Home expert is optimistic about 2011

It has been another tough year for homebuilding in metro Phoenix. Based on November's numbers, only about 7,000 new homes will be built across the region in 2010, according to the "Phoenix Housing Market Letter." However, RL Brown, "Market Letter" publisher, is more optimistic about 2011. "Confidence is seeping into the conversations we are having with builders, developers, lenders and real-estate investors," he said. "Reality has taken hold of professionals who remain in the industry, and that reality has spawned a new energy to move forward, out of the trenches where many have hunkered down during the ugly days of the recent past." Brown acknowledged that November's building numbers were part of that ugly past. Home closings last month were lower than in any November during the past two decades. There were 583 new-home sales in metro Phoenix last month. For the new-home market to improve, both foreclosures and the number of foreclosure homes being resold by lenders must drop significantly, so that builders aren't competing with the bargain homes.

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