Fronteras

Another report is out pointing to a rebound in the Valley’s housing market. Analysts at Clear Capital say foreclosures are down and housing prices are up. From Phoenix, KJZZ’s Terry Ward reports.

 TERRY WARD: The picture is still pretty depressing if you look at the housing market nationwide -- prices still are falling. But the Phoenix area is staging a turn-around. Clear Capital research analyst Alex Villacorta says over the last year, the trend is positive as the number of foreclosures drops.

 ALEX VILLACORTA: Back in 2011, we saw one in two homes transacting as a distressed sale. Today, that’s dropped to 32 percent. And that alleviation has allowed prices to rise.

 WARD: Villacorta says foreclosures are easing as the economy improves. He says the average Phoenix-area home has appreciated 7.3 percent since February of last year. And he says he expects that trend to continue although price gains will ease at least slightly, depending upon overall economic conditions.

 VILLACORTA: Especially once the normal buying season starts to pick up. I think that 7.3 percent year-to-year growth will moderate as prices correct back to historical levels. But there still should be healthy growth the rest of this year and in 2013.

 WARD: Many experts say the future of the housing market depends in large part on the broader economy and in particular the job market, consumer confidence and mortgage rates.

EDITOR'S NOTE (5/2/2012): An earlier version of this story misspelled Alex Villacorta's name.