September Residential Sales Statistics

The Tucson Association of Realtors has published the Residential Sales Statistics for September.

Average sale price was $181,612, down 7.7% since September 2009. Median price was down 10.5% over the past twelve months to $145,855.

With 7,217 active listings and 873 sales in September, we have a 8.27 month supply of listings. In September 2009, we had a 6.36 month supply.

Changes to FHA financing have made housing less affordable to first time buyers. Effective October 4, an FHA mortgage on the average priced house ($181,612) will cost $46.98 more per month than it did in September. See my August 7 post for details on the changes to FHA financing. The monthly mortgage insurance payment is now 0.9%/12 of the loan amount, compared to 0.5%/12 in September.

One bright spot is that interest rates are around 4.5%, which is a huge benefit to buyers with good credit, employment and a 3.5% down payment, which can be a gift from relatives.