SPRING HISTORICALLY BRINGS MORE ACTIVITY TO THE TUCSON REAL ESTATE MARKETMarch 2008 has kicked off an active Spring according to the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service March 2008 Monthly Statistical Digest, according to Judy Lowe of Realty Executives Southern Arizona.
The 1,410 new contracts opening escrow in March ’08 were 30.67% ahead of the
1,079 in Jan. ’08, and 18.28% ahead of the 1,192 in the same month in 2007. Except
for June and July ’07, this is the strongest number of new escrows for any month since June ’06 (21 months ago).
These new escrows, coupled with the 9.81% fewer (when compared to March '07)
new listings coming on the market, indicate a decline in the Listing inventory. The Active Listings actually declined to 9,022, compared to 9,168 in February ’08. This is still considered a very strong listing inventory, however, there
has definitely been an increase in buyer activity visiting the most well priced homes.
Some neighborhoods in Tucson have experienced downward pricing pressure, which may be the determining factor in the decline in the March ’08 Median Sales Price of $200,000, compared to the March ’07 Median of $220,000,although we have actually seen a slight increase when we look back over the last few months in 2008. Many feel
“our sales pricing has now stabilized,"
The buyer pool is being fueled by a “pent up” buyer demand, a very large number of homes to choose from, still low interest rates, and the availability of home loans for all price ranges. These buyers are finding that working closely with their Realtor keeps them “on the cutting edge” of the real estate market.
Following are some interested statistics from information gathered by the TUCSON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS:
Home Sales Volume: Decreased 35.64% from $362,397,582 in March 2007 to $233,207,940 in March 2008.
Home Sales Units: Decreased 32.78% from 1,339 in March 2007 to 900 in March 2008.
Average Sales Price (all residential types): Decreased 4.25% from $270,648 in March 2007 to $259,120 in March 2008.
Median Sales Price (the price at which half the homes were sold above and half below): Decreased 9.42% from $220,815 in March 2007 to $200,000 in March 2008.
Pending Contracts (transactions subject to contract but not yet closed escrow): Increased 18.28% from 1,192 in March 2007 to 1,410 in March 2008.
Active Listings: Decreased 11.41% from 10,185 in March 2007 to 9,022 in March 2008.
New Listings: Decreased 9.81% from 2,710 in March 2007 to 2,444 in March 2008.
# posted by
Anna-Lise Troup @ 10:20 AM
