House dumping in Folley Precinct?
Folley Precinct, like many neighborhoods in the East Valley, has seen its share of the housing "froth" that Greenspan spoke about. As a homeowner, it's been something I've followed avidly, invariably being suckered into reading every article on AZCentral with "house" or "housing" in the headline (there's at least one every few days, it seems).
I do this, like many homeowners, even when I'm sure that there's no new information to be had because my home is my greatest asset and my greatest expense. Speaking of which, I'm quite sure I've put the children of many Home Depot and Lowe's executives through college in my ten years of owning a home in Chandler. I suspect I'm not alone in this.
Its hard not to pay attention. As house prices increase, so do our property taxes. So even if you have no desire to sell your home (and where would you live if you did?), an increase in housing prices can have a real impact on your annual tax bill. And even for homeowners not inclined to lobby for property tax reform, complaining about property taxes ranks close behind musing over rising property values as fodder for the cocktail cirtuit. So one keeps abreast of the developments, if only to be able to participate in such conversation.
Now, we've all heard about (and seen) how investors, drawn to the Valley's under-priced housing market, swooped in last spring and bought up homes in a rabid frenzy, driving the price of real estate up 20, 30, 40% or more in just a few months, depending on the neighborhood. And we've all been warned about how, when those investors decide to profit-take and move on to other markets, they'll dump their houses at lower prices and the housing bubble will pop.
Of course, there have been eloquent arguments about how there wil be no "pop" for Chandler. Chandler is closely approaching 100% build-out and nearby developments are rather farther away than most folks would care to commute, given the option. Plus, the East Valley continues to grow as retirees and others move into the state. All of which means that house prices will never tank. (*crosses fingers*)
Nevertheless, when I was a little chagrined today while I was perusing the latest housing sales in our zip code. As I was skimming through the list, I noted that two houses in our precinct were sold for thousands of dollars less than similar homes were selling for six months ago.
Why was this, I wondered. Sometimes, homes sell below market if it's a foreclosure or the house is in poor condition. But it's rare, compared to the other house sales. It seemed anomalous, until I followed up by researching the homes with the Maricopa County Assessor and had my answer, which I'd suspected.
Both houses were sold by the same owner, Post Lester Parnership - a New York Partnership with the statutory agent listed as Larry Fraioli. Both properties' deeds were transferred on the same day - March 24, 2006 - before the same notary in Westchester County, New York.
What I hadn't expected was that they were both bought by the same person: Douglas M. Clarke, a single man of Campbell, California. Superpages.com lists his approximate age as 42.
Stereotypically, Post Lester Partnership bought those two houses near the end of 2004. Sixteen months later, they sold the two properties for a profit of about $75,000 each. Nice work if you can get it, I guess.
Now I wonder what kind of landlord Clarke is going to be. I hope his renters don't play their music too loud, and keep the weeds pulled in their front yard...
UPDATE: Good grief! Maricopa County Assessor lists EIGHT Chandler houses owned by a Douglas M. Clarke of Campbell, CA. SIX of those were sold to Mr. Clarke by Post Lester Partnership in the past month. And all six are in my neighborhood, in Folley Precinct.
Looks like some serious real estate wheeling and dealing going on in our neighborhood. Six houses - a block of real estate worth about $1.5 million - in the same neighborhood sold from one New York partnership to a California investor within a few weeks.
I wonder what this new investment by Mr. Clarke portends!
I do this, like many homeowners, even when I'm sure that there's no new information to be had because my home is my greatest asset and my greatest expense. Speaking of which, I'm quite sure I've put the children of many Home Depot and Lowe's executives through college in my ten years of owning a home in Chandler. I suspect I'm not alone in this.
Its hard not to pay attention. As house prices increase, so do our property taxes. So even if you have no desire to sell your home (and where would you live if you did?), an increase in housing prices can have a real impact on your annual tax bill. And even for homeowners not inclined to lobby for property tax reform, complaining about property taxes ranks close behind musing over rising property values as fodder for the cocktail cirtuit. So one keeps abreast of the developments, if only to be able to participate in such conversation.
Now, we've all heard about (and seen) how investors, drawn to the Valley's under-priced housing market, swooped in last spring and bought up homes in a rabid frenzy, driving the price of real estate up 20, 30, 40% or more in just a few months, depending on the neighborhood. And we've all been warned about how, when those investors decide to profit-take and move on to other markets, they'll dump their houses at lower prices and the housing bubble will pop.
Of course, there have been eloquent arguments about how there wil be no "pop" for Chandler. Chandler is closely approaching 100% build-out and nearby developments are rather farther away than most folks would care to commute, given the option. Plus, the East Valley continues to grow as retirees and others move into the state. All of which means that house prices will never tank. (*crosses fingers*)
Nevertheless, when I was a little chagrined today while I was perusing the latest housing sales in our zip code. As I was skimming through the list, I noted that two houses in our precinct were sold for thousands of dollars less than similar homes were selling for six months ago.
Why was this, I wondered. Sometimes, homes sell below market if it's a foreclosure or the house is in poor condition. But it's rare, compared to the other house sales. It seemed anomalous, until I followed up by researching the homes with the Maricopa County Assessor and had my answer, which I'd suspected.
Both houses were sold by the same owner, Post Lester Parnership - a New York Partnership with the statutory agent listed as Larry Fraioli. Both properties' deeds were transferred on the same day - March 24, 2006 - before the same notary in Westchester County, New York.
What I hadn't expected was that they were both bought by the same person: Douglas M. Clarke, a single man of Campbell, California. Superpages.com lists his approximate age as 42.
Stereotypically, Post Lester Partnership bought those two houses near the end of 2004. Sixteen months later, they sold the two properties for a profit of about $75,000 each. Nice work if you can get it, I guess.
Now I wonder what kind of landlord Clarke is going to be. I hope his renters don't play their music too loud, and keep the weeds pulled in their front yard...
UPDATE: Good grief! Maricopa County Assessor lists EIGHT Chandler houses owned by a Douglas M. Clarke of Campbell, CA. SIX of those were sold to Mr. Clarke by Post Lester Partnership in the past month. And all six are in my neighborhood, in Folley Precinct.
Looks like some serious real estate wheeling and dealing going on in our neighborhood. Six houses - a block of real estate worth about $1.5 million - in the same neighborhood sold from one New York partnership to a California investor within a few weeks.
I wonder what this new investment by Mr. Clarke portends!
posted by Geo at 4:56 PM
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