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Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
Mobile: 520-954-2209
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Tucson Real Estate - Should I Buy or Should I Wait

Almost daily someone asks me, “Should I buy a home now or should I wait for the market to change?” The answer is, “Now is a great time to buy a home.” Why?

Home prices have remained stable in some areas and dropped below levels before the housing market frenzy in other areas. Especially in the south, extended south, and southwest parts of Tucson. The southwest has always been a “get more for your dollar” area. Comparative shopping by area can save thousands of dollars. With the new Spectrum Shopping Center coming in at Drexel and I-19, with Best Buy and Harkins Theaters are already there, south and southwest homeowners won’t have to drive so far to go shopping and find entertainment. Whoever puts a restaurant near the theater is going to see great returns.

There are those foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned properties out there as well. Spread all over the county. Some are great deals, others are questionable. You don’t know until you see the home in person and compare the sales for the area. For those who do their homework, they are making a good investment.

Knowing the history of sales in a specific geographical area is a good guide for confirming that you are getting a good deal. I like to chart the sales of a subdivision if there are enough sales to show the history of what has sold. This chart for a 2451 square foot home demonstrates what I mean. The asking price and sales price of this particular square foot sized home in a specific neighborhood remained stable over the years. Though sales have been few, prices have not dropped dramatically. Making the purchase of a home of this square footage, in this neighborhood, within this price range a safe purchase. This same home in the northwest has sold for over $170,000 more, see chart on left. Why? Because this home is in the southwest, the other homes are in the northwest. In this comparison the price difference is $50,000. Location, location, location. In either case, note that sales prices have increased, not decreased for this particular floor plan. So, which makes more sense for the same home, under $290,000 or nearly $470,000? What can you do with $50,000 to $180,000?

The media and news report on the housing market in generalities. That does not tell buyers what is really happening in the market. Getting with a Realtor who knows their business and who can demonstrate with hard numbers the value of a home and community. Location, location, location is a good thing. It can also cost thousands of dollars, and for what? Not done yet. It also depends on the particular home selected. Using another popular 1538 floor plan, you can see a difference in the change of value over an extended period of time. More in line with what buyers anticipate. Similar situation, different floor plan. To compare in generalities would not reveal an accurate picture for this particular floor plan. Not all homes can be compared like this though. The more specific the information, the better the evaluation. Again, a knowledgeable Realtor can be a real friend in estimating the right value.

Waiting too long can make a big difference. On a $250,000 loan a half a percent change in the interest rate can result in nearly $1,000 more in payments each year. How many tanks of gas will $1,000 buy? How much food? How many sets of tires? How many trips to the movies, Las Vegas, San Diego can $1,000 buy? How about that flat screen TV you’ve been looking at? I know $1,000 will cover a cruise for two to Cabo San Lucas. Why take the risk? How much are you willing to give up when interest rates and prices go up?

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Tucson Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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