Tucson Real Estate Blogs

Tucson Real Estate & Golf Properties

Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
Mobile: 520-954-2209
Contact Me

July 2008 Tucson Residential Sales Report

August 13th, 2008 categories: Tucson Real Estate

The official numbers from TAR are out. With the anticipated seasonal decline in sales for July, residential home sales were slightly higher than predicted. Eight months ago I predicted 927 sales, 945 sales were officially reported, as of this writing 949 sales were recorded for July. Tucson home sale units decreased by 8.61% over that of June, which can be expected. July always has a 8–9% lower sales volume than June.

The number of available homes repeated previous months by decreasing an additional 3.24%. We have seen inventory decrease for several months. We are now below 8,000 available homes. A good sign for a recovering home market. Continual good news for home sellers and the local real estate market. I predicted that we will see a very healthy market when we reach 7,000 available homes. We are headed in the right direction. Not there yet, but, getting there.

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Is Now A Good Time To Buy A Home?

August 4th, 2008 categories: Tucson Real Estate

Our Federal government has stimulated the market with the recent tax credit. Now is a great time to buy. Those who ignore this opportunity will be throwing money away. Does this mean Buyers should throw caution to the wind? By no means should any home buyer ignore due diligence in buying a home. Buying more home than you can afford regardless of incentives is always a mistake. Being reasonable and rational is always a good thing.

There are conditions for meeting the criteria. Not everyone will meet the requirements. As any good Realtor will tell you to check with your tax account or real estate attorney to get the best advise to you.

What does the tax credit potentially mean to you? For first time home buyers there is an opportunity to buy a home and get some relief for getting off the fence. For couples, as high as $7,500, for single home buyers as high as $3,750. These incentives are subtracted from Federal income taxes for either 2008 or 2009. Kenneth Harney wrote a good article in the Arizona Daily Star titled Holding off on buying a House? Tax credit may change your mind that explains the incentive further. Your tax account or real estate attorney can help you understand how this incentive will impact on you. Check it out, don’t get caught up in woulda-shoulda-coulda.

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July’s Preliminary Tucson Real Estate Sales

August 4th, 2008 categories: Tucson Real Estate

My home sale prediction months ago was for 927 residential homes sales in the Tucson metro area for the month of July. TARMLS set 8:00 AM August 5th for the deadline for Realtors to get their July sales submitted. As of the date of this writing, there have been 919 sales. One percent accuracy in predicting sales. Not bad. I am hoping to be in error in the other direction once more sales are entered into the system.

Though sales are not increasing significantly, what does this tell us? If we can predict residential home sales months in advance and have some success in accuracy, the market is stabilizing in terms of number of Buyers willing to commit to purchasing a home. Does this mean that inventory has dropped to normal levels? Not by any means. It is a good market for buying a home though. Add to that the Federal Government tax incentives for home Buyers who purchase a home between April 9, 2008 and June 30, 2009…you have a great time to buy.

Unofficially the median selling price is $200,000, average selling price $256,770, there are 304 home pending sale, an additional 1,213 homes that have an offer on them, with 7,845 homes still waiting for an offer; we broke the 8,000 mark. In a few weeks the official numbers will be reported for everyone to see. Lets see how close those numbers are to this preliminary report.

For Golfers, there were sixteen home sales for golf properties. The average selling price was $524,453, the median was $360,750. The lowest priced golf home was $137,850 the highest priced sale was $2,850,000.

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June 2008 Tucson Residential Sales Report

July 24th, 2008 categories: Tucson Real Estate

Tucson home sales volume increased by 3.55% over that of May. Continual good news for home sellers and the local real estate market. The numbers of available homes decreased again, this time by 4.57%. Increasing demand and slowly decreasing supply!

By the numbers:

Home Sales Volume: Increased 3.55%

5/08 $257,072,764
6/08 $266,202,280

Average Sales Price: Increased 2.65%

5/08 $250,803
6/08 $257,449

Pending Contracts: Decreased 35.96%

5/08 1,485
6/08 951

Active Listings: Decreased 4.54%

5/08 8,527
6/08 8,140

New Listings: Decreased 8.19%

5/08 2,282
6/08 2,095

Home Sales Units: Increased: 0.88%

5/08 1,025 (1,069 actual)
6/08 1,034 (1,056 actual)

Median Sales Price: Decreased 0.50%

5/08 $201,000
6/08 $200,000

So how does this compare with predictions, let us see.

2008                                Predicted  Sales             Actual Sales
January                                 625                                618
February                               706                                752
March                                    915                                923
April                                       932                             1,008
May                                     1,035                             1,069
June                                    1,008                             1,056
July                                        927
August                                   916
September                            750
October                                 792
November                             707
December                             724

For July, there have been 556 recorded sales with 7 more days left in the month. I have one more to add to that number as soon as we get to the Title Company for my buyers to sign. The last week of the month is always the busiest, so I anticipate beating my prediction for the sixth month in a row.

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Dove Mountain’s Newest Golf Course

July 24th, 2008 categories: Tucson Golf Courses, Tucson Golf Events, Tucson Golf Resorts

When the Accenture Match Play Championship moved to Tucson two years ago there was talk of a new Jack Nicklaus designed Ritz Carlton Golf Course and Resort. Its coming to life.

The views on and around the golf course are magnificent. Jack Nicklaus has carved a beautiful high quality course into the Sonoran Desert and captured the beauty of the area. Having seen this course grow in person, the transformation of the desert is commendable. The Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Golf Course is targeted to host the 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship. Once again bringing the talents of Tiger Woods, Steward Cink, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and many more will grace the Sonoran Desert to push the limits and go for it in head to head competition.

The desert can have its challenges. Many think that rattle snakes, javelina, or coyotes present the most challenge. Vegetation can create the most caution. Tucson residents understand the need to stay clear of cholla cactus. Just like knowing what poison ivy looks like and steering clear of it in wooded areas. The cholla can be beautiful from a distance. Just don’t touch one nor step on or kick away the joints that break away from the cactus and lie on the ground. At the 2008 Accenture Match Play Championship I watched unsuspecting spectators encounter the cholla joints that attached to their shoes. Not fun. So, when you visit, know what to look for and enjoy the desert.

For golfers, desert courses require accuracy to stay in the fairway or at least within the rough. Desert landscape is not complimentary to the wayward golf ball. Most golfers will just pick up their ball, drop it on the fairway and take the penalty. Others will argue that you have to hit it where it lies. The question is, how much do you like your golf club? The pros will make the challenges of this exciting course a wonder to watch. Can’t wait for February 2009 to get here.