March 8th, 2010 by Michael Oliver

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In a step to distance itself from competitors local Tucson home builder TJ Bednar has decided to install solar panels on all of its homes in two different neighborhoods. Homes in both of TJ Bednar’s new home neighborhoods of Vista Montana Estates and Lakeside Ridge will include solar systems that TJ Bednar says will provide all of the energy needed for the home and even be able to produce excess which would then be sold back to TEP.

new homes, Tucson new homes

February 23rd, 2010 by Michael Oliver

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Buyers have many of new home options available to them within Rancho Sahuarita in Sahuarita Arizona. Over the past 2 years most of all of the new homes in Rancho Sahuarita have been re-tooled by there respective builders to allow them to build more home for the money. Richmond American, KB Home, and DR Horton rolled out brand new floor plans to compete in the ultr affordable segment of the Rancho Sahuarita market.

New Homes Rancho Sahuarita, Rancho Sahaurita

February 16th, 2010 by Michael Oliver

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I get a lot of buyers on the fence about what is the better buy a foreclosure home or a brand new one. Sometimes a

Should You Buy A New Home Or A Foreclosure For The Best Overall Deal?

client just wants to look at foreclosure homes motivated by the “deal”. Other times a client only wants to look at new homes where everything is under warranty and they will have no issues with anything. Either strategy could be a great idea but I would recommend as a buyer you look at both types of home listings sometimes the differences are much more minor then you would think.

Tucson Foreclosures, Tucson new homes

January 31st, 2010 by Michael Oliver

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One Of The Floorplans Meritage Is Now Building In Sky Ranch

Meritage Homes is now pre-selling their new homes at Sky Ranch just off Thornydale and south of Tangerine. These homes start in the high $180’s with a 1652sf home. From there the homes range in size all the way up to a 3118sf 2 story floor plan named the Cathedral Rock. Between these two smallest and largest homes in the neighborhood Meritage builds six other plans. Plans range in both 1 and 2 story options as well as 3 to 5 bedrooms with additional options for more beds and baths combos as well as 3 car garages and other upgrades.

Meritage Homes Tucson, NW Tucson Neighborhoods, Sky Ranch, Tucson new homes

January 20th, 2010 by Michael Oliver

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New home builder sentiment headed down to a 15 rating in January from a 16 rating in December as home building executives outlook on the future of their business has lowered over the past thirty days.A rating of less then 50 suggests the new home industry is in a contraction or (recession. )Executives blame a couple things on this reduced outlook.

“Home buying conditions have rarely been as good as they are right now, but consumers are still waiting to see significant positive signs of improvement in employment and confidence, and this is slowing buyers’ return to the market,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe in a statement.

new home builder news, New Home Builder Sentiment, New Home Builders Tucson

January 11th, 2010 by Michael Oliver

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National homebuilder Lennar posted their first quarterly profit in over 2 years as the signs real estate markets nationwide are getting much better then a lot of even experts realize. Lennar is the nations 3rd largest builder, having operations across the country and also having major exposure in some of the worst hit areas by the real estate downturn. Lennar earned $35.6 million, or 19 cents a share, for the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared to a loss of $811 million, or $5.12 a share, in the same period a year earlier. It marked Lennar’s first quarterly profit in two years. For a homebuilder to have a profit is quite unexpected by most as the new home industry has been dealing with the worst real estate depression since the Great Depression.

Lennar homes, Lennar homes Tucson, Tucson Lennar homes

November 25th, 2009 by Michael Oliver

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New home sales increased last month to a level not seen in over a year as demand in the southern portion of the US increased dramatically. The commerce department stated the new home sales rates increased 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 430,000 homes from an upwardly revised 405,000 pace in September. On a note for those that don’t follow these reports as close as I do a seasonally adjusted annual rate of anything less than 500,000 new homes per year is considered anemic. During the real estate boom new home sale levels reached at high as over 2,000,000 homes per year.  To be at a rate of 430,000 homes shows the high rate of overhang in the existing markets as foreclosures and distress sales pull buyers their direction and away from new homes due to the value most of these homes can be purchased for.

new homes, Tucson new homes

September 14th, 2009 by Michael Oliver

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Share on Facebook As the national real estate markets improve the homebuilders will logically start to do better as well and should return to profitability. But for homebuyers interested in buying a brand new home specifically in Tucson what builder will get you the most for the money? In my mind this question is a little dependent upon price range. For buyers’ mainly first time buyers and those looking for under $150,000 in Tucson I think KB Home should give you the most for the money. Now KB has a lot of critics and the other builders always knock KB and say “At KB Home EVERYTHING is an option and you are going to blow your budget just to get a “basic” house with KB”. Now this statement is true in theory at KB you basically buy a very basic home and then add on everything that is important to you as the buyer, at that point you have a custom ordered home. The most important part of this is at KB you are not paying for options you don’t want, will never use, or could care less about. Generally speaking with a KB Home you will spend an additional 5%-10% of the base price on optional features. That may seem like a lot but most KB Home communities are at least 10% less expensive than other builders in the same areas so as a buyer you should be further ahead.

So what if you are looking for a new home in Tucson in a higher price range who should you go with to get the maximum value?

new homes, new homes tucson, tucson homes

August 26th, 2009 by Michael Oliver

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New A.F. Sterling Home in Paloma Ridge

Share on Facebook The US Real Estate depression seems to be in its last legs and headed for growth for the first time in three years. New home sales rose by 9.6% to a 433,000 annual pace described by the Commerce Department. The 433,000 annual pace is still a very slow pace compared to historical data which averages closer to 1,000,000 units per year in “normal” times. Other interesting facts from the Commerce Department’s report was that last month was the biggest percentage increase in new home sales since February of 2005 when the real estate markets across the country were nearing their peaks.

new home builder news, New Home Statistics, Tucson builder news, Tucson new homes

August 20th, 2009 by Michael Oliver

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Share on Facebook In doing research for this blog it occurred to me that for first time home buyers this is probably a dream market to be buying into. Home prices have dropped roughly 40% from their all time 2005 early 2006 highs here in Tucson, mortgage rates are averaging currently 5.15% (for a 30 year fixed mortgage), and the Federal Government is willing to throw in up to an $8,000 tax credit that can even be used on the actual home purchase. All this would seem like the dream market for first time homebuyers in Tucson and it’s really no wonder many are entering the market right now to buy. Other factors that make this current real estate market very attractive to first time buyers; highest home affordability in decades, sellers willing to do what it takes to make a sale including banks that hold foreclosures, and new home builders who also need to move inventory.

Where should the first time buyer concentrate to get the most for the money?

I think first time buyers looking for maximum value should concentrate on one of two types of sales; either the foreclosures market or the new home market. The reason for this is simple these two types of sellers have to sell they can’t reason with a low offer by saying; “This offer is too low we can just stay put another year or two and try to sell then when the market is better.” like a regular home seller can. The bank(s) holding a foreclosure just wants to sell it and get it out of their “bad loan” portfolio before the home gets vandalized or the market falls further costing the bank additional monies. The banks will not give any home away believe me they want to sell each home for its maximum value, but if you as a buyer employ a Realtor with experience and skill in dealing with foreclosure properties and their corporate owners (IE: Banks such as Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc) the odds of you getting a great deal increase exponentially. As a buyer you should be able to see the best foreclosure deals in the area you want to buy and then your agent should lead the negotiation efforts securing you as the buyer a great price and terms on the property. Having a great Realtor to identify properties, negotiate, and avoid potential pitfalls is the difference here for you as a buyer because the foreclosure market is very specialized and works differently then when buying from regular individual home sellers. As an experienced and highly skilled Realtor myself that represents many foreclosure buyers it is not uncommon AT ALL for my clients to be able to get 15%-25% off what I believe the foreclosure property would be worth if it was slightly fixed up and not a foreclosure. This is what you as a first time buyer(or any buyer really) should also be trying to do, get into a positive equity position right off the bat even if that positive equity position is assumed after some repairs are completed.

The other option if you don’t want to deal with some cosmetic (or worse) repairs is the new home marketplace. In Tucson the new home builders need to move product badly. They are doing much better than the end of last year however they are still in need of new sales. The Tucson builders also cannot afford to sit on finished inventory as the interest payments and insurance eat into already razor thin (if any) profit margins. Look to make a buy on a finished or almost finished spec (also called inventory) home. In most situations if you have a good Realtor who understands the new home builders and their negotiation techniques you will find that the bargains are there for the taking and in many cases you can steal a brand new home for roughly a few percent more then what the same type of home that was a foreclosure and needed repairs would be able to be purchased at. If you can negotiate a deal like that then the new home is the only viable option since everything is new and no repairs would be needed whereas the foreclosure would need money invested right away 9 out of 10 times. For those not thinking about it in my mind any time you can buy a new home for within 95%-90% of what a foreclosure property could be purchased at its (again in my opinion) the new home is a better buy then the foreclosure property in need of repairs.

If you are a first time buyer and would like help to get things going on a home purchase contact me via email or phone and I will assist you in taking the proper steps. Generally speaking I will put you in touch with a lender who specializes in first time buyers to get you pre-qualified. After that we will discuss your home buying options and what type(s) of homes may work best, as well as how to best negotiate your offer and get the best deals available in the real estate marketplace.