Real Estate News & The Tucson Housing Market

The numbers are staggering when you look at the change from 2004, just less than four years ago. In 2004, only Yahoo had more than 2 billion dollars in web advertising revenue, with Google not far behind. By 2006, the numbers were up dramatically. Google came in close to $4 billion — a 350% increase in 2 years! Yahoo increased to just less than $3 billion, which was also a very large increase in just two years. Now the projections are out for 2008, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal (see chart below), and the numbers are mind boggling in terms of growth. Google looks to be ready to scoop just under $8 billion, and Yahoo $3 billion. Even AOL (which uses Google for its text ads) and MSN (currently trying to purchase Yahoo) look to be over the $1 billion mark. All this is in just 4 short years! I guarantee you these numbers will continue to increase exponentially for the next 20 years. There is no doubt in my mind about it. The Internet is becoming the preferred way to advertise due to the ease with which marketers can track and display ads to the precise target market for the product. How or where else can a person who wants to sell a product display advertisements directed only to those people who are actively searching for that exact thing? Furthermore, people are increasingly using the Internet every day for more complex things like watching videos, heavy research prior to making a purchase, and social activities that keep them glued to the computer all day. This makes it even more opportune for advertisers to get involved with the Internet and push their products to those looking for them online. This includes homes.

The Tucson real estate market, while still in a depressed state, is showing stats that coincide with a market on the rebound. If these trends continue, Tucson’s market place will emerge from its downtrend and get its legs beneath it for the first time since late 2005. What indicates this to me is the fact that pending contracts have been up substantially for the past two months, meaning that more people are getting under contract to purchase a home. Also, active listings continue to keep coming down. Now the supply (active listings) needs to come down a whole lot more before we are in what I would call a balanced market. I would say active listings need to be around 5500 to suggest a balance. However, one important item to note is that the statistics no longer include the far outlying areas of Southern Arizona (places like Tombstone, and Cochise), so the decrease shown from March 2008 over March of 2007 is not 100% accurate. That being said, there are fewer listings on the market. In addition, the new listings prices are also down roughly 10%, meaning fewer people are trying to “test the market.” (That’s what sellers who overprice their home and want their real estate agent to work super hard to find a buyer at their inflated price call it.) Sellers in Tucson right now are realizing it is not a good time to “test. ” In fact, you need to be at or under the comparables to facilitate a sale these days, and any property outside of those comparables is almost impossible to sell. Plus you will need to get your property exposed and marketed in a very effective manner because of the overwhelming number of properties. Buyers have many, many options now, and if your home isn’t pushed to the forefront, even a low price may not be enough to get their attention.

This home located just off Thornydale in Marana, sits on one acre and is suitable for keeping horses. It features 3 bedrooms and 2.75 baths. At the end of the home opposite the master suite is a junior suite studio, complete with bath and bedroom areas and a separate entrance. Perfect for in-laws or older children, or a home office. This home offers potential buyers close access to shopping and is located in the Marana Unified School District. The property includes a gated entry, a very flat lot perfect for horses with some horse facilities, and custom touches throughout. Many multi-million dollar homes are being developed in this area, which is fast becoming an in-demand place to live. Close by is Saguaro Ranch, the new (under construction) Residences at Ritz Carlton, and Dove Mountain. High-end custom homes have begun to infiltrate this area. If you are looking for an amazing property on an acre for a reasonable price — currently offered at $374,900 — please schedule a showing to see what this property will offer you and your family. One note on this home is that the master bedroom may not have been permitted or not permitted correctly. Please call for details on this. To see additional photos and details, please click here.

New listing for sale in central Tucson! This townhome features 1132 square feet with two oversized bedrooms, one full bath upstairs and a half-bath/powder room on the first floor, all for $134,990. This townhome is an end unit with a wrap-around lot that gives potential buyers much more room than a typical townhome. In addition, this property has recently been completely redone inside to give a look of luxury and elegance. The refinished kitchen has new countertops and flooring, and the flooring has been replaced in the great room. New paint, French double doors, carpeting (upstairs) and new bath fixtures make this property hard to pass up. Unit includes a covered parking space and an extra space for no additional cost. An open house will be held Saturday, April 12th. Come look for yourself, or contact listing agent, Michael Oliver, for additional information. To see additional photos and details, please click here,

Senators agreed on a $15 billion bipartisan plan to help alleviate some issues the real estate markets across the nation — including Tucson AZ — are currently facing. The plan is intended to help the real estate market regain its footing. The first piece of the plan would permanently increase the amount of loans backed by the FHA to $550,000. The down payment would increase to 3.5% from its current requirement of 3%. A second boost for the market is that it will give a $6.1 billion tax break to homebuilders and other troubled firms. These companies can apply operating losses from this year and next year to past tax bills, giving homebuilders a little back to assist them in keeping their companies from dissolving over the next 2 years. Also part of this major bill is the availability of $10 billion of mortgage revenue bonds that states can issue for refinancing and first time homebuyers. The facet of the plan that will help the average person the most is the offering of incentives for the purchase of foreclosure properties rather than other available homes. To accomplish this, the federal government is offering a two-year $7,000 tax credit if the property the buyer is purchasing is facing foreclosure. This should have the effect of greatly reducing the number of foreclosed homes on the books. It will be a great help to banks and neighborhoods.

States across the country are seriously stepping up the effort to keep people in their homes. Along with the federal government, states are looking to try different ways to assist would-be foreclosure residents. One interesting idea under consideration is legislation requiring lenders to obtain an appraisal of a property’s value as a rental and then offering the borrower in default the option of renting the home from the lender for a maximum of ten years. An actual foreclosure would take place only if the borrower (potential tenant) did not earn enough to afford the rent. I seriously doubt that this type of legislation will be enacted, however. Do not ask me how the lender is supposed to afford all the property management and maintenance costs. The idea seems ridiculous to me, and as I listened to a 10-minute discussion about it on CNBC this morning, I could not get my head around it. However, it goes to show how badly states want to put a halt to the ongoing foreclosure epidemic that has been increasing every month since the beginning of 2006.

Homeowners’ Associations around Arizona, including Tucson Arizona, are being forced to make tough decisions about the services they can provide residents of their neighborhoods. An HOA is usually in charge of keeping common areas of the neighborhood free of weeds and graffiti, and enforcing bylaws of the association that it governs. Due to the unusually high rate of foreclosures around the state, many HOAs are running too low on funds to take care of the communities they were set up to serve. Most homeowner associations’ dues are billed to the individual or paid through escrow. When homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments, they rarely decide to keep making payments to the homeowners association! Without these payments, HOAs cannot function properly. Furthermore, when an owner does not maintain a foreclosed property and weeds and trash accumulate, residents that still live in the community suffer. The HOA will often service that home in order to keep the neighborhood from looking blighted. HOAs are not required to do this, but many try their best to keep neighborhoods in the best condition for residents.

Arizona is a major hotbed for what’s called “foreign nationals” — persons from another country residing in the United States. Most foreign nationals who come to Arizona to invest or purchase second homes are from either Canada or Mexico. However, I have also seen buyers from the United Kingdom, Europe, Latin America, and South America. Many foreign nationals would like to purchase property in the United States but find the process confusing. It does not have to be complex. In fact, it is simple, and I will walk you through it.

by contributing writer, Eric Painter, Senior Mortgage Consultant, Infinity Funding Corporation

Tucson AZ is a prime secondary home (winter home) market. Every year, hundreds of people decide to buy a $1 million dollar + home in Tucson. So what does $1.5M get you? We’ll check it out. In case you’re wondering, there are 239 properties listed at $1,500,000 or greater as of today (March 29, 2008) in Tucson.

This property (courtesy of Russell P. Long of Long Realty) is currently listed for sale at $1,595,000.

This home is 4050 square feet, located in the ultra-high-end community of Pima Canyon Estates, on a lot that is over an acre is size.