Just as there is no national weather forecast, there is no national real estate forecast that means much, says Judy Lowe, president of Tucson’s Multiple Listing Service.
In her October report, Lowe said she heard someone say that to a group once and believes it may apply to current circumstances.
 Source: Multiple Listing Service |
While the national focus remains on hand-wringing over the housing market, Lowe said there are indications the Tucson market may be holding its own.
For the fifth consecutive month, new contracts opening escrow exceeded the same month of the previous year. Last month there were 993 new pending contracts, up from 782 in October 2006.
"This indicates there are more buyers in the market finding their dream home and making offers," Lowe said. "And sellers are more receptive to these offers."
Contracts on 790 units were closed in October, which is up 107 over the number closed in September, according to MLS.
Active listings on the market were down, albeit slightly, for the fifth consecutive month, a continuing indication that inventories are declining. The decline was helped by a drop in the number of new listings going on the market.
Here are some of the details from the October MLS, compared to October 2006:
ân¶ Volume of home sales totaled $207,178,347, down 29.1 percent from $292,204,700.
ân¶ Number of home sales units was 790, down 27.8 percent from 1,095. ân¶ Average sales price ân¶ Median sales price was $210,000 down 0.7 percent from $211,500. ân¶ Pending contracts (not closed in escrow) totaled 993, up 27 percent from 782. ân¶ Active listings totaled 9,313, down 0.2 percent from 9,336. ân¶ New listings
Tucson ranks No 34
for foreclosure rate
The Tucson housing market had one foreclosure for every 162 households, putting it at No. 34 on RealtyTrac’s list of the top 100 foreclosure markets in the third quarter.
RealtyTrac is an online marketplace for forclosed properties.
The Phoenix market was ranked No. 15 on the list, with one foreclosure for every 87 households.
The top five markets for foreclosres in the third quarter were Stockton, Calif.; Detroit; San Bernardino, Calif.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Las Vegas.
Cities in just three states - California, Ohio and Florida - accounted for more than two-thirds of the top 25 metro foreclosure rates, said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
Some markets are dodging the foreclosure bullet, he said, namely metropolitan areas in the Carolinas, Virginia and Texas.
6,900 acres in Casa Grande
sold off by D.R. Horton
D.R. Horton is selling 6,900-acres of land in Casa Grande it had planned to develop as the Legends. It is zoned for 24,000 homes and 450 acres of commercial.
The property is being acquired by the Wolff Co., Scottsdale, and Langley Properties, Gilbert. The firms say they plan to form a joint venture to sell parcels to other home builders.
The boundaries of the Casa Grande property are Miller Road on the north, State Highway 84 on the south, Montgomery Road on the east and Russell Road on the west.
Publicly traded D.R. Horton had announced earlier this year it would sell off unwanted land in light of the current residential home building slowdown.
Worth noting
ân¶ Tequila Properties LLC purchased a 12,000 square-foot building at 3431 E. Hemisphere Loop for $1.36 million. Gary Emerson of Gourn Partners, represented the seller, Loop Two Holdings LLC. Randy Jones of Oxford Realty Advisors represented Tequila Properties.
ân¶ Nelson Development LLC purchased 74,098 square-feet at the northwest corner of Ajo Way and Broadmont Drive for $327,000. Robert Glaser and Russell W. Hall, principals at PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the seller, Palo Verde Properties. Tim Healy, of CB Richard Ellis, represented the buyer.
ân¶ River Elks LLC sold two acres at 2402 E. River Road to Pima Heart Physicians PC. Doug Marsh, Jill Fendelman and Lori Casey with Oxford Realty Advisors represented Pima Heart Physicians. Peter Douglas, of PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services, represented River Elks.
ân¶ Glenn Properties purchased 1,599 square-feet at 2845 N. El Burrito Ave., for $125,000. Paul Hooker, PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the seller, Juanita Reinhardt. Paul Mitchell and Peter Douglas, also with PICOR, represented the purchaser.
ân¶ Educational Management Corporation, doing business as Tucson Design Center, leased 35,576 square-feet of office space at 5099 E. Grant Road from Holdings 5099 LLC. David Montijo, of Bourn Partners represented the tenant.
ân¶ Pacific Insulation Co., Los Angeles, leased 10,000-square-feet of industrial warehouse space at 3761 E. 43rd Place. Tim Healy, CB Richard Ellis, represented the tenant. The landlord, JDLH Investments LLC, was represented by Steve Cohen, PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services.
ân¶ Pacific Dental Services Inc. leased 3,500 square-feet of retail space at 7665 N. Oracle Road from Weingarten Realty Investors. Ben Craney of Bourn Partners represented the landlord. Tim Gunnick of Commercial Advisors Phoenix represented the tenant.
ân¶ Double Action Roof Coatings LLC, Sierra Vista, leased 1,815 square feet of flex industrial space at 3455 S. Palo Verde Road. Tim Healy, CB Richard Ellis represented both the tenant and the landlord, 3455 S. Palo Verde LLC.
ân¶ Southern Mill Carpet & Tile leased 1,200 square-feet of retail space at 3701 W. Ina Road, from North Pima Center LLC. David Dutson of Bourn Partners handled the transaction.
E-mail items for this feature to news@azbiz.com. Real Estate & Construction appears weekly.
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