The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sale Statistics for January. It's not pretty. Average sale price is $166,998, a 17% decline from the previous year. Median sale price is $134,250, down 16% from the previous year. At least the number of sales increased 9.5% from 2010, to 780 sales. Total sales under contract was 2,013, a 74% increase. Does that look a little suspicious? I can't think of a good explanation for that.
I checked the Tucson MLS myself, and found 839 sales in January. I don't know if the extra 59 sales were by agents who didn't turn in their paperwork by February 5 or what. Of the 839 sales, 99 were short sales and 351 were foreclosures. In other words, 54% of the January sales were either short sales or foreclosures. I myself was involved in two sales in January where the sellers were underwater, but they were able to pay their lenders the difference between the sale price and the mortgage balance, so they did not have to do a credit-destroying short sale. This is usually not the case.
Of the 780 sales reported by TAR, 94% were under $400,000 and 84% were under $250,000, and 70% were under $180,000. Six houses sold for more than $750,000.
If cnnmoney is to be believed, we are poised for a blazing recovery. See the article below.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Tucson Will Lead the Housing Recovery?
Check this out: cnnmoney says TUCSON is their number 7 best bet for housing recovery in 2012. They predict prices will be 3.4% higher by September next year. Why? Because we're not Phoenix.
Pretty fuzzy logic, but I'll take it.
Pretty fuzzy logic, but I'll take it.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Why We Live Here
The jonquils are in bloom.
Some of you have heard me speak of visiting my brother and his wife at their beautiful home next to a state forest in Connecticut. My sister-in-law is a mail carrier, and went out today to try to deliver the mail, but the mailboxes were buried in the drifts, so she had to give up. This is their home. Pretty, but... I'll wait until spring to visit.
Finger Rock is visible from much of the city. Last weekend Steve and I hiked up Finger Rock canyon and got a nice look at this Tucson icon.
Friday, November 19, 2010
2223 E Calle Alta Vista
OPEN SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21 FROM 1 TO 4 PM
Just one house away from beautiful Connor Park in a fabulous neighborhood. Owned by perfectionists, this immaculate home is a welcome relief after all the depressing fixer uppers you've been seeing. All original construction, with a floor plan that makes sense.
Vaulting ceilings. New tile and paint through out. Updated bathrooms. The kitchen is spacious with vintage 50s tile. 
Classic built-in cabinets in hall. All bedrooms have ceiling fans and lovely new entry doors. Metal 8'x10' shed. More storage in the carport shed. 
Sit on the wide, north-facing covered porch and admire your big, private, shady yard.
Under two miles to UMC. You snooze, you lose.
This house sold in December 2010 for $160,000.
Just one house away from beautiful Connor Park in a fabulous neighborhood. Owned by perfectionists, this immaculate home is a welcome relief after all the depressing fixer uppers you've been seeing. All original construction, with a floor plan that makes sense.
Vaulting ceilings. New tile and paint through out. Updated bathrooms. The kitchen is spacious with vintage 50s tile. 
Classic built-in cabinets in hall. All bedrooms have ceiling fans and lovely new entry doors. Metal 8'x10' shed. More storage in the carport shed. 
Sit on the wide, north-facing covered porch and admire your big, private, shady yard.
Under two miles to UMC. You snooze, you lose.
This house sold in December 2010 for $160,000.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Foreclosure Moratorium
Bank of America, GMAC and JP Morgan Chase have halted foreclosures in several states. Only BofA has stopped foreclosures in Arizona.
Banks have illegally used a system called MERS (explained in this blog on October 1) to transfer bundles of mortgages between investors. Deeds weren't recorded as required by law, and no one is sure who actually has the right to foreclose on some of these properties.
People who knew nothing about mortgages were hired by the banks to "review" foreclosure documents. These "robo-signers" sign thousands of foreclosure authorizations per month. Obviously, signing is all they are doing.
While a moratorium on foreclosures may be welcome news to homeowners facing foreclosure, it will prolong the housing market recovery. All the homeowners who can not pay their mortgages will eventually have to lose their homes. Only after the glut of foreclosures and short sales work their way through the system will we see the housing market turn the corner toward normalcy.
The following is from The Wall Street Journal, Dawn Wotapka (10/12/2010):
Best-Case Scenario for Foreclosure Freeze
Gregor Watson, a principal with McKinley Partners, a development company that buys foreclosed homes, told listeners on a Citi home-builder conference call that there were three potential outcomes from the foreclosure fiasco:
· Best case: These are technical issues that can be resolved quickly so the foreclosure process can continue and the glut of foreclosed homes is cleared from the market.
· Medium case: There is significant litigation that takes years to sort out and this slows the troubled housing market even further.
· Worst case: The market grinds to a halt and title insurers refuse to insure mortgages involving foreclosed homes. “It would be devastating for the resale market if this robo-signer issue spiraled out of control,” Watson says.
Banks have illegally used a system called MERS (explained in this blog on October 1) to transfer bundles of mortgages between investors. Deeds weren't recorded as required by law, and no one is sure who actually has the right to foreclose on some of these properties.
People who knew nothing about mortgages were hired by the banks to "review" foreclosure documents. These "robo-signers" sign thousands of foreclosure authorizations per month. Obviously, signing is all they are doing.
While a moratorium on foreclosures may be welcome news to homeowners facing foreclosure, it will prolong the housing market recovery. All the homeowners who can not pay their mortgages will eventually have to lose their homes. Only after the glut of foreclosures and short sales work their way through the system will we see the housing market turn the corner toward normalcy.
The following is from The Wall Street Journal, Dawn Wotapka (10/12/2010):
Best-Case Scenario for Foreclosure Freeze
Gregor Watson, a principal with McKinley Partners, a development company that buys foreclosed homes, told listeners on a Citi home-builder conference call that there were three potential outcomes from the foreclosure fiasco:
· Best case: These are technical issues that can be resolved quickly so the foreclosure process can continue and the glut of foreclosed homes is cleared from the market.
· Medium case: There is significant litigation that takes years to sort out and this slows the troubled housing market even further.
· Worst case: The market grinds to a halt and title insurers refuse to insure mortgages involving foreclosed homes. “It would be devastating for the resale market if this robo-signer issue spiraled out of control,” Watson says.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tarantula
We can now add tarantula to the wildlife we have seen at Desert's Edge. Fortunately, this stunning creature was outside, unlike the pack rats who took over the attic. I think I have won the battle with the pack rats, thanks in part to Desert Wildlife.
This tarantula was especially impressive because instead of the usual black back, this one was honey-colored.
After the paparazzi harassment ceased, the tarantula continued its fascinating eight-legged march into the desert behind our house.
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.
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.
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