THE NEW
GOLD RUSH
HUFFINGTON
07.21.13
“People are flocking here like it is the
gold rush. I’m up against everyone
from mom-and-pop investors to
multibillion-dollar hedge funds.”
from banks, and many require
substantial renovations to make
them livable, said Eric Elder, the
vice president of marketing and
communications at the Dallasbased company. Elder said that
neighbors of these properties often thank his company’s representatives for rescuing these homes
from decay.
“We are helping the housing recovery,” Elder said. “We are taking
housing stock, renovating it, and
getting it back out there for renters. We are helping bring the fabric of communities back together.”
The company plans to keep purchasing homes at the current clip,
Elder said.
This peculiar bust-to-boom
story is playing out conspicuously in Phoenix. Only two years
ago, home prices were down 56
percent from their 2007 peak.
Foreclosures raced through the
area like a contagious disease in
a disaster movie. In July of 2010,
12.5 percent of all borrowers were
at least three months behind on
their mortgage payments, according to the real estate data site
Corelogic. Seemingly everyone
knew someone who had lost their
home, an event that