Investors returning to Phoenix housing market, driving prices up

Real estate investors and short-term flippers are back in town — for better or worse — and once again they’re dominating the housing market for sales of less than $250,000. Investors are buying those homes with cash, which is pushing up prices in the long-downtrodden local market, tightening inventories and squeezing out traditional home buyers. “It’s very much like 2005 all over again at the entry-level segment,” said Justin Lombard, owner of Stone House Realty of Arizona in Phoenix. Lombard said cash sales are starting to dominate the market for less expensive homes, as some sellers are looking specifically for ...

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