In August 2008 – just before it all hit the fan – I did a post titled - the land of opportunity, Tucson Foothills spec homes - where I wrote
‘In the last few months I've given a lot of coverage (some would say too much) to the million$+ spec home market here in the Tucson Foothills. I did it because there are unmistakable signs of vulnerability in this category. And along with that there's opportunity. And now unfortunately, though it was inevitable - two of these million$+ spec homes have been listed as short sales.
I count 27 new vacant million$$+ spec homes for sale in the Tucson Foothills. And amongst them, I see opportunities to make some very good deals. New, old and in between, there are 128 homes for sale in the Tucson Foothills priced at $1,000,000 and UP’ (August 2008)
That was then. And since then those perceived opportunities became reality and many buyers stepped up and took advantage of them, with many of those high-end spec homes selling for cheap and ending up as very good deals. And along the way short sales and foreclosures – which were a novelty back then - became commonplace in our high-end real estate market. And in fact, they’ve become the preferred way to go for many high-end buyers.
But from all that turmoil has come a lot of improvement in the market. Particularly lately. We’re now down to 11 vacant spec homes for sale at a million+ and, including specs and re-sales, we’re down to 86 homes for sale at a million bucks or more. (and of the 11 specs for sale today, just one is a leftover from that hot day in August 2008)
And most importantly, most buyers aren’t sitting on the fence anymore. When a good deal comes along they recognize it and go for it. They realize that, while we may not be at the very bottom, when a house comes along that’s right for them and priced right too, that it’s time to make a move.
Right now in the Tucson Foothills there are 13 homes priced at a million $$ or more in contract. 4 of them are in Pima Canyon alone – and we haven’t had 4 homes in contract in PC since I don’t know when.
see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Foothills home
