The real estate cha-cha: Baby steps to recovery

January brought an uptick in foreclosures in the still-troubled Phoenix real estate market — discouraging words after the drop in foreclosure-related activity in the waning months of 2010. But is it a new trend? Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business, says the increase may be the result of lenders terminating the various moratoriums that were in place last year. With the numbers moving ahead and then back like dancers doing the cha-cha, recovery will come in baby steps, Butler said.

January brought an uptick in foreclosures in the still-troubled Phoenix real estate market — discouraging words after the drop in foreclosure-related activity in the waning months of 2010. But is it a new trend? Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business, says the increase may be the result of lenders terminating the various moratoriums that were in place last year. With the numbers moving ahead and then back like dancers doing the cha-cha, recovery will come in baby steps, Butler said.