Hmmm... The "asking price" may be low, but the price banks are willing to deal at isn't. I'm assuming that you are talking about forclosure homes since forclosures are the ONLY homes the price seems to be going down on.

We purchased a forclosure home 6 months ago (for MORE than the asking price) in the Sundance community of Buckeye AZ and from what we can tell that was the absolute bottom of the market. Our home value has gone up 18% in value since then. So... I am really not sure that what you think is a lower market really is a lower market. Homes here are ALWAYS going for MORE than the asking price -- even the forclosures that are trashed inside.

Those trashed ones are the ones the investors are going after because they DO have the cash to fix them up for not much (realitively speaking) extra cash. Regular people usually DON'T have ready $$$ cash left after getting a mortgage to invest even more money to make the trashed homes decent. Additionally, those cash buyers who fix up the repo's.... they do the LEAST amount of fixing possible to put the home back on the market.... so beware of a "flipped" home. Might look ok, but more $$$ might be needed in order to make the house worth any price other than lowest of the low in case you might need to sell it again.

For reference, several repo homes on my block were purchases within the last year. ALL of us are putting in upwards of $20K cash (AFTER purchase) to fix them to a decent level of quallity.

The reason for this is that the Sundance homes were built to low standards to begin with (terribly energy inefficient = huge power bills). Add angry people evicted from their homes by greedy developers and banks. The result is a low quality home trashed for spite. THAT is what is offered at a "low" price in Buckeye. Well, and not just Buckeye. All over the Phoenix Metro area.

We chose Buckeye because of it being realitively FAR from the horrible Phoenix gang trash people. That is the trade off. You get decent safety here - but don't expect to make a real estate killing, even if the prices "seem" low. You can get those same low prices closer to Phoenix, but the difference is that THOSE homes have BARS on the windows and doors -- and if they don't have them, they NEED them.

Well, one more thing. The CHEAPEST homes in Buckeye are cheap for another reason. The smell. We are surrounded by cooped-up, cow-penned, dairy farms here and the stench at times (depending on which way the wind is blowing) can be incredibly over-powering. There are actually REALLY, REALLY nice homes offered cheaply because of that smell. You can have the greatest backyard and swimming pool in the world but if it smells like you are sitting in a huge pile of poo, well then, your fancy pants backyard and home really IS only worth pennies on the dollar.

As evidenced by the posts previous to mine, don't even dream that a realtor might warn you about the bad smelling subdivisions, or even admit those areas exist.

The Sundance homes right off of Yuma Road are fairly safe from the smell... but south of Yuma and north of actual down-town Buckeye, the stench gets horrible at times.

Oh...and don't forget the high property taxes. Buckeye is financing infrastructure on the backs of homeowners in the newer subdivisions via levys that have huge early payoff penalties. Also factor in the new huge rate hikes on water -- Buckeye has highest water prices in all of the Phoenix area.

So I guess the upshot is - money vs. livability. Pick a non-smelly area of Buckeye and you can get GREAT livabilty and safety, but you will pay more money for it.

Investors can and are buying with cash. We are working with buyers and homes are getting bid up anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 OVER ASKING PRICE by CASH BUYERS that are not necessarily investors.

I have several clients who are not retiring for several years, but are buying at today's low prices and will let the home sit empty. They are taking between $150,000 and $300,000 out of their retirement plans now and buying their retirement home for cash.

Real estate is local, but our average sales price has increased 6 months in a row. Anytime supply (which is very low right now) is less than demand (which is very high right now) prices will rise.

So I am sorry to break the bad news to you but "cheap" is fading away. "Safe" is an area you would have to investigate.

Just an FYI, on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Luxury Home Market ($750,000) it is still a buyer's market with Supply (way too much) outweighing demand (very low) so prices will continue to drop.

Follow Randy's advise - get a buyer's agent that will represent your best interests, give you the facts about market conditions in Buckeye and if it makes sense to you - buy now.

Cash is king. Always has been. Always will be. Asking prices may be still going lower, but sales prices are going higher. It's imperative that you and your Buyer's Agent/Realtor do your homework and run the comps for any given property. Then offer fair market value. The asking price means nothing. It's also imperative that you're on top of the market and are being made aware of new listings as soon as they hit the market. An experienced, savvy agent can help you tremendously.

Best of luck!

...randy