Entries Tagged 'Tucson Real Estate' ↓

Tucson Real Estate Market - July 2007 Analysis

The Tucson Association of Realtors, (TAR), has not officially released has released the Tucson housing sales report for July 2007 (should come out in a couple of days) and here are the numbers for last month:

Sales Analysis

Average and Median Sales Price Decreases
Average and median sales price both decreased in July 2007. Average sales price fell slightly to $269,227- down 1.7% from July 2006 and down almost 10% from last month. Median sales price also decreased $11,200 from June 2007.

Active Listings Continue Declining
Active listings have been falling slowly since April 2007, reversing the increases we saw between January and April of this year. The number of active listings fell 3.1% from June 2007, to 8,614 active listings in July.

Pending Contracts Up Over July 2006
Pending contracts in July 2007, totaling 1,777, rose 63.18% when compared to last July’s total of 1,089. While down from last month, July still had the second largest amount of pending contracts for the year - which we should see translate into sales units next month.

Days on Market Holds Steady
Average time on market holds steady, with 64 days being the average time for July 2007, same as June 2007.

Home Sales Snapshot

Home Sales Units
Decreased 10.51% from 1,227 in July 2006 to 1,098 in July 2007.
Average Days on Market
Increased 23.5% from 49 days in July 2006 to 64 days in July 2007.
Average Sales Price (all residential types)
Decreased 1.7% from $273,717 in July 2006 to $269,227.00 in July 2007.
Active Listings
Decreased 3.1% from 8,955 in July 2006 to 8,614 in July 2007.
Median Sales Price
Decreased 2.7% from $225,000 in July 2006 to $218,750 in July 2007.
New Listings
Decreased 3.52% to 2,776 in June 2007.

Compared to the Tucson housing statistics from June 2007, July figures are very similar. The Days on Market (DOM) remained steady at 64 days. Median sales price fell to $218,750 from $229,00 in June. The number of active listings hovered around the same level, down slightly from 8,665 in June to 8,614 in July.

As I wrote in my previous post (Tucson June 2007 Housing Report), median prices finally saw a noticeable dip in July, down $11,200 from June. I believe this can be attributed to a couple of things:

  • a slower summer selling season (alliteration is fun!)
  • buyer’s having more leverage in the market
  • seller’s pricing their homes more realistically

More likely than not we will see a few more months (at least) of declining median prices as the Tucson real estate market slowly corrects itself to a more normal level. With the recent mortgage industry fiascoes the repercussions are already being felt in the market; just last week Coldwell Banker (company I work for) stopped offering their 100% piggyback loans to consumers because of all the recent defaults and foreclosures. Buyers with a down payment and decent credit aren’t really affected but the buyers who are trying to sidle into a home with little to no money down and with less than stellar credit will start finding it more difficult to secure financing as the rest of the year wears on.

So there you have it, Tucson real estate news for July 2007. If you have any questions or are in the market for a home in Tucson please feel free to contact me on my Tucson Real Estate website!



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Tucson Real Estate Market - June 2007 Analysis

Good Morning everyone, the Tucson Association of Realtors, (TAR), has released the Tucson Housing Market sales statistics for June 2007. Here is a summary of the important points:

Sales Analysis

Average and Median Sales Price Increases
Average and median sales price both increased in June 2007. Average sales price jumped to $298,477 - up 9.05% from June 2006 and up more than $17,000 from last month! Median sales price also rose $5,500 from May 2007.

Active Listings Continue Declining
Active listings have been falling slowly since April 2007, reversing the increases we saw between January and April of this year. The number of active listings is now lower than it was at the start of 2007.

Days on Market Rises Again
Average time on market continues to fluctuate month-to-month, with 64 days being the average time for June 2007, up three days from May 2007.

Home Sales Snapshot

Home Sales Volume
Decreased 12.27% from $417,120,100 in June 2006 to $365,932,899 in June 2007. Graph on page 4.
Average Days on Market
Increased 39.13% from 46 days in June 2006 to 64 days in June 2007. Graph on page 11.
Home Sales Units
Decreased19.55% from 1,524 in June 2006 to 1,226 in June 2007. Graph on page 3.
Pending Contracts (not yet closed in escrow)
Increased 18.92% from 1,712 in June 2006 to 2,053 in June 2007. Graph on page 9.
Average Sales Price (all residential types)
Increased 9.05% from $273,701 in June 2006 to $298,477 in June 2007. Graph on page 5.
Active Listings
Decreased0.69% from 8,725 in June 2006 to 8,665 in June 2007. Graph on page 10.
Median Sales Price
Increased 1.78% from $225,000 in June 2006 to $229,000 in June 2007. Graph on page 8.
New Listings
Decreased12.75% from 3,232 in June 2006 to 2,820 in June 2007. Graph on page 12.

Compared to the Tucson housing statistics from May 2007, June figures are very similar. The Days on Market (DOM) continues to hover around the same level, this month clocking in at 64 days. Median sales price rose to $229,000 from $223,500 in May. The number of active listings declined for the second straight month from 9,721 in May to 8,665 in June.

I think the most telling statistic, however, is Tucson’s Total Unit Sales in June 2007. Located on page 3 of the Tucson Housing Market June 2007 Statistics report, we see that the total number of sales for June 2007 was 1,226 units. The reason this is such an important factor is that historically the summer months have been the busiest few months of the year. Tucson, however, has hovered at nearly the same total unit sales level for the past four months, just around 1,300 units, which could indicate a slight stagnation in sales. The total unit sales for 2006 show much the same trend on the same graph and I believe Tucson’s July Housing report will be very telling in the status of the Tucson housing market.

As I wrote in my previous post (Tucson May 2007 Housing Report), median prices continued to rise. I believe this may occur another month or two before the summer season cools off. A large part of the decreased number of active and new listings in the market can be attributed to two things:

  • unrealistic sellers who had their property overpriced
  • the number of “feeler” sellers trying to see if they could still fetch high prices that were around a few years ago

So there you have it, Tucson real estate news for June 2007. If you have any questions or are in the market for a home in Tucson please feel free to contact me on my Tucson Real Estate website!



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ARMageddon Looms… Will You Be Ready?

Adjustable Rate Mortgages Coming Due... Are You Ready?This topic has been on my mind the past several months. When the housing market exploded a few years ago and homebuyers squeezed into homes with Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) with seductive initial interest rates, I said to myself, “In 2 or 3 years when those ARMs come due, there are going to be a lot of unhappy people.”

The recent follies in the sub-prime mortgage market were an omen of trouble on the horizon and in a few more months that trouble will burst onto the mortgage scene with reckless abandon. According to this latest article from CNN.com more than 600,000 homeowners will be affected by the resetting mortgage rates.

“Delinquency rates will probably peak by the end of the year,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), “and foreclosures in 2008.”

Lenders approved many borrowers who had little chance of being able to afford the payments two and three years out. They approved applications without any proof of income or assets (”liar loans”) and others that barely could make the low teaser-rate payments. Some borrowers chose interest-only ARMs, which left the principal of the loan untouched.

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