Tucson Real Estate News - from Mikey Girard

09/22/09

09:23:23 am Pima in foreclosures 

Although Pima County
foreclosures were up more than
7 percent in August from July, the
rate in five other Arizona
counties is higher, according to
RealtyTrac, which is based in
Irvine, Calif.,and tracks data
from 2,200 counties, accounting
for more than 90 percent of the
country's population.
There were 1,686properties in
Pima County that were either
bank owned or received a notice
of trustee's sale in August
compared to 1,565in July.That
works out to one out of every 253
homes in the county.
The total number ofPima
county properties in that category
rose above Pinal County,which
had 1,442,but Pinal stillhad the
highest rate in the state, at one
home in 95homes. Maricopa
County,with12,862homes - -
involvedin foreclosure proceedings, was No.2
in Arizona at one in 119 homes, followed by
Mohave Countywith one in 168, Yavapai
Countywith one in 208 and Navajo County at
one in 252 homes.
Statewide, the total number of properties in
foreclosure dropped nearly 10 percent to
17,8CY7from 19,694 in July. But the number is
up 24percent from August 2008.

by Joe Pangburn
Inside Tucson Business, 09/21/2009

09/17/09

09:34:07 am Typical August slowdown sidetracks home sales recovery 

While eyes continue to seek out signs of a
rebound in the residential real estate markets,
the Thcson market saw its typical August
slowdown, according to the latest data from
the Thcson Association of Realtors Multiple
listing Service.
Only three times in the last 14years have
there been higher sales in August than in July.
This year was not one of those. Two of the
three times they were up were in the
economic boom years of2005 and 2006, and
the other was in 2000.
But August marked the first time this year
that housing sales didn't see a month-tomonth
increase.
There were 980home sales that closed in
August, down 17percent from 1,184in July.
But they were up 6 percent over the 923
homes that were sold in August 2008.
Pending sales were up nearly 4 percent to
1,274in August, compared to 1,227in July.
They are up more than 45 percent from
August 2008. In fact this August's number of
pending home sales is the highest since there
were 1,961in August 2005.
The median home price dropped more than
3 percentto $162,595from $167,830in July.
Inventory continued to go down, but it
was by less than percentage point to 6,062.
New listings were down 2 percent.
Another positive indicator is that the
average number of days a home was on the
market, dropped to 71in August, from 80 in
July.The last time it was as low as 71was in
November 2007.

Inside Real Estate Sept 14 2009

09/03/09

10:20:41 am Long Realty launches new stat site 

Long Realty launched a new housing
market website - azhousingstats.com
- containing articles, weekly statistics,
industry-related news and commentary
about the market focusing specifically on
Tucson, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Vail,
Phoernx, and Sierra Vista.

8/31/09 Inside Tucson Business

09/02/09

11:06:20 am Home Inventory slips more 

Housing inventory continues to drop.
According to Long Realty Research Center
data, the inventory at the end of July
represented 5.4 months of supply, down
from 5.7 months at the end of June.
Under normal conditions, a six months
supply of inventory is generally considered
balanced.
Geographically, the lowest supply is in
the midtown 85711 zip code, generally
between Alvemon Way and WIlmot Road,
where the inventory is down to a 2.5
months supply.
Pricewise, homes in the $50,000 to
$75,000 range have the lowest supply at 2.9
months of inventory. The inventory
remains at less than five months supply for
all homes priced below $225,000 but the
next category up the price scale, $225,000
to $249,999, has 7.1 months of inventory.

From 8/31/09 Inside Tucson Business

08/12/09

10:18:09 am Has the economy, housing hit bottom? Heck if I know 

The housing industry is so conflicted.
Analysts blame it for causing the recession
while simultaneously cheering for it to lead
the recovery.
For most people, housing is heroic. It's their
framework to build wealth, shelter a famlly,
and belong to a community. Housing shapes
I their quality of life. But to the few and vocal
NIMBY sand eco-fans, it's a villain. Government
Officials love housing privately at the
same time they hate it publicly. Politicians love
how housing construction bankrolls their bud-
I gets with millions of dollars in taxes. Yet when
it comes to public policy and regulation, they
hate to give housing a break.
With all these conflicting opinions in
play, housing has everyone all a-twitter
with talk about foreclosures, mortgage rates
and other recession-related banter.
I
Almost daily, people ask me has
housing hit bottom? Heck if I know.
I'm not sure the experts know. Most
people I talk to, and most of the news and
data I study are so ...conflicted: .Headlines from the Associated Press last
month declared the economy is stabilizing
because economic reports from the Federal
Reserve showed the recession easing and
recovery "on the horizon:' Deeper into the
story, the Feds "hoped" it would be so.

The Federal
Labor Department
reported the next
day the number of
people filing
first-time claims for
jobless benefits rose
I
for the week. New
claims were 2.5
percent higher than
what was expected,
I but below two month-
old projections. Overall, the total
number of people getting benefits was at its
lowest point since April. Economists declared
it a trend: the pace of lay offs is slowing!.
.The Economic Times, however, reported
June was the sixth consecutive month that
all 372 metro areas it surveyed had jobless
rate increases. Won't that increase claims?
The 9.5 percent jobless rate for June is
expected to pass 10 percent by year-end. More unemployment means more
home owners unable to pay mortgages.
Plus, mortgage rates are headed higher and
the Federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers
expires Nov. 30.
.Then there's the conflict over whether
buyers prefer a foreclosure, resale or new
home. Through the first half of 2009,
national foreclosures ballooned 15 percent.
This year locally, 2,000 homes are headed
into foreclosure and 6,000 more in 2010.
Nationally, foreclosures should peak in
mid-2010, locally in 2011. For existing homes, the Associated
Press reported increased sales in June for a
third straight month. That hadn't happened
since 2004. One expert opined the housing
turnaround "may be gaining speed" but
said later a huge backlog of foreclosures is
still to come. So, with foreclosures up and
existing home sales up, what's up next?
. New home sales soared 11percent in
June, the biggest monthly spike in eight years.
The next day, reports said all home prices
were stabilizing. For the first time in three
years, prices showed a monthly increase. No
one called it a trend, however, as the increase
was only one-half of one percent. Other
wildcards are affecting the recovery, such as
durable goods, oil, and lenders.
. Orders for durable goods in June fell
four times more than expected. On the day
the U.S. Commerce Department announced
the surprise, President Obama
told a health care forum in North Carolina
it's "the beginning of the end of the
recession:' Really? Has anyone noticed oil
prices are climbing again?
So, with unemployment near a 26-year
high and the stock market having its best
July in 20 years, is this recession receding?
Is housing bouncing back?
Two of my valued analysts - David
Greenberg and Peter Herder, both life
directors for the Southern Arizona Home
Builders Association - had this to say. The
data is inconsistent. Until job losses stop,
there will be more foreclosures. Cash is king
and buyers are picking up sharply discounted
homes.
Both Greenberg and Herder say that
leaves only one real question: How long
are we going to bounce along the bottom?
Starting today, I have an answer: Yesterday
was the bottom of the housing market.
Now, let's talk about government-run
health care.
.:::. Contact Roger Yohem at editor@azbiz.
com Yohem's marketing, PR and communications
workfor the Southem Arizona Home
Builders Association, Tucson Electric Power,
and Southwest Gas have won several national
awards. His Business Notebook column
weighing in on local political, social and
business issues appears biweeldy.

From Inside Tucson Business, August 10, 2009
Opinon, Roger Yohem

08/07/09

09:53:54 am New Building in Vail 

Old Vail Station LLC, 13190 E. Colossal
Cave Road, Vail, has broken ground on a
4,330 square-foot building, 1,400 square feet
of which is pre-leased as an internal
medicine clinic operated by Dr. Syed Azam.
Financing is provided by Southern Arizona
Community Bank. The general contractor is
Barker Morrissey Contracting.

08/05/09

09:42:15 am Positive Sign: 

Home sales inventories fall to under 6 months' supply
In what may be one of the most positive
signs yet that the Tucson residential real
estate market is poised for recovery, Long
Realty Research Center data shows inventories
Of homes priced under $250,000 have
fallen below six months' worth.
"Months of inventory is the best matrix to
look at when you're trying to see the
temperature of a specific area or price
point;' said Kevin Kaplan, vice president of
marketing and technology. "Obviously it is
the lower price points that are bringing in
buyers from foreclosures and sellers
lowering the asking price on their homes:'
Nevertheless, he said, a healthy and
balanced market is considered to have
around six months of inventory at a given
time.
The market as a whole has around 5.7
months of inventory on sale, down from the
8.4 months at this time a year ago, according
to Long's data.
The fastest movers are homes priced
under $175,000 where there is 3.6 months of
inventory based on June's sales levels.
Homes priced from $175,000 to $249,999
have 5.4 months of inventory.
Above the $300,000 price point, the
inventory numbers climb. There's a
7.5-month supply of homes in the $300,000
to $400,000 range, 11months supply of
homes priced $400,000 to $500,000, a
17.2-month inventory ofhomes in the
$500,000 to $749,999 rangei and two years'
supply ofhomes priced $750,000 to
$999,999.

From Inside Tucson Business, August 3, Vol 19, No 9

07/20/09

03:26:30 pm Pulte Purchases Retirement Community in Tucson Arizona 

Pulte Homes purchased Four Seasons a retirement community(age 55 and up) from K. Hovnanian Homes for $8,000,000 in Rancho del Lago located in Vail just south east of Tucson Arizona. Purchased included 463 finished and platted lots, twelve model homes and a clubhouse measuring 14,000sf. Will White of Land Advisors Organization sees this as a confidence builder for the Tucson market. Deal was considered a fire sale and per Mr White key to the housing recovery.
Inside Tucson Weekly
7/20/2009
Joe Pangburn

06/01/09

11:43:29 am Tucson Arizona Office Space good Retail not 

Depspite Tucson Arizona job decline, commercial real estate market for office space is expected to do well the reset of 2009. Tucson is doing better than national average for office but not so for retail. Retail vacancy will reach 10%, even with 70% decrease of new retail coming on line this year. In 2008 we saw 2.1 million sf built and only 650,000 is due to be built in 2009.
inside tucson business
June 1, 2009

11:26:53 am Oro Valley (just north of Tucson Arizona) Condos go to foreclosure 

La Reserve Villas in Oro Valley Arizona, a 240 unit apartment complex was bought for $28.65 million and will go to auction at trustee sale for $12 million. Trustee sale is scheduled for August 18th.