THE NEW
GOLD RUSH
Many parts of Phoenix have in
recent years been besieged by foreclosure and abandonment, and the
Gilbertsons seem like prime candidates to join in the revival. They
want to capitalize on historically
low interest rates, and prices that
they perceive to be a bargain.
But in the year since the couple first started their search for
a home, they have found mostly
bewilderment and exasperation,
along with an unwanted lesson
about the odd workings of a suddenly hot American housing market: Despite the headlines suggesting that housing is returning
to normal, the Gilbertsons have
discovered that homes are scarce,
competition is fierce and much of
the buying is dominated by funds
financed by Wall Street and other
out-of-town investors.
“It’s been incredibly frustrating,”
said Megan Gilbertson, 27. “We feel
like we can’t fairly compete.”
In the course of their yearlong search, the Gilbertsons have
cycled through three different realtors while losing four bids. In
three other situations in which
they intended to bid, the home
sold almost immediately, before
they could even make an offer.
All the while, prices have
HUFFINGTON
07.21.13
The Gilbertsons
have discovered that
homes are scarce,
competition is fierce
and much of the
buying is dominated
by funds financed by
Wall Street and other
out-of-town investors.
soared in the region, climbing
about 30 percent over the past
year to an average of $175,000,
according to a report from Arizona
State University. More than onequarter of those properties, or 27
percent, were purchased by investors, the report says.
The Gilbertsons’ pursuit of a
home is emblematic of the struggles of millions of ordinary buyers to exploit the opportunities
delivered by an otherwise disastrous national housing bust. After
exploding into the stratosphere,
home prices have returned to affordable levels. Yet as local families try to take advantage of the
newly created bargains, they frequently find themselves outbid by
deep-pocketed investors who are
buying up many of the good values
on the market.
These investment firms are ac-