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Tucson Real Estate & Golf Properties

Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
Mobile: 520-954-2209
Contact Me

Archive for April, 2008

Buying For Sale By Owner, What Should You Know

April 20th, 2008 categories: Tucson Real Estate

With all the homes on the market there are a variety of ways to buy.

Use a Realtor to find a home and protect your rights.
Buy a foreclosure home on the court foot steps.
Find a home listed through a Realtor and represent yourself.
Find a For Sale By Owner home and represent yourself.

Foreclosure homes can be purchased for a good price, but, you need either cash or a solid loan already lined up. Know that you will be competing with cash buyers. There is some risk. Just like the stock market, the higher the risk, the higher the return, the higher the chance of loss.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes are abundant. Buyers who choose to go it alone commonly think that they are saving a bundle of money by cutting commissions out of the picture. Sometimes, they are right. Many times these buyers end up paying more than they could have. That doesn’t mean it is not possible.

Many times both the Seller and the Buyer of a FSBO have good intent. There is always the risk of a Buyer feeling to comfortable with a charismatic Seller. Did they really drop the price to the lowest they would accept because they like you? How does what you paid compare to other like sales in the area? How reliable are the resources you use to find out? I have seen some off by over $40,0000. How long have you known the Seller? For the Seller, the reverse…did they get the best deal? What protections do either have following the sale? Since we live in a litigious society, how costly is a law suit?

The Arizona Dept. of Real Estate has implemented numerous hidden protections for Buyers and Sellers. Protections that are not knowingly available in a direct sales from Seller to Buyer.

As a Buyer, what do you really know about the home? What do you know about the condition of the home? What do you know about the home’s history? What must be disclosed? What resources do you have verify information? What protections do you have? Are there liens against the home? How do you find out? Is the Seller have legal right to sell the home? What are you missing in the transaction? What will it cost you if you miss something? How much can you afford to lose…$1,000?…$10,000?…$100,000?…$500,000?

Does it make sense to use a Realtor whether buying a FSBO, new home, or resale home? Of course it does. Does it cost you any more? No it doesn’t. If things do go wrong, who can you go back to? Use a Realtor, be safe, protect yourself.

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: No Comments »

March 2008 Real Estate Sales Report

April 10th, 2008 categories: Tucson Real Estate

Surprise surprise, TARMLS is listening and got statistics out today. Their numbers are slightly better than I reported in my preliminary report a few days ago.

I reported 892 sales in my preliminary report, TARMLS reported 900 sales. Which amounts to a .76% increase in sales over the prelim report. TARMLS has changed their reporting to compare the previous month to the current month. I like how they broke it down.

Home Sales Volume: Increased 25.29%

2/08 $186,129,758
3/08 $233,207,940

Average Sales Price: Decreased 1.15%

2/08 $262,155
3/08 $259,120

Pending Contracts: Increased 30.67%

2/08 1,079

3/08 1,410

Active Listings: Decreased 1.59%

2/08 9,168

3/08 9,022

New Listings: Increased 0.49%

2/08 2,432

3/08 2,444

Home Sales Units: Increased: 26.76%

2/08 710

3/08 900

Median Sales Price: Increased 0.05%

2/08 $199,900

3/08 $200,000

A good sign is the decrease in new listings and active listings. If we can see that three months in a row we may be headed for a trend. As can be expected the northwest and central parts of metro Tucson lead in sales respectively. April through June traditionally see higher sales each month, with a slight drop in July.

Interest rates slightly increased over the weekend. For those who locked in loans last week, you did the right thing. For those waiting for them to fall further, you have a better chance a the black jack table. We are getting close if not already at the point of woulda-shoulda-coulda. See you next month.

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: 1 Comment »

March 2008 Preliminary Real Estate Sales Report

April 3rd, 2008 categories: Tucson Real Estate

I am sure that there are a lot of people wondering how the Tucson real estate market fared during March of 2008. The official count of sales for February was 710. March saw an increase of nearly 26% with 892 sales. That is a solid increase considering all the scare about today’s market.

Historically the increase between February and March is 28%. We experienced a 26% increase; the difference of 15 home sales. I know those 15 other home sellers would appreciate that 2% increase. With 8,965 homes on the market, falling off by 15 sales is not a bad fall. Not even enough to warrant a bandage.

The Average sales price was $285,000 with a median price of $200,000. The lowest sales price was $25,000 while the highest was $2,250,000.

Of the 892 Tucson real estate home sales for March, 32 were golf properties. The average sales price for golf properties was $390,000 with a median sales price of $330,000. The low was $172,000 with a high of $1,275,000. Golf properties continue to lead in average and median price.

Of course March 2008 sales were not that of 2007, 2006, or 2005. We did see a healthy increase from the previous month. The market isn’t dead or dying. With the election year ahead of us we will see a slow housing market recovery as well as a slow economic recovery. Interest rates have not seen a significant increase. Could the market be better, of course if could. Could the market be worse, you better believe it. See you next month for the April report. Don’t forget to visit Dave and Kelly for their reports. I always enjoy what they have to say.