Weekly Tucson Real Estate Newsletter

Original Content by
Reid Sossong, RPA, Broker

Bookmark this page and return each week for new updates on the Tucson real estate market.

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12-29-05 Today, existing homes sales for November were released showing a 1.7% decline, good news for buyers. Also, mortgage applications are at a 3.5 year low. The benchmark 30 year fixed rate is hovering in the 6.22 range.

12-27-05 The Tucson Open will be February 19th through the 26th, 2006. The Tucson Open will be celebrating it's 60th anniversary in 2006 making our stop on the PGA tour the 9th oldest.

Today, Tucson National Country Club opened play on it's new 18 hole desert style course to the public. New homes are still in the future and I will keep you updated. 

12-20-05 Today, one of Tucson's muni courses reopened on the city's Westside. The new Silverbell golf course has undergone a $2.6 million seven month change. The new yardage is 6,936 and a walking round is only $21 or $29 with a cart. The tee's and green's are Bermuda with the fairway's winter rye until summer. Silverbell was opened in the mid seventies and in my opinion, even though not the greatest, was still fun to play. I'll give you my review on the new course once I have played a round.

Also today, new home starts for November were up.

Interest rates are in the 6.5 % range for a fixed 30 year.

12-13-05 The Tanque Verde School District will combine the models of the Bill Gates small high school movement with the tenets of 21st Century Schools in the Districts new high school. If you would like additional information please contact me. The Tanque Verde School District is considered one of the top two school districts, along with the Catalina Foothills school district. Tanque Verde is located in northeast Tucson and Catalina Foothills is in north Tucson. Both areas have excellent Country Clubs and golf courses.

12-06-05 I'm frequently being asked how the weather is in Tucson. Currently, the nights are ( for Tucson ) cold and the afternoons are cool, however, you could wear shorts in the afternoons.

The " Stay and Play " deal for Heritage Highlands is not available since they are on the tail end of the community. Saddlebrooke still has their " Stay and Play ". Call or email me and I'll give you the phone number.

12-02-05 What an interesting week in the real estate market. Existing home prices down, new home prices up. mortgage rates down and mortgage applications down with refi's up. A friend was asking me if this is a good time to put their home on the market. My response was you can make always come up with an excuse for not putting your home up for sale ( it's summer and it's to hot, it's the holiday's, it's the first of the year etc....).

The 49er women's golf team is in the lead for the city tournament. In second place is Heritage Highlands.

11-29-05 Yesterday, I reported the drop in existing home sales. Today, the government reported sales of new U.S. homes ( not the company ) shot up 13 % in October.

U.S. mortgage finance regulators today raised the limit for loans that can be bought by government sponsored  mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $417,000 for 2006, in most areas. Lenders charge lower interest rates for mortgages they are confident they can sell to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Costlier mortgages are referred to as jumbo loans.

11-28-05 I hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving. I had a very good Thanksgiving, the weather was good and that allowed for some golf time.

The national existing home sales for October came out this morning and showed a decline of 2.74%. I think the market is starting to balance out.The luxury home market has slowed down and I have seen a few luxury, fine, distinctive homes on the market for a while. Country clubs, golf communities and retirement communities have had  solid market activity.

11-23-05 Listing inventories are still raising at a good pace. Canada Hills, in northwest Tucson, has increased substantially off it's listing inventory low. However, Canada Hills is still at about half of the average amount of listings in the past. Canada Hills has the Hilton El Conquistador Country Clubs two 18 hole golf courses weaving throughout the 20+ subdivisions. El Conquistador Country Club is a very active Country Club with a positive alive atmosphere.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

11-17-05 The 10 year note dropped to around 4.48% which should make mortgage rates drop.

This week new home starts and new home permits dropped nationally. What does this mean? In my opinion, it means the market is not as hot as it has been recently, however, the real estate market is still solid.

11-02-05 Yesterday, the Presidents tax reform panel recommended a sweeping tax overhaul. Included in the recommendations is the mortgage interest deduction, which is a big incentive to own a home. Anyway, these are just recommendations and the Realtor's will be fighting to keep the home mortgage interest deduction. The Realtor's are the largest trade association in the country and can be heard in Washington.

If you are looking for a home in a country club, retirement community or luxury home community give me a call, Reid at 1-800-997-8026. Thanks

11-01-05 Starting today, appraisers will be using a new six page form instead of the old two page form. The new form will cover more details, like when the property last sold.

10-21-05 The Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service statistics are out for September 2005, and the most noticeable change is in the listing inventory. New listings increased 35% from this time last year. Pending sales have dropped compared to recent months, and days on the market increased to 30 days. These numbers are for the broad market, not just golf, Country Club and luxury home communities.

Mortgage applications rose last week for the first time in a month, even as rates crested the 6% mark for the 30 year fixed.

Nationally, new single-family home construction increased 3.4% in September, well above forecasts.

Forty Niner Country Club will be adding a fitness center this winter. When I receive more information on the facilities I will let you know.

10-15-05 The 30 year fixed rate crested the psychological 6% rate this week.

The tax reformers are targeting the home mortgage deduction to eliminate or cut. The President's panel should make a recommendation on November 1st. I do not see this happening, and even if the panel recommends the elimination the President doesn't have to accept.

10-11-05 I went to see the movie " The Greatest Game Ever Payed," and in my opinion it was a good movie. After we watched the movie my son Scott, who is six years old, wanted to go and play golf, so we did. It was a great day.

10-9-05 Mortgage rates were up for the fourth straight week. The 30 year fixed is  5.98%, which is slightly higher than a year ago. Do you think 5.98% is high?

10-8-05 Tucson National Country Club, one of Tucson's seasoned Country Clubs, has some exciting changes coming soon. In December of this year, the new desert style 9 holes and one of the existing 9 holes that will be a new desert style will form an 18 hole track that should be phenomenal. The current initiation fee and dues are still in place, however, I've been told after the first of the year the dues and fee's will be increasing. Currently, the facilities are rank a 4 star, and in my opinion are first class. The rumor is that after the new golf course is finished the spa facilities may be remodeled. Housing prices in Tucson National Country Club range from $175 to $300 a square foot approximately.

10-4-05 Today, the 10 year note just reached a 4.4% yield. This seven week high indicates that mortgage rates will be will be increasing.

I'm starting to see more homes, usually above $500,000, staying on the market longer.

9-27-05 Yesterday, existing home sales wet up a couple percent and today new home sales dropped 9.9% in August.

9-25-05 Monday, of this week the national existing home sales will be reported. Then on Tuesday, the national new home sales will be reported. Both new and existing home sales are expected to fall. Sounds negative, however, rates are still at record low's and sales are beginning to level out. This is not a panic situation. I look forward to the market becoming both a seller's and buyer's opportunity.

The Tucson August statistics just came out and the listing inventory shows an increase, indicating a turn in the market. Average days on the market shows 26, with 73% of all closed listings selling in the first thirty days on the market.

9-19-05 ARMs, adjustable rate mortgages, applications are down about a third from their March of 2005 high. Seems the 30 year fixed rate is looking good again. In my opinion this should help the market stabilize when the real estate market cools and interest start to rise.

Housing starts will be released on Tuesday of this week and will probably show a slight drop.

9-16-05 The Tucson area Country Clubs are over seeding the golf courses with winter rye. Currently, the golf courses are burned out until the winter rye surfaces.

The 30 year fixed rate is hovering in the 5.75% range.

Since Katrina took place the media has dropped the housing bubble story. It feels good not hearing about a bubble every day. The market will take care of itself.

Northeast Tucson is unique for several reasons, the mountain ranges do not allow for more grow and most lots are 1-4 acres in size. There are very few townhomes in the area, with most located closer to central Tucson. The luxury or distinctive fine homes in northeast Tucson very from Country Club settings to mini ranches, elevated hilltops with views to heavily wooded cool areas near the washes. I grew up and currently live in the northeast and love the area.

9-8-05 Today, most of the national homebuilders took a hit in the stock market. Does Wall Street see the home prices too high for people to afford? Even with low PE's and cash flow, the homebuilders stocks may have had their run.

9-1-05 With all the attention of Hurricane Katrina many homeowners are starting to realize that standard homeowner's policies don't cover flood damage. If you are a homeowner and are concerned about flooding then you should purchase flood insurance from the NFIP, a federal government program. The program covers up to $250,000.00 to rebuild structures and up to $100,000.00 to replace contents inside. In today's market that coverage may not cover everything, so, a few insurance companies are coming out with a supplemental insurance policy or even a policy to replace the government policy. Something to think about.

8-25-05 Yesterday, I wrote about the national real estate statistics. Today, the local Tucson Association of Realtors released the July statistics for Tucson. The average sale price for single family residences increased 23.7% from last July, to $278,193.00. Average days on the market is at 26. Homes below $500,000 seem to be selling faster and the larger homes above $500,000 are moving slower. Inventory levels for listings increased 3.5% over last July. These numbers include Country Club homes, golf properties and luxury homes.

8-24-05 This week has been interesting, so far. Existing homes sales were down slightly, while, unexpectedly, new home sales were up. Also, the yield on the 10 year note dropped today meaning mortgage rates will probably follow.

8-15-05 Mortgage interest rates are around the 6% range for a 30 year fixed rate. Since the current market is turning back to normal I'm hearing that more people are starting to refinance their ARM back to a fixed rate mortgage. Makes since to me.

Tucson has been receiving some rain the last week and the golf courses are soaking the water right up and it shows.Yesterday, I played at 49er Country Club and the weather was perfect with 73 degrees, low humidity and overcast skies. The rough is starting to get thicker and taller. This fall should be great for golf here in Tucson. Most of the Country Clubs and public courses will start to overseed with rye the end of September or the first part of October. If you are planning a trip to Tucson during this time period and planned to play golf you might want to check the courses you planned to play and find out when they are overseeding.