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The low end of the real estate market here - and in some equally hard-hit places like inland California and coastal Florida - is becoming as wild as anything during the boom.

- David Streitfeld, “Amid Housing Bust, Phoenix Begins a New Frenzy”, The New York Times, A1, May 24

Very interesting front page article in Sunday’s NY Times about the booming investor demand for foreclosed properties in Phoenix, AZ:

  • According to the piece, nearly 4 in 10 home buyers in the Phoenix metro area in April 2009 were absentee buyers - up 50% from late 2007 and nearly the same ratio as at the 2005 peak.
  • As its first foray into the US market, CBI Group, a real estate fund based in Calgary, Alberta, is buying 175 rental homes in Phoenix.
  • The investment group is opening a new fund this week to buy another 160 Phoenix homes.
This article is tagged with: Macro View, Real Estate
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