Roberto el Gato

I have lived in Arizona for 19 years, and have always felt cheated that I haven't seen a bobcat. Now we have one living in our neighborhood, near Ft Lowell and Campbell.

Steve first saw him in our front yard on June 19. Our cat Sunbeam knew all about him, too, and has been much less interested in going outside than she used to be.


Our neighborhood listserv, which was set up as a crime watch, was abuzz with bobcat sightings. Most people thought it was wonderful, but a few thought the bobcat was a threat to children and pets, and wanted to form a posse to capture and relocate him, which of course would mean he would die. A few people noted that the abundant coyote packs that visit our neighborhood via Christmas Wash are a much more significant threat to pets, and no one is suggesting that we should or even could get rid of the coyotes.

The owner of the listserv announced that we were only supposed to discuss suspicious activity and crime on the listserv, and if anyone mentioned the bobcat again, she would bar them from the listserv. So we wondered for a few weeks whether the cat had been captured. Then we saw him in our yard. What a thrill! We feel so honored.

He's really gorgeous. Orange spots on ginger background with a short black and white tail. The fur on the sides of his face sweeps out into an down curving ruff with black and white stripes.

I love, love, love living in Tucson.

5151 S Montana Place

This home is outside my usual stomping grounds, but it is such a fabulous value, I couldn't resist. My client is a professional renovator. He and his wife bought this property a few months ago as a foreclosure, and they have completely transformed the house into a home.

New roof and evaporative cooler, fresh paint, paneled doors. Tile on all the floors. The oak kitchen has new counters, and the bathroom has deco tile. The back yard is enclosed with a new privacy fence.

I am especially excited about El Pueblo Community Center, only a block away. Swimming pool with water slide, basketball, day care, library, adult education, senior center, weight room, computers. It's amazing.

Three bedrooms and one bath. You can see the floor plan here. The floor plan is pretty cool. It has camera icons you can click to see views of the house. You can also play with furniture icons to see how furniture could fit in the house.

While the legal description says it's a townhouse, I did some research and found the homeowners association was dissolved in 1993, so there are no worries about fees and HOA politics.

This home sold December 1, 2009 for $66,000.

July Residential Sales Statistics

The Tucson Association of Realtors has published the Residential Sales Statistics for July. The news is ALL GOOD.

The average sale price in July was $210,767, which is down 17.3% from July 2008, but up 0.87% from June 2009.

The median sale price was $167,830, down 16.04% from a year ago, but up 1.72% from June.

There were 6,075 active listings, which is down an incredible 22.8% from last year, and down 2.97% from June. This is extremely welcome news. While foreclosures and short sales are still a significant part of the market, and their low sale prices continue to drag down the value of non-distressed sales, we are finally working through the fire sales.

Even more exciting, 1,184 sales closed in July. This is a 23.4% improvement from last year, and a 3.95% increase from June.

With 6,075 listings and 1,184 sales, we have a 5.13 month supply of listings. This gets us below the magic number of six month inventory, which is considered a balanced market.

Prices have been stable all year, and the $8,000 tax credit for buyers who haven't owned a house in the past three years is definitely resulting in sales. If you've been waiting for the bottom, you might be looking at it right now.