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Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
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Archive for October, 2007

Buying Homes With Pools In Tucson

October 29th, 2007 categories: Tucson Real Estate

Many home buyers looking for real estate in Tucson look for homes with a pool or room to install a pool. Living in the desert a pool is comforting to relax in at the end of a long hot day and on weekends. A swimming pool is definitely an asset in the desert. There are two thoughts when it comes to pools.

The first is to buy a home with a lot large enough to install a pool. The advantage is the you get what you want. Depending on what part of Tucson you choose a pool’s value will change. The expense of installation is the same, but, the value will be different. The old real estate rule of location, location, location applies here. Installing a $55,000 pool in a $225,000 neighborhood doesn’t make a lot of sense. With the same consideration having a $7,000 pool installed in a $650,000 neighborhood makes little sense as well. Matching the quality of the pool to the neighborhood makes sense. A $75,000 negative edge pool overlooking the city with a Mediterranean blue pebble tech finish, a lighted water fall over boulders and landscaping to give that oasis or beach feeling in a $1.5 million dollar home would definitely add a lot of value.

The disadvantage of installing a pool yourself is that the return on invested dollar will not be recovered as quickly. The location and value of the home will also impact on the recognized value of the home. In an affluent neighborhood will benefit more from a pool than an economic neighborhood.

The second option is to find a home with a pool. Again, this depends on the neighborhood. In neighborhoods where most of us commoners live, letting the previous owner flip the bill is a good decision. In a neighborhood with luxury homes a poorly designed pool can be a deterrent to value. In which case you would want to thoughtfully install your own pool. One that compliments the home and invites the owners and guest to want to be outdoors.

If you are considering having a swimming pool installed in Tucson, the winter is a good time to get the best price.

A few pool contractors In Tucson

Sun Pools
Pioneer Pools
Premier Pools
White Water Pools and Spas

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: No Comments »

Tucson Real Estate October 2007 Mid Month Home Sales Report

October 26th, 2007 categories: Tucson Real Estate

Looking at the Tucson real estate sales from the first of October to the 20th gives a healthier picture than September’s mid month report. Positive news for the market. Closed real estate sales rose from the 385 in this time frame in September to 403 for October. A step in the right direction. As of this writing there have been 481 recorded sales. As of this writing there are 1,320 homes under contract. September saw 1,335 homes under contract in the same time frame.

TARMLS reported a total of 683 residential real estate sales for September. Checking today, that number rose 740 recorded sales in the MLS. So much for getting paperwork submitted in a timely manner. Delayed entries do nothing but hurt facts and statistics.

On the down side for sellers and up side for buyers, the number of homes on the market at this time without a contract rose from 9,138 in September to 9,361 in October. Buyers, you have 223 more homes to choose from since last month. Good bargaining chip for buyers.

October 2007 Tucson real estate sales don’t look significantly better than September’s, however, Tucson’s real estate sales don’t look worse either. It is definitely more encouraging than last month. We are holding steady and may be moving forward.

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: No Comments »

Tucson Real Estate Best Time To Buy A Home

October 23rd, 2007 categories: Tucson Real Estate

The headline in the Sunday Arizona Daily Star was “Now may be best time to buy a home.” With the number of homes on the market sellers are wanting to sell for much less than they were months ago. Foreclosures are up, as are short sales. The great thing about the foreclosures and short sales for buyers is that lenders and bankers haven’t figured out how to lose less money by refinancing or renegotiating loans for less loss. They would rather get all of their money from the homeowner, rather than get outside the nine dots.

Linda Stern commented that now is a “Great time” to buy a house, with a guide on how to be smart about it. She recommends doing your homework. Know your market, find the right mortgage, and expect to keep that mortgage for a long time. For resale homes look at the history of the market and make an offer.

Builders are offering incentives all over the city. Look at what you can get for less. Deals are being offered for closing costs, improvements at a reduced price, homes that buyers failed to finalize and are now spec homes that the builders do not want on their inventory. Shopping around for the right deal can get you more home for less money.

If you have the patience and tolerance to work with banks and lenders short sales and foreclosures may be the way to go. Talk to your lender to make sure you have all your ducks in a row and go for it.

Wait too long for the market and you may find yourself paying more and getting less. Babyboomers moving to Tucson will find some great deals. The key to any home buying today is to buy a home and stay in it for three, five, seven, ten or more years. Expecting to buy today and make a quick buck tomorrow is not going to happen. Buy smart!

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: 4 Comments »

Real Estate Market Road To Recovery

October 19th, 2007 categories: Tucson Real Estate

Recovering The Real Estate Market will take a joint effort from home buyers, lenders, Realtors and homeowners. Lets start with homeowners who don’t want to sell their homes, but have to because of increasing interest rates from ARM’s, and Lenders who hold the note. I have seen too many homeowners who got caught up in an ARM whose income today is not what they expected two or three years ago. So lets look just at ARM’s to get the ball rolling.

Seeing the PI for a $200,000 loan at 5.75% was enticing to see a payment of $1,168. For simplification and the sake of argument, lets say insurance is $50 monthly and taxes for the land alone are $12 a month, now the payment is $1,230 for PITI. In Tucson real estate taxes for new construction homes do not catch up with that of resale homes for a year or two. Suddenly a year or two down the road the homeowner may be looking at another $166 a month for taxes. Now they are looking at payments of $1,384. Here comes the rate adjustment. Suddenly the homeowners (formerly buyers) are looking at 6.75% instead of 5.75%. That PI base just jumped from $1,168 to $1,297. That $1,230 PITI payment they signed for at closing just took an unmanageable jump to $1,508 in just two years. Ouch. Most buyers look at the PI payment of $1,168 without seeing the other $340 a month coming. They definitely ignore what is coming down the road.
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Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: 4 Comments »

Tucson Real Estate September 2007 Sales Report

October 16th, 2007 categories: Tucson Real Estate

Tucson Association of Realtors has finally finished their report. I am inclined to agree with Dave Smith that TARMLS should be able to get this information our much faster. I like Dave’s perspective on the market, particularly in the northwest. I tend to take a slightly different, yet similar view.

As I reported earlier this month, sales have drifted down to near 1996 statistics. With only 683 reported home sales through the MLS the number of sales are dramatically low. Drama that is filled with emotion. Borrowing words of the renowned “Grave Dancer” Sam Zell, “It’s a confidence crunch, not a credit crunch…” that has lead to the current conditions in real estate. Now, this is a man who makes billions of dollars following housing bubbles. What is he seeing to make billion$ that millions of home buyers are not seeing? Why should he get all the money that home buyers could get? Confidence, not credit has lead to an over supply of homes on the market with reduced sales.

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Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: 1 Comment »

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