Real estate trends for 2013

PHOENIX -- Homeowners across the Valley are wondering what the real estate market will hold in the new year. Is it better to sell? To buy? Or just sit tight?

3TV’s Kristine Harrington went to the experts for a glimpse into the 2013 housing market forecast. She found that the outlook is positive, with home prices expected to rise.

Realtor Kelly Cook with Keller Williams says he expects real estate in 2013 to be even better than 2012.

“Foreclosures have almost completely fallen off,” Cook tells us. “They are less than ten percent of the market right now.”

And that is forcing prices to climb. Buyers are turning out in great numbers right now, motivated by the still affordable homes and the historically low mortgage rates. But with inventory moving quickly, Cook says some buyers are still struggling to find the right fit.

“You're seeing a lot of people having to settle for a house they don’t really want,” Cook says. “That’s because 3 months ago they could have had this, for that, but it’s not available anymore; it’s gone. It's a thing of the past,” Cook says.Across the nation home prices are expected to hit their first annual gain since 2006. But already in some areas of Phoenix, prices have shot up nearly 28 percent over the past 12 months.

And despite the fact those prices remain more than 40 percent below peak levels, this turnaround has sparked optimism among sellers.

“We talk to a lot of people who are 30 to 40 thousand dollars upside down on a house last year, thinking I'm going to ride this out because I think I can sell pretty soon here if appreciation levels keep going up the way they are,” Cook says. “So I think you'll see a lot of those people now will be able to sell in 2013.”

Realtors say the last few months of 2012 were slow, likely because of the holidays. But as we know, spring is when Arizona gets busy. So it's expected the real estate market will also be picking up in the near future.

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