Market Report Letters from the Tucson MLS® President*
PDF Archives of Tucson Residential Sales Statistics*
Market Report Letters from the Tucson MLS® President
June 2008
Market Continues Towards Stabilization
As we approach the second half of 2008 we continue to see market improvement. We see the total unit sales continue to
rise for the sixth consecutive month while the active listings continue to decrease. Home sales volume as well as average
sales price is still on the rise.
We also see improvements quarter over quarter with increases in sales volume and reduction in average sales price,
which continues to reflect a buyers market.
Modest near-term movement is expected in existing-home sales, with a recovery in sales seen during the second half of
the year, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of REALTORS®.
With interest rates staying under 6.5% it is a great time to buy a home in Tucson.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
May 2008
"The American city should be a collection of communities where every member has a right to belong." - Lyndon Baines
Johnson, 36th President of the United States of America
This June, Tucson Association of REALTORS® & TAR MLS joins the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and State and
Local REALTOR® Associations across the nation in celebrating National Homeownership Month.
For the third month in a row, we have seen an increase in unit sales and we surpassed 1000 units in May.
With May behind us, our local numbers continue to support the direction of a recovering market. Home Sales Volume
increased 4.12% over April 2008, Home Sales Units increased 5.34% over April 2008, New Listings decreased 6.51%
and Active Listings decreased 3.19%.
Thanks to the restructuring of the government loans many of today's buyers and sellers are reaping the benefits.
While the average days on market are steady at 77 days the ratio between the list price and sales price averages at
95.34%. We hope to see the recovery process continue.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
April 2008
With the first quarter of 2008 behind us, our industry is continuing to show small signs of recovery. No one is denying
that the market is certainly not where it was in 2007; although the quarterly statistics for 2008 show a slight but steady
increase month over month.
According to NAR research, increasing FHA loan limits will help an additional 138,000 Americans achieve the dream of
homeownership and will allow nearly 200,000 homeowners to refinance and potentially keep their home.
In addition, NAR believes that increasing the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will bolster the severely
stressed housing finance market by immediately infusing much needed liquidity into the nation's mortgage market.
An economic impact study conducted by NAR earlier this year estimated that increasing the GSEs' conforming
loan limits would result in as many as 500,000 refinanced loans and could help reduce foreclosures by as much as
210,000. In addition, over 300,000 additional home sales could be generated, housing inventory would be reduced and
home prices would be strengthened by two to three percentage points.
Some of the factors to look for in a recovering market are active listings, new listings and pending contracts. With an
increase of 27.11% in pending contracts over 2007, a decrease in active listings by 15.20% over 2007 and a decrease in
new listings by 20.87% it would appear that Tucson is headed in the right direction.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
March 2008
Spring is here and we are all reminded why we live in the Southwest! March has fallen right in line with the annual trend when
we usually start to see things pick up. The Sales Snapshot continues to show that our market is down from 2007and while that
is not new news, on a high note, the statistics from February 2008 to March 2008 show that we are in a recovery phase. This
is the information that is going to show us where our market conditions are currently.
Home Sales Volume: Increased 25.29%
2/08 $186,129,758
3/08 $233,207,940
Average Sales Price: Decreased 1.15%
2/08 $262,155
3/08 $259,120
Pending Contracts: Increased 30.67%
2/08 1,079
3/08 1,410
Active Listings: Decreased 1.59%
2/08 9,168
3/08 9,022
New Listings: Increased 0.49%
2/08 2,432
3/08 2,444
Home Sales Units: Increased: 26.76%
2/08 710
3/08 900
Median Sales Price: Increased 0.05%
2/08 $199,900
3/08 $200,000
As you can see, our market is starting to turn the corner in a small but positive way.
2008 IS the time to buy a home!
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
February 2008
The 2008 Southern Arizona Real Estate market is slowly improving! Remember that Real Estate is Local and we have
excellent news from HUD that the limits for an FHA loan in Pima County have been raised from $239,850 to $316,250
on a 1 unit single family residence with a 3% down payment. This is a better increase than we anticipated and with
6,534 homes currently on the market priced under $327,000 this will open up a new level of opportunity for buyers
and sellers.
Even though home sales volume and unit sales are down from February '07 the numbers are up from January '08 by
+17.60 % for Home Sales Volume and +19.52% for Home Sale Units. The Average Sales Price for a home increased
+1.01% over February '07 from $259,516 to $262,155 in February '08. The Median sales price has decreased from
February '07 from $219,500 to $199,900 for February '08. This is slightly down from January '08 which was
$205,450.
Pending contracts increased to 1,317 February '08, an increase of 20.38% over the February '07 count of 1,094. Our
active listings decreased 6.89% from 9,847 in '07 to 9,168 in '08. Active listing numbers are ironically the same as
January 2008 at 9,168, but differ in price range categories. New listings in '08 increased from 2,376 in '07 to 2,432
in '08, an increase of 2.35%.
February has started to pave the way for a positive 2008. We can look forward to spring and all of the new opportunities
that have become available with the new limits for FHA financing.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
January 2008
The Real Estate market in Southern Arizona has an interesting year ahead in 2008! As the markets begin to wake up
from the holiday hibernation, there is nothing but better news for the months
.
Although both home sales volume and unit sales numbers were below what they were in January of 2007, the Average
Sales Price for a home decreased only 2.17% from $272,351 in January '07 to $266,450 in January '08. The Median
Sales Price decreased 7.65% from $220,365 in January '07 to $203,500 in January '08.
Pending contracts increased to 1,079 in January '08, an increase of 25.03% over the January '07 count of 863. Our
active listings decreased 5.89% from 9,742 on '07 to 9,168 on '08. New listings in '08 increased from 3,499 on '07 to
3,744 in '08, an increase of 7.00%
January has typically been one of the slower months in the Tucson real estate market, but in following sales trends of
the past, the market should pick up in early spring.
With 2007 behind us we can look forward to all of the opportunities in our industry for 2008! Tucson and its surrounding
communities are continuing to grow and prosper due to all of the amazing amenities that Southern Arizona has to
offer new home owners from all around the country.
Affordable housing, low interest rates and government backed financing will assist in the upswing in the real estate market
for 2008! It is time to spread the word!
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
PDF Archives of Tucson Residential Sales Statistics
January 2008
Febrary 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008 - Coming Soon
* All information is provided by the Tucson Association of REALTORS® & TAR Multiple Listing Service and can be found at http://www.tucsonrealtors.org
As we approach the second half of 2008 we continue to see market improvement. We see the total unit sales continue to rise for the sixth consecutive month while the active listings continue to decrease. Home sales volume as well as average sales price is still on the rise.
We also see improvements quarter over quarter with increases in sales volume and reduction in average sales price, which continues to reflect a buyers market.
Modest near-term movement is expected in existing-home sales, with a recovery in sales seen during the second half of the year, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of REALTORS®.
With interest rates staying under 6.5% it is a great time to buy a home in Tucson.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
This June, Tucson Association of REALTORS® & TAR MLS joins the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and State and Local REALTOR® Associations across the nation in celebrating National Homeownership Month.
For the third month in a row, we have seen an increase in unit sales and we surpassed 1000 units in May.
With May behind us, our local numbers continue to support the direction of a recovering market. Home Sales Volume increased 4.12% over April 2008, Home Sales Units increased 5.34% over April 2008, New Listings decreased 6.51% and Active Listings decreased 3.19%.
Thanks to the restructuring of the government loans many of today's buyers and sellers are reaping the benefits.
While the average days on market are steady at 77 days the ratio between the list price and sales price averages at 95.34%. We hope to see the recovery process continue.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
According to NAR research, increasing FHA loan limits will help an additional 138,000 Americans achieve the dream of homeownership and will allow nearly 200,000 homeowners to refinance and potentially keep their home.
In addition, NAR believes that increasing the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will bolster the severely stressed housing finance market by immediately infusing much needed liquidity into the nation's mortgage market.
An economic impact study conducted by NAR earlier this year estimated that increasing the GSEs' conforming loan limits would result in as many as 500,000 refinanced loans and could help reduce foreclosures by as much as 210,000. In addition, over 300,000 additional home sales could be generated, housing inventory would be reduced and home prices would be strengthened by two to three percentage points.
Some of the factors to look for in a recovering market are active listings, new listings and pending contracts. With an increase of 27.11% in pending contracts over 2007, a decrease in active listings by 15.20% over 2007 and a decrease in new listings by 20.87% it would appear that Tucson is headed in the right direction.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
Home Sales Volume: Increased 25.29%
2/08 $186,129,758
3/08 $233,207,940
Average Sales Price: Decreased 1.15%
2/08 $262,155
3/08 $259,120
Pending Contracts: Increased 30.67%
2/08 1,079
3/08 1,410
Active Listings: Decreased 1.59%
2/08 9,168
3/08 9,022
New Listings: Increased 0.49%
2/08 2,432
3/08 2,444
Home Sales Units: Increased: 26.76%
2/08 710
3/08 900
Median Sales Price: Increased 0.05%
2/08 $199,900
3/08 $200,000
As you can see, our market is starting to turn the corner in a small but positive way.
2008 IS the time to buy a home!
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
Even though home sales volume and unit sales are down from February '07 the numbers are up from January '08 by +17.60 % for Home Sales Volume and +19.52% for Home Sale Units. The Average Sales Price for a home increased +1.01% over February '07 from $259,516 to $262,155 in February '08. The Median sales price has decreased from February '07 from $219,500 to $199,900 for February '08. This is slightly down from January '08 which was $205,450.
Pending contracts increased to 1,317 February '08, an increase of 20.38% over the February '07 count of 1,094. Our active listings decreased 6.89% from 9,847 in '07 to 9,168 in '08. Active listing numbers are ironically the same as January 2008 at 9,168, but differ in price range categories. New listings in '08 increased from 2,376 in '07 to 2,432 in '08, an increase of 2.35%.
February has started to pave the way for a positive 2008. We can look forward to spring and all of the new opportunities that have become available with the new limits for FHA financing.
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
. Although both home sales volume and unit sales numbers were below what they were in January of 2007, the Average Sales Price for a home decreased only 2.17% from $272,351 in January '07 to $266,450 in January '08. The Median Sales Price decreased 7.65% from $220,365 in January '07 to $203,500 in January '08.
Pending contracts increased to 1,079 in January '08, an increase of 25.03% over the January '07 count of 863. Our active listings decreased 5.89% from 9,742 on '07 to 9,168 on '08. New listings in '08 increased from 3,499 on '07 to 3,744 in '08, an increase of 7.00%
January has typically been one of the slower months in the Tucson real estate market, but in following sales trends of the past, the market should pick up in early spring.
With 2007 behind us we can look forward to all of the opportunities in our industry for 2008! Tucson and its surrounding communities are continuing to grow and prosper due to all of the amazing amenities that Southern Arizona has to offer new home owners from all around the country.
Affordable housing, low interest rates and government backed financing will assist in the upswing in the real estate market for 2008! It is time to spread the word!
Kimberly Clifton
2008 MLS President
Febrary 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008 - Coming Soon
* All information is provided by the Tucson Association of REALTORS® & TAR Multiple Listing Service and can be found at http://www.tucsonrealtors.org
