August Residential Sales Statistics

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for August. Average and median sale prices were down from July to August, as were units sold. The number of active listings changed negligibly month over month, and were down 22% from last August.

With 7,336 listings divided by 980 sales in August, we have a 7.5 month supply of listings.

The luxury market will remain soft for at least a few more years. With 1,038 properties listed at over $500,000, and only 37 sales in that price range, we have a 28 month supply of houses listed above a half million dollars.

The under $250,000 market is where the action is. Seventy-nine percent the sales were in this price range last month. Seven hundred seventy-two of the 4,487 listings under a quarter million dollars sold in August. This means we have a 5.8 month supply of these houses. A six month supply is considered a balanced market, so the advantage has shifted to the sellers of low to moderately priced houses.

I have seen a sudden increase in activity in my own business in the past few months, and I have been involved in several bidding wars recently. First time buyers tend to be looking for houses in the under $150,000 range, and we actually have an acute shortage of good houses for these buyers.

On the (Inside) Cover of Southwest Hydrology

My grad school bud Betsy Woodhouse is co-founder and publisher of Southwest Hydrology, a beautiful and informative trade publication. I told Steve that the hydrologist on page 5 of the most recent issue looked like Garrett Jackson, a geologist friend of ours who used to work at the Arizona Geological Survey at the desk I occupied after Garrett left for Seattle. Garrett also happens to be one of my fabulous clients, but we decided it probably wasn't Garrett posing with the RiverSurveyor, which looks a fun remote control boat.

Then Steve made a positive ID of another fabulous client and friend on page 2. There's Alison Jones with Clear Creek Associates! Alison, I see you have a conch shell and some Arizona minerals on your desk. What's that brown rock in the foreground? A memento from Maine or Louisiana? Actually, it looks like some sandstone I collected on Pinal Creek back in my well drilling days.

2719 W Jennie Place

This adorable townhouse is located in my favorite part of town: the Tucson Mountains. Just east of Starr Pass Resort, and less than 15 minutes from U of A. My idea of a perfect location.

Two bedrooms and two baths. The country kitchen is large enough for a breakfast area, TV room, office or children's play room.
The enclosed back yard is sweet and private with a two-level wooden deck and a big old pine tree.
Out the back gate, you can walk to a small park within the complex. There you will find picnic tables, shade tress, grass, a barbeque and one of the two pools provided for your relaxation pleasure.

The other pool is at the west end of Jennie Place.

Click here for the floor plan. The cool thing about this floor plan is you can click on arrows that show you a photo from that location on the floor plan. You can also arrange furniture icons on the floor plan to see how your furniture would fit in the house.

Sold September 29, 2009 for $110,000.

Hawk

My dear friend Alona has been staying at Desert's Edge for the past few weeks, and when she checked out the back yard this morning, she found this hawk eating a bird on the patio table. After taking this photo, she took her breakfast out to the porch and dined with the hawk. She said, "Where else can I eat breakfast with a hawk?" Where else indeed.

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.