For real-estate agents, home buyers and especially home sellers, the West Valley is burning up, especially for homes less than $150,000. That heat is strongest in the market for homes of $100,000 to $150,000, forcing new buyers to move to higher ranges.Distressed properties, those houses owned by people facing foreclosure or short sales, still make up the bulk of sales. But ARMLS statistics show they have decreased in metro Phoenix to about 43 percent in May. That's a drop compared with their high-water mark in September 2010, when distressed properties made up 74 percent of homes sold.
