The number of home sales are still settling around record levels, but there are some signs of encouragement. The number of investors purchasing homes has dropped slightly, while more buyers purchased homes with the intention of using them as primary residences.

There was a gain in first time home buyers in April, but that month was the last month for the government first time buyer tax credit. In either case, April did show a trend away from foreclosures, which enabled many homeowners to sell their houses that month.

Estimates show that more than 1.8 million people nationally used the tax credit to purchase homes. Foreclosures and pre-foreclosures in the Valley fell in April. Bank-owned foreclosure homes accounted for about 33 percent of all Valley home sales, while Foreclosures accounted for more than 50 percent of Phoenix-area home sales during 2009.

Here are some details:

• 8,955 home sales in April
• 650 were new-home sales
• median price of those houses was $213,483
• Sales of existing homes totaled 5,287
• median price of existing home sales was $150,000.
• 3,018 home sales were bank-owned foreclosures
• median price foreclosure purchases was $106,000
• 34 percent of all homebuyers paid cash
• 15% of buyers said they were going to rent the properties, as opposed to 20% last year

The federal tax credit expired April 30, so most last-minute sales for people trying to beat the deadline closed last month.

Are we at the bottom? Only time will tell. But if you are an investor looking for great deals, now is the time to buy. Contact us for a free list of the zip codes we feel rent the fastest in Phoenix. And if you need help purchasing, let us know, we partner with other Real Estate Companies to provide some of the best and most knowledgeable agents in the business for investors.