Entries Tagged 'Tucson Real Estate' ↓

Located next to The Pines Golf Course in Marana, Palisades at the Pines is the latest golf community offering from homebuilder Standard Pacific Homes. Five different floorplans ranging in size from 2,114 sqft to 3,012 sqft are being offered with three elevation choices for each.

The master plan for this group of homes will actually consist of three communities: Palisades at the Pines, Overlook at the Pines, and The Greens at the Pines. At 129 lots Palisades at the Pines will be the first community offered with the other two following in the future. The grand opening was held on June 2, 2007, and there is no doubt these homes will sell quickly; now is the time to buy!

This community has a great location just off of the I-10 Cortaro road exit. As you travel west on Cortaro Road you can take a right on Arizona Pavilions Drive and Palisades at the Pines will be located on your left.

In the surrounding area you have numerous shopping and dining options including Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Chili’s, Panda Express, Fry’s, Subway, and also a Blockbuster. Growth in this area has exploded the past few years, I remember just as recently as 1998 most of the establishments I just mentioned didn’t even exist yet! Pavilions Theatres, a new 12-screen digital image projection theater (first in Southern Arizona!) is slated to open October 2007, and an In-N-Out Burger will also be coming soon.

If you would like a fax of the different floorplans/lots/information, or are interested in other Tucson Real Estate, please feel free to contact me.

EDIT: 5/15/2008

I just spoke with the sales rep and they are opening a new phase (Overlook at the Pines) with homes starting at $240k (1700 sqft), not including incentives! Truly a bargain for a Tucson golf-course home! And it’s gated. When they release their third phase (The Greens at the Pines) I will be sure to let you know!

If you would like a fax of the different floorplans/lots/information please feel free to contact me.

Technorati Tags: Marana, Palisades at the Pines, I-10, Arizona Pavilions, Pavilions Theatres

Alright everyone, the Tucson Association of Realtors, (TAR),has just released their figures for last month, May 2007. Here is an excerpt of the important news, I’ve gone ahead and highlighted/bolded the important points:

Sales Analysis

Average Sales Price Increases
After falling from January to February 2007, average sales price has continued to climb, reaching $280,589 in May 2007. For the second month in a row, average sales price has increased in year-over-year comparisons. The average sales price in May 2006 was $269,217 - more than $11,000 less than the average sales price in May 2007.

Active Listings Decrease From Last Month
We have reversed an upward trend in active listings we’ve seen since the beginning of the year. The total number of active listings has risen steadily since January, but in May 2007 fell to 9,721. Active listings are up 15.41% compared to May 2006.

Days on Market Reach Their Lowest Point of the Year
In good news for area sellers, the average time on market in May 2007 reached 61 days, the shortest time we’ve seen so far this year. Days on market reached a high of 68 in January 2007 and has hovered in the mid-60s from February to April 2007.

Okay, now that we have the figures out of the way, let’s actually discuss what they mean. At first glance the rise in median sales price, lower amount of active listings, and lower Days on Market (DOM) may be a sign that the Tucson real estate market is finally turning around. If the market really were still coming down than why would prices be rising and homes selling faster, right?

But the one thing that got me thinking was the number of active listings for May 2007 and how they had gone DOWN from April. In my previous post I discussed my thoughts on how the Tucson real estate market had plateaued and that we were going to start seeing signs of a relaxing housing market, and I predicted that housing supply would continue to rise. Now, here is what I think is happening: I think what we are currently experiencing in the Tucson market is a combination of several things not relating to an upturn in the market.

1. The annual summer moving flurry which always tends to re-invigorate sales. Summer is the most active moving season because the kids are out of school, weather tends to be better, and most job changes happen during these months.
2. The decreased active listings isn’t indicative of a more robust housing market, explained below.
3. The rise in median sales price and slightly lower DOM is a result of the summer moving flurry (#1) and Tucson still feeling the aftereffects of Housing Craze ‘05 (HC05).

Now, to explain what I meant above about the decreased active listings. From my post about the Tucson housing market plateauing, we can see the number of active listings from April 2007 was 10,185. Last month it was 9,721. That is difference of only.. *pulls out calculator*.. 464! Not really that big of a decrease, definitely not something indicating a market turnaround.

Furthermore, just because I was curious, I queried the Tucson MLS database to see how many listings during May had either expired or were withdrawn. (Now to be honest, this number doesn’t necessarily take away from active listing number, some listings might have been immediately re-listed). When I did the above search I came away with 2,239. And then I did the same for April, and came up with 2,121. And just to be fair, I did March also, getting 1,923.

So the question is, do those numbers really mean anything? I would think that they DO, if nothing else than showing a steady month-to-month increase in expired/withdrawn listings. Expired listings are pretty self-explanatory, listings that came and went with no agreed upon offers. Withdrawn listings can happen for a couple reasons: 1) Sellers change their minds about selling, 2) Listing agent withdraws and then re-lists either with a lower price or the same price, but mostly to make it appear as a “newer” listing when other agents search for “new” listings in the MLS.

To re-iterate, I still do not think the Tucson real estate market is completely out of it’s funk. I think we may see another month or two of rising median home prices, but then things will calm down. With nearly ten thousand active listings and rising mortgage rates, something will have to come down.

So there you have it, Tucson real estate news for May 2007. If you have any questions or would like a copy of the report from last month please feel to leave a comment below, I look forward to hearing from you!

Technorati Tags: Tucson Association of Realtors, Days on Market, Tucson real estate, Tucson MLS, Expired listings, Tucson real estate news for May 2007

Ever since the housing craze of 2005 the growing consensus was that the US was going to experience a housing “crash” across the nation that would weaken, if not cripple, our economy. Fortunately it looks like it has been more of a soft landing and for the most part it has been much softer than many experts predicted.

In the Tucson Real Estate market the results of the past few years of activity is finally becoming evident with home values growing just .01% in the first quarter of 2007, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. In a new article on CNN.com from yesterday (May 31, 2007), the National Association of Realtors cited home prices in the Tucson market declining 2.5% from one year ago.

This isn’t really a surprise; there are more than TWICE as many active listings right now than there were two years ago. In April 2005 there were 3,493 active listings. Last month, April 2007, there were 10,185! The Days on Market (DOM) for homes has increased from 37 days to 67 days.

It wasn’t uncommon in 2005 to have multiple offers on a home within days of it being on the market. Homes are now sitting on the market much longer, but to be completely honest, this market is a much more reasonable one. It is much more of a normal market than we experienced in the 2005/2006 period but the prices of homes have not yet come to reflect that. Many homeowners still believe, or want to believe, that their home can fetch the same types of prices that were being fetched a couple years ago.

What should, and will happen, is that as the market becomes more saturated with homes, prices will HAVE to come down. It is simple supply and demand. There is a small percentage of active listings in Tucson with owners who don’t necessarily need to sell right now, they are “feeling” out the market to see if they can still attract the high-dollar offers. Investor homes are also still hanging around in the market but for the most part they have come and gone.

The bottom line is, many people in Tucson ARE trying to sell their homes. To remain competitive in the market with so many other comparable homes for sale I think we will begin to see a combination of the following:

• buyer incentives
• price reductions
• more buyer-friendly contract terms.

I think that in the next 4-6 months we will see a slight median price decline to bring the market more in line with what it should be. Tucson has been slowly morphing into a buyer’s market for the past 6 months or so and I believe that in the coming months this will become more evident.

Thanks for reading! Please visit www.MichaelKrotchie.com for more information and a FREE Tucson MLS Search.

———-

Michael Krotchie - Realtor® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, NRT Inc.
Tucson Real Estate Expert
520.404.4996 — Mobile
520.544.4545 — Office

Tucson Real Estate

Technorati Tags: tucson real estate, tucson home prices

Greetings everyone! Just wanted to let you know about an upcoming subdivision in the Tucson Real Estate market, Saguaro Springs.

Saguaro Springs is a 2,500 home project being developed jointly by KB Homes and Empire Companies and is nestled behind Rattlesnake Pass by the intersection of Silverbell Road and Twin Peaks Road in NW Tucson. It is slated to be built in the same manner as the existing Gladden Farms subdivision north of Tangerine Road with large greenbelts, walking paths and tree-lined boulevards. A neighborhood Community Center will include a fitness center, pool area, youth center and banquet facilities with meeting rooms for casual or formal events. There are currently 6 floorplans being offered ranging from 1,422 to 2,273 square feet. More info here from the KB website.

Responding to the quickly growing senior population in the Tucson real estate market, Saguaro Springs will also have a 600 home “‘age-restricted” section of homes in the NW corner of the development. Currently zoned R-6, which means 6,000 square-foot minimum lots, the “age-restricted” section may include smaller plots of land.

One of the main concerns with the current residents of Continental Ranch is the growing traffic headache. With only one freeway entrance readily accessible to most of the community (Cortaro Farms Road) the new additions of thousands of residents at Saguaro Springs will become a headache very quickly. The Town of Marana has already set money aside to improve Twin Peaks Road west of Continental Ranch. There has been talk of creating a new freeway entrance by extending Twin Peaks Road east to I-10 for several years but nothing has come of it yet. Hopefully they can figure something out soon!

CLICK TO ENLARGE

On a side note, to pay for the improvements spurred by Saguaro Springs and all the recent and upcoming growth in Marana the Town is looking at implementing a higher property tax rate to generate more income.

CLICK TO ENGLARGE

I tried to include as much information in the included pictures as possible by showing where I took the pictures and in what direction, and also included a few panorama shots I assembled. Enjoy!

CLICK TO ENGLARGE

EDIT: 5/16/2008:

I spoke with a KB Sales Rep at one of their other communities and asked about Saguaro Springs, and I was told the community is on hold “until further notice” because of the softened housing market. If you drive out there you can see the models are up, main street is paved, and the land is graded. We shall see when and if this development is ever brought back to life!

———-

Michael Krotchie - Realtor - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, NRT LLC
Tucson Real Estate
520.404.4996 — Mobile
520.544.4545 — Office

Tucson Real Estate

Technorati Tags: Saguaro Springs, Marana

Tucson Real Estate - Growth Continues
by Michael Krotchie

Salutations everyone! Just a brief update on the continuing growth of Tucson real estate market in Pima County, in particular the Northwest side of town. The town of Marana, which covers approximately 120 square miles, has been experiencing rapid growth the past few years. With a soon-to-come Town Center consisting of a mix of commercial, residential, and corporate/public uses the town is anchoring a solid foundation of a market that is already attracting large developers eager to take advantage of the swelling population.

Tangerine Road Developments

One of the more exciting developments to come is the Westcor development, a 295-acre spread located at the I-10 and Tangerine Road interchange. This large commercial project is tentatively planned to include a regional mall, an automall, a theater and a hotel. How exciting! With a new grocery complex (Fry’s) starting construction in Gladden Farms later this year and a planned elementary school in the same area, Marana’s vision for growth is becoming a reality. And this is just west of I-10!

East of I-10 on Tangerine Road is the Dove Mountain community which is nestled at the foothills of Dove Mountain (where the 2007 PGA Accenture World Match Play Tournament was held in February of this year). There are talks from Ritz-Carlton to construct one of their largest resorts in the WORLD in Marana!

Twin Peaks Road Development

Approximately 10 miles south of Tangerine on I-10 the town of Marana is planning to finally begin construction on the new Twin Peaks Interchange. Slated for completion in 2009, this interchange will be anchored by a proposed $100 million, 1.3 million square-foot retail “power center” called the Marana Spectrum. This 170-acre site just east of I-10 is planned to have approximately 100 stores anchored by at least 3 stores of 100,000 square feet or more.

Trico-Marana Road Developments

There are also plans for a new I-10 interchange north of Trico-Marana road (a few miles north of the Marana Road Interchange). This interchange is being built by the developers of the Villages of Tortolita to facilitate access to their upcoming development. The Villages of Tortolita will consist of 6,500 homes and will include shops, parks, apartments and office space.

With all of the above planned developments beginning in the near future the Town of Marana is laying the foundation for a rock-solid commerical, residential and luxury community. Big-name developers are taking notice and are eager and willing to take part in the explosive growth that lays ahead. When the major I-10 renovations are completed from Prince to 29th Street (from my previous blog) Marana will be a major center of attraction for both residents and businesses alike.

Technorati Tags: Tucson Real Estate, Tucson growth, Gladden Farms, Twin Peaks interchange, Villages of Tortolita