More home builders have bought land in the Valley this year since before the housing crash

PHOENIX - Analysts say the Valley's housing market could be showing another sign of making a comeback.

Experts with Land Advisors, a Scottsdale-based brokerage firm, say home builders have bought $90 million dollars worth of land in the Valley so far in 2010.

"The majority of the builders buying land now are publicly traded builders such as Pulte or large privately owned builders such as Shea," said Jill Lewis, home builder specialist with Land Advisors.

Lewis says builders have spent $65 million dollars on finished lot transactions, those lots with the infrastructure in place to begin building homes immediately.

The finished lots, Lewis says, are primarily located in the Southeast Valley in Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler.

"(Builders) are feeling they have a certain level of consumer confidence now that substantiates them going in and buying these properties," said Lewis.

Builders spent another $15.8 million for so-called paper lots, Lewis says.  Paper lots are those parcels of land that still need sewer, water and streets to be constructed before home building can take place.

Finally, home builders spent $8.7 million on partial lots, a cross between finished and paper lots.

"For the end user, what it means is you'll see more communities coming online," added Lewis.  "In four years we haven't seen a new community come out to market."

Lewis says the Valley's housing market won't see the impact of new homes being built for approximately another year factoring in a typical 9 to 12 month building period.

People who live and work in the Southeast Valley were pleased to hear the housing market may be starting to rebound.

"I think it's great, it shows the market is coming back finally," said realtor Denise Townsend.  "We still have enough land where builders are starting to get active again and pick up what vacant lots there are out there."