December 2007 Housing Report

Tucson's stabilized Real Estate Market continues....According to the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service December 2007 Housing Report. Considering seasonality and comparing December '07 with the same month '06, we see a consistent improvement in the number of New Contracts opening escrow (799 Nov. '07) which, when coupled with fewer new listings coming on the market, creates a shrinking listing inventory of 8708 residential units. In fact the 1590 new listings entering the market was the lowest number since early 2005.

At the Tucson Association of Realtors' Annual Forecasting Summit on 1/15/08, Dr Lawrence Yun, national Association of Realtors Chief Economist shared his predictions for the 2008 Tucson Real Estate Market, which included;

Most declines have already happened; Any further declines will be neighborhood specific and minor; the Buyer pool is growing with a pent-up demand, including the Baby Boomers, the retirees, and the international buyer; Tucson benefits from being a "Work Class Recreational" region commanding a high premium; a job growth rate that should support home price appreciation. Other comments from the Leader's Panel on "what makes Tucson's market different" included;

High population and job growth, income growth; Relatively low cost of living; Lower than nation unemployment rate, Availability of mortgage loans including FHA loans; Almost 4500 residential homes available under $250,000; A declining new construction inventory/ starts; A foreclosure rate on "non sub prime' mortgages lower than the national average. Yes, we still have very affordable housing when compared to other western cities.

There is no better time to buy a home than in 2008!

Home Sales Volume: Decreased 30.79% from $256,382,100 in December 2006 to $177,453,788 in December 2007.

Home Sales Units: Decreased 30.48% from 981 in December 2006 to 682 in December 2007.

Average Sales Price (all residential types): Decreased .4% from $261,348 in December 2006 to $260,196 in December 2007.

Pending Contracts (transactions subject to contract buy not yet closed escrow): Increased 17.84% from 678 in December 2006 to 799 in December 2007.

Active Listings: Increased 2.23% from 8,518 in December 2006 to 8,708 in December 2007.

New Listings; Decreased 11.17% from 1,790 in December 2006 to 1,590 in December 2007.