Tucson Mid-Year 2013 Housing Report

Tucson Mid-Year 2013 Housing Report

The over-all real estate economy in Tucson, Arizona continues to move upward. The Tucson real estate market is a local market as illustrated in the mid-year 2013 report. Many areas in Tucson have seen a 21% price change, but many areas have seen a -21% price change depending on the area of town.  The hot zip codes are 85755, 85741, 85742, 85745, and 85748. Click here to find your area real estate market stats.

In July the average sales price was $197,444,  which is .a 0.54% increase from June’s 2013 number at $196,376.  The average days on market decreased to 50 for July from 53 in June.. Right now in Tucson there are 3,933 active residential listings.

Low Inventory Levels Driving A Seller’s Market?

In the face of low inventory levels, many sellers find they are no longer under wanter in their mortgage.  Why? The low inventory levels are driven by low housing prices and low interest rates. This has created some competition among buyers making offers on properties. For the most part,  buyer’s are competing with multiple offers in some price points. With all of the transaction activity, it has become easier to ascertain price and arrive at fair market value. This is good for both buyers and sellers.

Tucson has had a run of investor activity due to the rising interest rates on home loans. It appears the days of sub 4% interest rates are over. The current 30 year, fixed rate mortgages have been hovering around 4.5%.

What Your Money Gets You in Tucson

In the Tucson real estate market, about forty percent of the real estate purchases are with conventional home loans with twenty-nine percent paying cash. The change in interest rates will directly impact home sales. Let’s compare a home purchase in 2006 at $216,000 with a 6.7% interest rate. At that time, the payment would have been $1,377.34. The same home today would cost $161,000 with an interest rate of 4.6%. The payment today is almost half of what it was in 2006 at just $744.56.

Tucson is still more affordable than many of the metro areas. The real estate market is moving for a couple of reasons: Home prices are near historic lows and mortgage rates remain low. We have seen an increase in mortgage rates this year from 3.25% to 4.50%.  despite the change in the rates it is not too late.

If you are a buyer sitting on the fence, then, take a good look at this Long Realty Tucson mid-year 2013 report. It may change your mind about waiting. take a lookBuyers are buying before these rates jump any higher. The other factor driving the demand is scarcity of foreclosure and short sale opportunities which is down to 33.7% in 2013 from 44.8% in 2012.. While there are still some short sale and bank owned listings for sale in our market, the opportunities are fewer and farther between and with the rise in the number of overall sales, banks are pricing their “distressed” offerings closer to real market value. This is having a stabilizing effect on our marketplace and property values.

So, the Arizona real estate market has a 2-4 months supply of homes which is considered a balanced market. Thanks for reading today! We hope to see you in Tucson very soon.