial counseling and help negotiating a loan modification with lenders.
These walk-in centers might prove to be more accessible to some homeowners and even streamline the process for Freddie Mac borrowers, said Patricia Garcia Duarte, chief executive of Neighborhood Housing.
The Borrower Help Centers are both located at 1405 E. McDowell Road and 1242 E. Washington Street Suite ...
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Metropolitan Phoenix's home building market can only improve after last year's dismal results.
The Phoenix Housing Market Letter reports 8,027 single-family, building permits were issued in the region during 2010, the lowest level in at least 20 years. In 1990, during the middle of the last real-estate led recession, there were 10,619 permits for new homes issued in the Phoenix-area.
Publishers of the Housing Market Letter RL Brown and Greg Burgerdon't expect 2010 to be much better. Their 2010 forecast calls for 8,500 home building permits this year. By 2012, the market could rebound enough for 22,000 new homes to be built ...
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The latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index is out, and Phoenix is
leading the nation again. But this time, it’s the right direction.
Phoenix-area home prices increased 1.1 percent between October and November of 2009, the highest increase of any of the U.S. metro ar-
eas tracked on the 20-city index.
Phoenix home prices were down 14.2 percent for the 12 months ended
November 2009. The average declinefor the index during that periond
was 5.3 percent.
For several months last year, Phoenix led the index for the biggest home price drop.
...
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Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus and Scottsdale's Indian Bend Wash have garnered Smart Growth awards from Urban Land Institute Arizona.
The two projects were honored for being economically sound, envirnomnetally friendly and supportive of community liviblity.The awards were handed out at Urban Land's annual forecast event Thursday.
“ASU’s Downtown Phoenix Campus has transformed Downtown Phoenix and is an outstanding example of an Urban Land Institute ‘Best Practice’ worthy of emulation,” said Wil Cardon, Urban Land's Smart Growth Committee co-chair.
The Downtown Phoenix Campus provides a mix of land uses including housing, retail, plazas, and public spaces with classrooms. Close proximity to public ...
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