Is it time to buy in the Tucson Real Estate Market

We get asked every week is it time to buy a home in the Tucson and surrounding areas of Oro Valley, Marana and Vail. We thought that we would give some insight into the current home sales statistics, the amount of homes for sale, and current real estate news that affects current home sales in the Tucson area.

Without a crystal ball it is very difficult to predict whether Tucson is actually at the bottom of the market. There are many factors that affect different aspects of the market including national economic news, and it is of note that some areas of the real estate market are performing better than others.

Undoubtedly the first time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 given by the current administration for sales recorded in November 2009, has helped with sales in the $100,000 and $200,000 prices range, together with a good amount of foreclosures and short sales in this price range in some areas of Tucson.

It has also been a while coming, but we are now seeing a decrease in pricing in the Tucson luxury home market, as builders, who had sat with spec homes notes became due, and homeowners who decided that they wanted to sell, reduced their home pricing. This has resulted in some activity in the market. Notably and recently, we have seen all but one of the Parade of Homes go back to the Bank. Bank of Oklahoma will probably sit on the investment until the market changes, so current news suggests. The new Ritz Carlton Resort in Marana is due to open in the Fall, and this will help bring the Luxury home buyer to the Tucson and Marana Real Estate market. There are however currently good deals to be had in the Tucson Luxury Home Market. We recently Listed and Sold a home that had originally been a Street of Dreams Home. It was advertised close to $2,000,000 and just sold for $1,250,000 It was the lowest priced sale in Stone Canyon, a Gated Luxury home Community in Oro Valley.

So if you are a Buyer then we feel that it is an excellent time to buy a home. Rates are on the rise, this may limit the Buyer's ability to get financing for the home of their dreams in the long run. However, even with the slight raise in interest rates to around 5.5% the rates are still very low for a fixed rate mortgage, and one can buy a nice Tucson az Homes with with either FHA, VA or Conventional Financing options.

Some areas of Tucson have actually seen a slight increase in price as they bottomed early with many investors defaulting from the boom of 2005, and now multiple offers have been made on the foreclosure properties in the area. Two of these areas are Continental Ranch and the other Rita Ranch. Both areas benefit from their popularity with employers from Raytheon and also Davis Monthan Air Force Base, stable job areas that have always been popular with employees because of their proximity to the freeway and the shopping conveniences that are present there.

According to recent Tucson MLS May Statistics, it shows that the Tucson Listing inventory continues to drop, closings actually went up about 60 units from April, pending sales were down 42 units from April, and the median home sales price has increased 3.72%.

Tucson is not seeing the dramatic drops of last year 2009. Over a six month period, we will be able to show a quantitative graph that measures inventory against new sales. The numbers have been drawing closer since January of this year, which some Economists suggest equals a trend. We will be watching how this trend progresses into June.

As a final note you should consider a Tucson market analysis by Zip code as the story can be quite different by area.

Some areas have significantly higher sales percentages by area for example 85730 has 129 Active Listings with 44 sales in May, and 85713 200 Active Listed and 41 sales.

This can affect the sales price and also the appraisal on the home.

As Tucson Real Estate Agents, we can perform a detailed analysis of Tucson Zip Codes for a detailed report for Buyers and Sellers in the Tucson area, or for those relocating to Tucson who are unfamiliar with the market.

Author: Aniruddha Badola