TheTucsonFoothills

out with the old in with the new

John Schneider — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:43:53 -0700

In Pima Canyon, 2047 E Desert Garden Dr expired today after 500 days on the market. Listed in February 08 for $1,749,000 it went out today at $1,599,000, or $415/sf. Nice house, gorgeous lot, but apparently not irresistible, not at that price anyway.

Meanwhile, just down the road apiece, 1887 E Desert Garden Dr has come along to fill the gap. And you may like it’s price better too. It’s a brand new listing, - $1,495,000/$352/sf/built 2000/4243 sf/4 bdr/4 bth/pool & spa. Last sold in January 01, this must have been one of the first houses to sell in PC when it opened its pearly gates in 2001.

Back then it went for $1,066,000, and counting on my fingers and toes, the current list price sounds like it might even be in the ballpark.

See it here> 1887 E Desert Garden Dr

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to find your Foothills home

dirt, dishes and doggy do-do

John Schneider — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:56:12 -0700

A reader, who’s out in our glorious 106 degree weather shopping for a home, wrote in with this observation,

‘ I couldn't help but comment on a strange thing I have found in many homes that we have seen. Mind you, these are not "cheap" homes, but homes in the $700,000 to 1,000,000 range. I am amazed at how many sellers do not CLEAN THEIR HOMES! Seriously. You know your house is being shown. Would it hurt to scrub the showers and get the mildew out of the grout? Clear the clutter on the kitchen countertops? Try to clean the slobber that their humongous dogs have left all over windows and sliding doors? Also, if you have already moved out of the house you are selling, perhaps someone can come out every once in a while to clean out the multitude of dead crickets and roaches that inevitably will meet their demise in a hot and empty house? It has been unbelievable.’

All good advice. But my explanation for this messy home syndrome was that so many homes have been on the market for so long that sellers have become dejected and have lost their enthusiasm. And with showings so few and far between, particularly now that it's 106 in the shade, who’s worried about tidiness when they’re wondering if they’ll ever even have another showing.

So try to look past the dirt, the dishes and the doggy do-do and turn it into a deal to your advantage.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Foothills home

a less gaping gap

John Schneider — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:29:49 -0700

Back in January I talked about the gaping gap between the median list price of the homes for sale in the Foothills, and the median sold price of those Sold in the last three months.

Back then the median list was $639,000 - the median sold $400,000 –for a 37% gap.

And average prices were worse yet- $919,942- list/$473,097-sold,
for a 48% gap. As if buyers and sellers were on different planets.

Well they’re still worlds apart, but, looking at it today, things have improved some.

The median list has dropped to $600,000, while the median sold has inched up to $427,500, for a tad less gaping 29% gap.

Average list and sold prices have also closed ranks a bit:
$895,492- list/$522,967- sold, for a, be thankful for small favors,
41% gap.

The sold prices are for the last three months, mid April thru today. Any wagers on where list & sold prices will be two months from now.

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to search all Tucson Foothills homes

defying gravity at the high-end

John Schneider — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:03:50 -0700

6424 N Placita Del Zopilote, listed at $1,175,000 went to contract today after 189 days. And though we’ll have to wait and see what it went for, at $364/sf it’s a break-away from the pack price from recent sales in Alta Vista. The 5 others sold this year went for: $174, $122, $221, $228 and $270/sf.

But more interesting yet is it last sold in June 06 for $1,045,000 and, as far as I can tell, nothing of consequence was done to it to justify the leap in price. But the sellers & buyers thought it was worth it, and that’s what counts. Assuming there’s a mortgage, let’s hope the bank agrees.

It looks like a very attractive house, and it has a guest house,
a 2 BDR/2 BTH guest house, which is rare in the Foothills and even more rare in Alta Vista. So maybe that’s it.

See for yourself> 6424 N Placita Del Zopilote
**the link will expire on 8/12/09**

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to find your Foothills home

I may be barking up the wrong tree

John Schneider — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:52:45 -0700

In response to my piece about % of sale price/list price, a reader, who is also a buyer I’m working with, wrote in;

You asked whether buyers would be interested in the "correct" % of list. I have thought about this a bit and concluded that I don't care what the original list price was (and therefore the % against original list).

I am much more interested in current sales prices relative to current list prices. Those numbers give me some idea of what the current market is like. The fact that someone put a home on the market two years ago and ended up selling at 60% of the original list price is not very useful to me as buyer. May have some relevance to agents, but not to me.

Thank you, that’s interesting, surprising, but interesting.
Please, let’s hear more.

Sold! for 94% of list price, well sort of

John Schneider — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:30:18 -0700

The other day I mentioned that the % of sale price/list price as calculated by the MLS is based on the latest list price (that’s after price cuts & relisting & re-relisting) – rather than on the original list price. And I said, were it calculated on the original list, the % sale price/list price would be much-much lower, often astonishingly lower.

And a reader wanted to know, “how much lower would it be “

Looking at the homes sold for $850,000 or more since Jan 1, here’s how the % of sale price is reported and what it would be if the original list price was part of the picture:

-5551 N Camino Real- Sold $850,000
@ original list $1,449,000 it sold for 59% of list
list at sale $997,235 it sold for 85% of list as reported

-4351 E Pinnacle Ridge Pl - Sold $850,000
@ original list $999,900 it sold for 85% of list
list at sale $899,000 it sold for 94% as reported

-4070 N Palo Verde Blvd - Sold $860,000
@ original list $995,000 it sold for 86% of list
list at sale $895,000 it sold for 96% as reported

-5343 N Ventana Overlook Pl- Sold $875,000
@ original list $899,000 it sold for 97% of list
list at sale $899,000 it sold for 97% as reported

-5527 N Camino Real - sold $895,000
@ original list $1,649,000 it sold for 54%
list at sale $1,195,000 it sold for 75% as reported

-6400 N Placita Del Zopilote - Sold $899,000
@ original list $949,000 it sold for 95%
list at sale $949,000 it sold for 95% as reported

-3550 E Camino A Los Vientos - Sold $900,000
@ original list $2,450,000 it sold for 37%
list at sale $1,800,000 it sold for 50% as reported

-5128 N Calle Ladero – Sold 920,000
@ original list $1,650,000 it sold for 56%
list at sale $998,000 it sold for 92% as reported

-4911 N Camino Antonio – Sold $1,050,000
@ original list $1,775,000 it sold for 59%
list at sale $1,375,000 it sold for 76% as reported

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. As reported, the % of sale price/list price presents a more positive picture, or, giving the benefit of the doubt, just a partial picture, of how homes are selling and how the market’s really doing.

As a buyer, is this information you’d like to have, information that would be useful and that you feel you have a right to have. I would think so, and I’m not sure how anyone could make a good case for not making it readily available. With the mess the real estate market is mired in, is withholding information about market conditions going to help move things along. What do you think.

PS- your agent can provide this information and, I’m sure, will gladly do so. It’s just tedious, because the listing history needs to be looked up and the %’s calculated for each house individually.

they’re dropping like high-price listings

John Schneider — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:31:22 -0700

Since June 30th 23 listings priced $900,000 and up have either expired or been withdrawn and, so far, just 10 have been relisted – taking a bigger bite out of our high-end inventory than sales have lately.

Gone for now are;

6622 N LONGFELLOW Dr/$989,000/235 DOM
2611 E Calle Sin Desengano/$995,000/83 DOM
4700 N CAMINO SUMO/$995,000/174 DOM
4920 N Calle Faja/$995,500/327 DOM
4954 N Camino Antonio/$1,250,000/177 DOM
4081 N Quail Canyon Dr/$1,299,000/406 DOM
6831 N Skyway Dr/$1,299,500/302 DOM
4162 N Quail Canyon Dr/$1,335,000/152 DOM
6273 N Desert Moon Lp/$1,425,000/290 DOM
4150 E La Paloma Dr/$1,499,000/442 DOM
3401 E Camino A Los Vientos/$2,250,000/151 DOM
6755 N Hole In The Wall Way/$2,750,000/228 DOM
2112 E Sentry Ridge Ct/$4,499,000/498 DOM

It’s no fun to have tried and failed, but most of these homes have been on the market for a long long time and, let’s face it, there’s got to be some relief in finally facing the facts, giving it up and getting on with your life. That is, as long as you don’t need to sell.

And if you’ve had your eye on one of these homes and have been waiting for just the right moment to pounce, don’t despair. I’d imagine that even though it’s off the market, the owners would be tickled pink to make a deal.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Foothills home

who ya gonna believe

John Schneider — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:53:53 -0700

Every month I participate in a housing survey conducted by Credit Suisse that looks at 40 markets across the U.S.

Here are a few highlights from last months survey results of Tucson agents.

Tucson, AZ

Traffic falls below agents’ expectations
44% of agents said traffic was in line with expectations, 34% said it was below expectations and 22% said it was above expectations

Prices and incentives show signs of stabilization
62% of agents said prices were unchanged while 19% said they
declined sequentially and 19% said they increased

Length of time needed to sell a home increased – a negative indicator for future pricing trends
51% of agents said the length of time needed to sell a home was
unchanged from last month, 30% of agents said the time to sell was longer, and 19% said it was shorter
_____________________________________________________________________

And for more on who ya gonna believe,
this just in,

The Arizona Republic reports,
Tucson real-estate agents in fraud suit

‘A consumer fraud lawsuit has been filed against a group of Tucson real-estate agents, loan officers and real estate-related businesses accused of running a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that led to 130 foreclosures.’

According to the story the Defendants are:

• Andrew Silverstein, former Re/Max All Executives real-estate agent.

• Anthony Zandonatti, owner of AZI Rent2Own and owner of RTOSearch.com.

• VinLan Ventures.

• Re/Max All Executives. Vince Volpe, Re/Max All Executives.

• Tucson Mortgage: William "Bill" Anastapolous, owner of Tucson Mortgage. Thomas Piazza, Tucson Mortgage loan officer. Dave Klein, former Tucson Mortgage loan originator.

• WGA Enterprises LLC.

• Amaury Leon, Infinity Funding loan officer.

• Darren Breen, Red House Lending loan officer.

And the same story from our own Arizona Daily Star
Tucson real-estate agents in fraud suit

‘Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard has sued a group of Tucson real estate agents and businesses, alleging the group devised a three-pronged scheme using rent-to-own properties to defraud investors, lenders and home buyers.’
_______________________________________________________________

This doesn’t bode well for any of the defendants, but since Vince Volpe is, or was until recently, the big cheese, that is, the manager and broker for ReMax, this may present a new challenge to their PR and recruiting efforts. oh, and throw the book at the bums.

they’ll soon be beating down the doors

John Schneider — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:31:48 -0700

After weeding it down to the 50 top spots in the U.S. to retire, BusinessWeek.com chose Tucson as # 1.

America's Best Affordable Places to Retire

how are things doin’ in Pima Canyon

John Schneider — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:46:28 -0700

The short answer is, a lot more than was doin' a few months ago.
Up until May nothing had sold in Pima Canyon since last October, so about seven months with no sales, nothing under contract and 20 something homes waiting for a buyer.

But since mid May things have popped a bit in PC. 4 homes have sold, the latest just today and another is under contract, cutting the inventory down to 15 for sale. But the plot thickens, because 9 of those 15 are spec homes. Yes, 9 specs in PC alone. (Note, not one of the sales was a distress sale and none of those currently listed are either)

And 2 other biggies are unaccounted for. They expired last month in PC and have yet to return. One was a spec priced at $3,995,000, where did it go, and the other a re-sale listed for $4,499,000.

And here’s a question for all you Pima Canyon fans. Whatever happened to the two Tara-Sun built, but not completed, spec homes that sat side-by-side on the eastern fringe of PC on Calle Sin Envidia. One listed for $2.0, the other for $1.8.

As I recall, during their last few weeks on the market, they were listed as short sales with construction to be completed by the buyer. Then puff, they were withdrawn, never to be seen again. What happened. Have the lenders really been dickering for 8 months now, quite possible, or maybe they’re just waiting for the market to turn. If so, get in line.