Tucson is Hip

Thus saith the San Francisco Chronicle. Of course, this is not news to us, but it's gratifying when a visitor recognizes our fabulosity and reports it without a trace of snark. The writer really did track down some of our unique culture: Dunbar Spring, Hotel Congress, the thrift stores, BICAS, Antigone Books, Barrio Anita, the Ansel Adams collection. Makes me smile to think of all the other special places, people and events that are found no where else but here in the Baked Apple.

1840 W Calle Tranquila

Wonderful neighborhood of well-maintained masonry homes. Fantastic location less than two miles from downtown, a bit further to UofA, a few blocks to Pima CC, and three miles to Gates Pass Road into Saguaro National Monument.

Sliders from living room and hall open to huge porch with Catalina Mountain view. Ceramic tile throughout.

Remodeled eat-in kitchen with cool mosaic backsplash.

Master bedroom features walk-in closet, corner window and a door to the porch. Abundant storage in the carport. Two bedrooms, one bath. Air conditioning. Sold for $120,000 on June 20, 2013. I represented the buyers and the seller. That's the happy new homeowners on the swing in the photo above.

2101 N Treat Ave

 Enchanting. As soon as you enter this special home, you will be under its spell.

You will be surrounded by warmth and calmness.

When you learn that a series of spiritual and physical healers have lived here for decades, you will start to understand the serenity you feel.

A beehive fireplace anchors the 23' x 21.5' living room. Revitalized Saltillo tile on most floors. The southwest suite has a den, bedroom with fir floors and a bathroom with tiles by Andrew Rush.

The north bedroom has brick floors and gorgeous hand painted cabinets.

The guest house is one of the best I have seen.

Ceramic floors and skylights in living room, kitchen, bedroom and bath. Mature trees on 0.26 acre lot.

This property is extraordinary.

The floor plan is here. We offered this wonderful property for $350,000, but then the owner decided to keep it as a rental.

Oh, the Humanity!

Check out this video showing the population growth in Tucson from the dusty cow town of 1870 to the building of University of Arizona, the U.S.C.G.S Magnetic Observatory (Morris K Udall Park), Hughes Aircraft (Raytheon) and Davis Monthan Air Force Base to the sprawl to the east, south, north and west.

Reminds me of those propaganda films they used to show us in elementary school in the '60s. The Red Menace spreading like blood over Southeast Asia. For you young 'uns, the Red Menace was Communism, which scared us into the Vietnam War and the arms race with Russia. Makes me kind of nostalgic for the days when all we had to worry about was enemies who put their insignia on their planes, had identifiable leadership and locations, and for the most part stayed over on the other side of the world.

69 N Desert Stream Drive

I just adore a Tucson Mountain view. My new listing has the purple mountain majesty plus eight acres of protected wash behind it.

Imagine relaxing in your spa on your huge covered porch enjoying a stunning view of the sun setting over the Tucson Mountains. Nothing between you and the lush desert wash but the view fence.

Yes, and the house is extraordinary, too.


The great room deserves its name: high ceilings, spacious kitchen with breakfast bar overlooking the dining and living areas with a gas fireplace. Ceramic tile throughout. Whole house humidifier and water softener. Orange, lemon and apricot trees.

Four bedrooms and two baths. Luxurious master suite with walk in closet and oval tub. Split floor plan for peace and quiet. Tasteful designer colors. Simply exquisite. The floor plan is here. Also see desertstarhoa.org

Sold for list price, $229,000, on June 28, 2013. We had two offers, so with the buyers competing with each other, the seller didn't have to pay the buyer's closing costs. This was my first time working for a relocation company. The relo company's in-house agent wanted to list the house for $219,000 and sell for $214,000.

April Residential Sale Statistics

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the residential sales statistics for April. The housing market recovery continues, and may be showing signs of stabilization. Prices are up slightly, number of sales is steady, but inventory is declining. Economics 101: low supply may cause high prices. It sure seems that most of the bargains have been snapped up.

Loan Deliquencies Down to Pre-Bubble Levels

According to a study by Lender Processing Services, only 0.84% of all mortgages that were current six months ago are now 60 days late. This is only slightly higher than the levels seen prior to start the housing bubble in 2004.

People who say that homeowners are losing their homes because they never qualified for mortgages haven't thought the matter through. Mortgage loan qualifications have been very strict since the bubble burst in 2007. People who shouldn't have been given mortgages lost their homes by 2009. People are losing homes now either because they lost their jobs or they lost their equity in their homes when the market became dominated by foreclosures and short sales. They are not reckless or foolish. They are responsible people who did everything right and were victims of the housing bubble and recession.