There are signs the housing industry in metropolitan Phoenix is recovering as more homebuilders are buying up land again.
The Arizona brokerage firm Land Advisors says homebuilders so far this year have spent $90 million on land purchases for new homes. That marks the most builders have invested in the region's land in any year since the peak of the housing boom in 2006.
Arizona home-building analyst RL Brown says builders are more optimistic about the housing market now, but the smart ones are being cautious.
The parcels of land and the pool of builders buying them are much smaller than before the real-estate crash.
Builders are also being more selective now, buying fewer lots and in specific target areas. Sites closer to Phoenix's core and near freeways are drawing the highest prices.
