Brenda's Tucson Housing Market Report
October 2009

It's a Slow Steady Grind

Market Takes a Little Rest this month. After several months of slowly improving numbers September appears to have been a bit of a consolidation month. Total sales were down a couple of points from both last year & last month. Average prices were also down slightly month over month. Pending sales were up again large this month over same period last year and up 3.5% over last month.

Steady Buyer Activity was the watchword for September. Lots of buyers looking around, lower price points are moving well but higher levels are still slow. We are seeing lots of competition for the sub $200,000 price point as investors are jumping on board big time with distressed or bank owned properties receiving multiple offers and often selling for over asking price.

Higher Price Points: Your time will come! We are just heading into our fall selling season and will start seeing early snowbirds arriving soon. They always generate some sales, usually in the mid range price points. December will be slow but once we get past the holidays the busy winter and spring season will be upon us and we expect to see the higher priced homes moving more briskly.

Short Sales & Foreclosures: Many buyers still shunning short sales. Bank Owned Properties Moving Briskly as investors snap up those units. "Regular Folks", those buyers just looking for a nice home to actually live in are mostly looking in the resale market.

We are still looking for a strong fall season. We didn't get as good of September as we expected but October & November should be good. Expect December to be slow and the spring to be Great!

Key prior month statistics from the Tucson Association of Realtor’s October 2009 Report show:

Total Tucson Home Sales Units: 945, Decreased 2.07% from September 2008. Decreased 3.57% from last month.

Total Tucson Pending Sales: 1,333, Increased 59.45% from September 2008. Increased 4.63% from last month.

Tucson Average Sale Price: $196,755, Down 9.03% from $216,276 in 2008.
Northwest Tucson Average Sale Price: $239,429 Down from $249,032 last month.
Catalina Foothills Average Sale Price: $412,724 Down from $416,922 last month.

Total Tucson Active Listings: 6,008, Down 23.54% from 7,858 in September of 2008.
Northwest Tucson Active Listings: 1,532, Up 28 units from last month.
Catalina Foothills Active Listings: 650, Down 48 units from last month.

Total Tucson New Listings: 1,857, Down 182 units from 2,039 in September of 2008.
Northwest Tucson New Listings: 462, Up 47 units from last month.
Catalina Foothills New Listings: 131, Down 27 from last month.

Some quick conclusions we draw from these Tucson home sales statistics are:

Positive Market Indicators this month. Active Listings continue their steady decline, We're now down to 6,008 Actives. Pending Sales up strong again this month (Up 59% from September 2008!) New listings down over last year but up slightly over last month.

Negative Market Indicators this month. Total units sold down this month and there was a slight dip in average sale price.

We are starting to see sellers starting to feed inventory back into the system as prices have gradually improved and in anticipation of a strong selling season approaching. We expected to see this and it will probably continue for the next several months. This influx will probably slow down the reduction in inventory we've been seeing for the last year or so. We are approaching a "Balanced Market".

The Tucson Market Reports below will give you a detailed look inside the current Tucson Housing Market.

October 2009 Tucson Multiple Listing Service Report

October 2009 Housing Report - Northwest Tucson

October 2009 Housing Report - Catalina Foothills

2008 (Year in Review) Tucson Multiple Listing Service Report

Brenda's 2008 Year End Tucson Housing Report

Tucson Housing Market Report Archives

Questions about current Tucson Housing Market Conditions?
Email Brenda or call her Today at 520-918-5968
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