The Arizona luxury market has suffered a dramatic price decline in the past year due to a combination of factors.

In some cases, Arizona luxury home owners who bought their homes during the market peak of the last few years have suffered severe financial reversals caused by the stock market plunge, global recession and ongoing real estate market price decline. As a result, they can no longer afford their luxury home.

Others purchased expensive vacation properties and second homes at a time when they had money to spare and now need to sell their home in an effort to raise cash and stay afloat.

If they purchased their home within the past few years, their luxury home is now worth substantially less than the home owner paid and so these homeowners are "underwater." This puts many luxury home owners in the bind of needing to sell but of being unable to sell their home at a high enough price to pay off their home loan.

This has led to an explosion of luxury home foreclosures and short sales in which the home is either being foreclosed on by the lender or the home owner is working out a "short sale" agreement with their lender.

In a foreclosure, the lender takes over ownership of the home and sells it on the open market. In a "short sale," the seller keeps the home and sells it to a private buyer. The lender allows this sale to take place by agreeing to accept less than the seller owes on the home. In this case the lender loses money, but will avoid the headache of the foreclosure process. (See Short Sale Vs. Foreclosures Defined)

The result of both the foreclosure and short sale activity is that there currently exists a tremendous opportunity for buyers to purchase Arizona luxury short sale and bank homes at a fraction of their cost and under their current market value. In some cases, buyers can save 40% - 50% off the price of a luxury home compared to last year.

However, buying a luxury foreclosure or short sale property is not easy. There are numerous ways to make very expensive mistakes. Therefore the key to successfully buying a luxury bank owned home or short sale is knowing how to find the absolutely best deals available and structuring the transaction so that it successfully closes escrow.

Please feel free to use this site to learn more about the Arizona luxury foreclosure and short sale market. When you are ready for assistance with your luxury home purchase, we will be here to help. Our services are FREE.