A snapshot of the real estate market currently reveals 103,408 foreclosure homes in Arizona. In February 2009 alone, Arizona witnessed as many as 18,119 new foreclosure filings, with one in every 147 residential units suffering a home seizure. Indeed, Arizona lags behind only Nevada in being the US state to have been the worst affected by the ongoing spate of government foreclosures in the nation. The median sale price of a foreclosed home in Arizona is over $240,000, and this represents a saving of one-third to the buyers, over the prevailing market prices of properties. That's an attractive bargain, by any reckoning, and explains the frenzied surge of buyers at the foreclosure auctions in the state.

Tempestuous Markets Merit Careful Planning

Before you decide to purchase one of the foreclosure homes, you ought to hire an expert real estate agent to guide you through the labyrinth of the properties market. With the nation and half the world reeling under recession, the markets are particularly volatile and unpredictable, be it the stock markets worldwide or the Arizona real estate market. An experienced agent is likely to be as acquainted with the macro economic developments and trends as with the best home offerings in the region of your choice.

Know the ROI

It would be imprudent to invest your money without adequate market survey and ROI {return on investment} analysis. To emerge a winner from your property investment, you need expert advice to make the optimal choices concerning the selection of homes to bid for, the mortgage loan that you take, and the maximum bid price that you can afford to make.

However, if you do your spadework well, this is perhaps the ideal time for intending homebuyers to acquire fabulous foreclosure homes in Arizona at barely a fraction of their market prices.