Anna-Lise Troup's Tucson Area Real Estate Update: September 2008

August 2008 Tucson Home Sales

Active Listings Dropping Every Month! Currently at 7,763 Inventory Continues To Decline. Since February of this year the number of Active Listings has dropped every single month! At the end of August we stand at 7,763. Last year we had 8,954 and the year before that there were 9,401 homes for sale in Tucson. The days of lots of choices for buyers are slowly coming to an end.

New listings are still declining. In August of 2007 there were 2,337 new listings. This August there were 1,952. August sales slowed as Market uncertainty continues. Pending sales stood at 878 reflecting consumer uncertainty and tighter lending requirements. Folks are starting to focus on the election and hoping that the new administration will spur the economy.

Buyers are still nervous and are very cautious and negotiating very hard. This is a difficult time for sellers as we wait through these last few (hopefully) months for the market to pick up. Everybody knows we're at the bottom and things will be more positive a year from now but right now it's difficult if you are a seller. This is the time you really need the best help you can get if you have to sell your home.

We mentioned last month the proposed new Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This legislation is just coming into play and the full impacts have not been felt by the market yet. Certainly very few new business generated by this stimulus package have worked their way into the statistical reporting yet. Expect this act, if passed, to start influencing sales more and showing up as improving sales statistics in the next couple months.

Key current month statistics from the Tucson Association of Realtor's August 2008 Report show:
Total Tucson Home Sales Units: 903, Decreased 17.31% from August 2007. Decreased 4.44% from last month.
Total Tucson Pending Sales: 878, Decreased 14.26% from August 2007. Increased 8.54% from last month.
Tucson Average Sale Price: $238,504, Down 12.90% from $273.815 in August 2007.
Northwest Tucson Average Sale Price: $264,766, Down from $300,526 last month.
Catalina Foothills Average Sale Price: $462,475 Down from $491,613 last month.
Total Tucson Active Listings: 7,763, Down 13.3% from 8,954 in August of 2007.
Northwest Tucson Active Listings: 1,946, Down 41 units from last month.
Catalina Foothills Active Listings: 716, Down 14 units from last month.
Total Tucson New Listings: 1,952, Down 16.47% from 2,337 in August of 2007.
Northwest Tucson New Listings: 479, Up 64 units from last month.
Catalina Foothills New Listings: 155, Up 13 units from last month.

Some quick conclusions we draw from these Tucson home sales statistics are:
positive market indicators this month, proposed Housing and Economic Recovery act of 2008 may come into play, continued steady decline in active listings, large decrease in new listings which decreased 16.47% from August 2007, the election is heating up.

Negative Market Indicators this month: Sales are slow, lethargy & general lack of interest by buyers, slow national economy.

It's going to be slow for the next few months, but we expect this market to be much better and more active in the near future.

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