There’s more evidence of home sales ticking upward in September but its with mixed blessings because the increase was in resales of existing homes and not newly constructed homes, which is the specialty of researcher John Strobeck and his Southern Arizona Housing Market Letter.

Strobeck reported resale closings reached 1,019, up from 808 in September 2007. Of that, 20 percent, or 213, were foreclosure sales.

“This shows that there are buyers out there looking for a bargain,” Strobeck said in his research. “In addition, it assists in bringing down the total inventory of homes that is needed to return to a more normal market.”

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September closings of newly constructed homes totaled 261, down 43 percent from the 457 closings in September 2007, Strobeck reported.

Nine months into the year, there have 2,509 closings of newly constructed homes, which puts sales on track to reach about 3,300 closings by year’s end. At that rate, Strobeck said this year’s closings would be 54 percent of 6,185 last year.

The average sales price of a new home in the Tucson market in Septmber was $235,027, down 12 percent from $267,570 a year ago. This September’s price was also the lowest monthly price point in two years, Strobeck said. There was one newly constructed home that closed at over $1 million this September.

The median sales price of a newly constructed home in September was $205,405.

“It appears possible that new construction median prices could go below the $200,000 during the fourth quarter,” Strobeck said. “Much of this change is the move to expand the new construction buyer profile by lowering prices and features in homes.”

There were 28 new construction homes that closed below $150,000 in September, which was just over 10 percent of all new construction home closings.

Overall, Strobeck is forecasting that residential home prices will continue downward during the fourth quarter.

Current prices are about where they would have been without the boom years of 2004 and 2005, using the rate of appreciation from 1999 to 2003 as the standard. But now, he says, “it appears that we will correct to below that figure has a reaction to the price run up of 2004 to 2006.”

Certificate of Occupancy disclosures now required

The City of Tucson’s ordinance requiring landlords to tell tenants they must receive at Certificate of Occupancy is now in effect.

There has also been some changes to the city’s Certificate of Occupancy procedures, including:

• Hand-drawn or CAD-scale drawings can be submitted for baseline depictions for a Certificate of Occupancy, rather than architectural drawings.

• A business moving into a space formerly occupied by a similar business will, in most cases, need only undergo health and safety inspections.

• A provisional Certificate of Occupancy can now be issued in many circumstances for a business location that does not qualify for a regular Certificate of Occupancy. The provisional certificate can allow the business to continue operating while agreeing to address other code issues over a period of time.

Details on the new ordinance is online at www.tucsonaz.gov/dsd/C_of_O/c_of_o.html .

IndioMODERN receives 5  awards in one month

Architect Rob Paulus received five awards in the last month for indigoMODERN, a community of 11 modern and green homes at 116 E. Congress St. Two of the awards were Builder’s Choice Awards from Builder Magazine, one for semi-custom construction in less than 2,000 square feet and the other for signage. The other three awards were from the American Institute of Architects, the western mountain region merit award, the Arizona sustainable award and the Southern Arizona honor award.

IndigoMODERN features homes that are all 1,800 square feet, have three bedrooms and two baths with green features including rainwater harvesting and solar pre-wiring.

Top ranking for Stone Canyon

Golfweek magazine named the golf course at Stone Canyon in Oro Valley among the top 25 residential courses from among about 10,000 modern courses opened since 1960.

Stone Canyon placed 21st this year and has ranked in the top 25 each year since its opening in 1999.

“Stone Canyon’s perennial ranking in the top 25 is remarkable,” says Golfweek representative Rachel Patel. “Real estate is one of our most competitive categories and to maintain its grip at the top is a testament to the quality of the golf experience.”

Stone Canyon Properties took advantage of the ranking to also announce it has a newly relocated sales center, at 405 W. Tortolita Mountain Circle, adjacent to Stone Canyon’s entrance off Rancho Vistoso Boulevard.

The 5,000-square-foot facility is created in the Tuscan style that is prevalent throughout Stone Canyon. It is designed by architect Marsh & Associates and constructed by StoneWest Construction. The building features walls of windows overlooking the Catalina Mountains, wide-plank hard-wood floors, classic stone, timber and wrought iron construction.

Inside the sales center is a large topographical model that provides an orientation to the upscale 1,400-acre community.

Stone Canyon residential properties include estate lots, custom and designer homes and villas. Information is online at www.stonecanyon.com.

Worth noting

· Valor Hospice Care LLC signed a five-year lease on 5,126-square feet at Cambric Corporate Center, 1860 E. River Road, from Cambric Partners. Valor is renewing its original 3,000-square-foot lease and expanding by another 2,126 square feet. The expansion is planned for December. Bruce A. Suppes of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant.

· Bruegger’s Bagels leased 1,920 square feet of retail space within the Shoppes at Rita Ranch on the northwest corner of Rita and Houghton roads. The Rita Ranch location will be Bruegger’s 11th in the market. Aaron LaPrise and Brian Harpel, with the Harpel Company Inc., represented the landlord. Rick Borane and Dave Hammack with the Volk Company represented the tenant.

· VACO Tucson LLC signed a five-year lease on 1,486-square feet at 5151 E. Broadway from BP 5151 Investors LLC. VACO provides staffing of skilled professionals for administrative, finance and accounting positions. The company will move in December from an executive suite in the same building. The landlord was represented by Michael Townsdin of Bourn Partners. Bruce A. Suppes of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant.

 Submit items for this column to Joe Pangburn at jpangburn@azbiz.com. Real Estate & Construction appears weekly.