The Catalina Foothills

something for everyone

Just listed, a total fix up in Coronado  Foothills Estates – 1972 built/2200 sf/slump block construction/3 Beds/2 Baths/2 car – listing says; Home needs complete remodel, but priced accordingly. $200,000 ($90/sf) - 6501 N Longfellow Drive Tucson, AZ 85718 (by Long Realty)

And first time on the market in Hacienda del Sol Estates 5101 N Avenida De Castilla Tucson, AZ 85718 is in contract after 4 and a half months listed at $1,495,000 ($295/sf) (by Long Realty)

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what’s a view worth

In NYC where they’re in seriously short supply they’re worth a lot.
In this article, Putting Price Tags on Views of Central Park, WSJ.com reports that apartment buildings fronting Central Park command more than double the price of apartments in surrounding neighborhoods. Which doesn’t surprise me.

I lived in NYC for many years and finding an apartment with a little bit of open sky and a view of almost anything was a bonanza that came with eternal bragging rights. But being on Central Park is like being in heaven.

Good views are worth a lot here in the  foothills as well. But not double. Depending on the  views, I’d say they’re worth a 10% to 40% premium vs the same property without a view.

That’s my guesstimate. What do you think,

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in contract last week,

That’s from Monday 5/21 thru Sunday 5/27

18 single family homes went to contract - fewer than in the recent past and two of them have already fallen out of contract, leaving just 16 new contracts.

12 of them are priced from $219,000 to $590,000

then one each at $739,000, $999,900, $1,350,000 & $1,450,000.
So fewer contracts overall but at least we’re still seeing some action at a million and up.

16 to contract

for contracts from the previous week 5/14 – 5/20 see > in contract this past week, 5/20

And there’s no doubt that fewer homes are going to contract due to the low supply of homes in some price ranges. I face it every day with buyers I’m working with as do many other agents. And as a result it appears that some buyers are now more willing to compromise and are putting homes in contract that in the past were bypassed for one reason or another  – because of an iffy location or a difficult floor plan. Things like that that are difficult or impossible to change.

We’re at a new low, just 291 single family homes for sale in the Tucson Foothills.

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"This might be a strong season, but there's a good chance we'll continue down for a year still," said Robert Shiller, professor of economics at Yale University. "There's too much uncertainty."

Home prices lowest since 2002
CNNMoney

Home prices hit new post-bubble lows in March, according to a report out Tuesday.

Average home prices were down 2.6% from 12 months earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major markets. Home priceshave not been this low since mid-2002.

"While there has been improvement in some regions, housing prices have not turned," said David Blitzer, spokesman for S&P.

Read all about it > Home prices lowest since 2002

Who am I to question Robert Schiller but, honestly, from what I’ve seen, I’d swear we’ve turned the corner.

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how much more would they have sold for had they been more realistically priced from the beginning

In Skyline Country Club 6900 N Gleneagles Drive, Tucson, AZ 85718 sold the other day for $750,000 from an $819,000 list price. But it started out in 2010 at $1,150,000 and then called it quits and returned a year later at $919,000. (listed by Keller Williams Southern Arizo 478302)

In Hacienda del Sol estates 4971 N Avenida De Vizcaya Tucson, AZ 85718 sold for $800,000 the other day from a $995,000 list price (listed by Long Realty).  But it too was listed before (different broker – different agent) asking $1,399,000.

And, last but not least, across the street in Cat 10 3731 E Sumo Septimo , Tucson, AZ 85718 started out in 07 at $1,500,000 (also, different agent – different broker) and sold today for $800,000 from an $894,000 list price (listed by Long Realty).

see them > HERE <

It’s impossible to say how much more they’d have gotten, but given that the market has only gone down-down-down the odds are they’d have done better then than they did now.
And, not the least of which, it would have been over and done with so much sooner.

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it’s a $500 thousand kind of day

4 contracts today, at $559,000, $579,000, $595,000 and $599,000

in the $5’s,

not much else so far,

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another one calls it quits

Built by Bartholomew Custom Homes in 2002, 2087 E Desert Garden was not just on the leading edge, it was the leading edge of the ultra-luxe spec home movement that took wing in Pima Canyon at that time. It first sold in April 2003 for $2,200,000 – and was described as “… Elegantly appointed hand carved cantera stone, Majestic pillars & European ambiance …”

I’ll say,
 
It’s not my style at all, but I held it open a few times back then and 
whether or not it was their cup of tea, most visitors couldn’t help marveling
at how incredibly lavish it was. The design, finishes and craftsmanship
were a breakthrough for spec homes.

But that was 02, 03. And in Feb 08 it was listed again, this time for $3,300,000, and after 4+ years and a few price cuts it still remains unsold and was canceled yesterday listed at $2,495,000 ($431/sf).  But nothing’s selling at $400/sf these days, so that’s no surprise.

2087 E Desert Garden Drive
(listed by Russ Lyon Sotheby's Int Realty)

if you’re selling in the Canyons this is not good news,

though you may see it differently if you’re a buyer, 

7417 N Secret Canyon Drive, a posh 2009 built spec home was listed for $4,500,000 ($622/sf) when it started out in October 08 and sold today for $2,050,000 ($283/sf) from an already greatly reduced list price of 2,995,000 ($414/sf). (listed by long Realty)

My goodness how could this happen, and in the Canyons no less.
Very easily really if you look at actual sale prices in the Canyons over the last 4 years.
7454 N Secret Canyon, also a posh spec home, started out asking $5,000,000 ($722/sf) in March 09 and ended up selling as a foreclosure for $1,850,000 ($267/sf) last May.
And down the road apiece 7203 N Cloud Canyon Place, which was not a spec, started out at $3,250,000 in Feb 07 and ended up getting $1,400,000 ($252/sf) last November, after more than four years. And prior to those three sales there was a long dry spell, with the last sale in the Canyons in July 2008 (ancient history), when 7550 N Secret Canyon Drive sold for $2,600,000 ($490/sf). The way it was.

So while the only 3 sales in the Canyons in recent history sold in the $252 to $283/sf range, the 5 homes remaining for sale are still in the $400 to $620/sf range – which may not go down so easy. And, to boot, 3508 E Secret Canyon Place, on the market since July 2010 and listed at $3,200,000 ($503/sf) was cancelled today. Coincidence? (listed by Russ Lyon Sotheby's Int Realty)  Stay tuned.

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the last hurrah

Traditionally Memorial Day is the end of our high-season for home sales here in the Tucson foothills. Not that everyone closes up shop and stops buying and selling but the pace of sales does slow down for the summer months. And it usually slows more for homes at the higher price ranges, where we can least afford a slowdown. So as we enter the triple digit months it’s a good time to recap where the market stands.

There are 299 single family homes for sale - with a measly 14 of them as distress sales  (9 short sales & 5 foreclosures or 4.7% of total inventory) And by the way, is the alleged shadow inventory ever going to show its face. 

164 of them are listed from $0 to $599,999
68 from $600,000 to $999,000
31 from $1,000,000 to $1,499,999
17 from $1,500,000 to $1,999,999
19 from $2,000,000 & up

287 homes sold since Jan 1 – with 53 distress sales (21 short sales & 32 foreclosures or 18.5% of total sales)

228 sold from $0 to $599,999
35 from $600,000 to $999,999
17 from $1,000,000 to $1,499,999
  7 from $1,500,000 to $1,999,999
  0 from $2,000,000 & up (though there are 2 in escrow listed at over $2mil)

So the bottom of the market is the place to be - with 168 homes for sale and 228 sold in 5 and a half months there’s a very lean 4 month supply of homes
Moving on up to $600k were looking at a 10.5 month supply
At $1.0 to $1.499 it also works out to about 10 months
$1.5 to $1.999 is up to 13 months
and at $2.0 & up it’s still anyone’s guess

all told they sold for an average/median of $473,147/$368,000 @ average of $161/sf

during the same period last year,
252 homes sold for an average/median of $478,936/$413,000 @ average of $165/sf

So a few more homes sold this year than last but they sold for a few dollars less

Have a Happy Memorial Day!

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eventually they come around

7707 N Ancient Indian Drive, a 2010 built spec in Pima Canyon, first listed for $2,250,000 in Jan 2010, sold today for $1,400,000 after finally dropping to $1.495 – just 37% from where it started. And think of all the carrying costs, taxes alone last year were $17,691.

But what can you expect - by the time it hit the market in 2010 the spec home frenzy that gripped the foothills during the boom was a distant memory - yet Ancient Indian was priced as if it were still 2006.

7707 N Ancient Indian Drive Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

I mentioned it on these pages when it was listed in Jan 2010 > just what the doctor ordered <

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on this hot day in May

two good contracts – 6426 N Desert Wind Circle, a beautifully designed and built house in the upper reaches of Ventana, listed at $1,350,000 ($324/sf). That’s after about 7 months on the market.

And in Alta Vista, which has been uncharacteristically quiet lately, 6651 N Placita De Chubasco, on the market since 2009, after having started out at a cool $2.1, went to contract today at somewhat less cool (at least for the seller) $1.450 ($328/sf) – about 30% off where it started. Both listed by Long Realty - 6426 N Desert Wind & 6651 N Placita De Chubasco <

Meanwhile, also in Ventana, 7200 E Desert Moon Loop & 6201 N Whaleback Place, are both back on the market after a week or two in escrow. Deals fall thru, it’s a total drag for everyone, but it happens. Both listed by Long Realty 

+ 5 price reductions on homes listed from $287,900 to $475,000

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in contract this past week, 5/20

27 single family homes went to contract in the Tucson Foothills since Monday 5/14

21 are priced from $135,000 to $599,000

then one each at $624,000, $699,000, $700,000, $775,000 & $975,000(a short sale)  
Plus the outlier at $2,495,000 on Barrel Cactus.

see for yourself > 27 in contract 

pretty much the same results as the week before and, once again, except for B Cactus, it was another dry week in the million+ range – while 42 remain for sale from $1.0 to $1.750 & more above that.

One of the things clogging the pipeline is that many upper-end homes are still holding out for yesterdays prices. No, you say, not after all this time. Yes, after all this time.
Why. Because they want to and because they can.

see the previous week’s numbers (May 7 – 13) > in contract this past week

Meanwhile, the good news is we’re down to 296 single family homes for sale in the Tucson Foothills. And the bad news is we’re down to 296 single … with about half as many for sale from a million & up (70) than there were a few years ago. And that’s an issue as well.
Not enough homes and not enough well-priced homes to choose from, and no high-end foreclosure action to keep buyers on the edge of their seats either.

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when you least expect it life surprises you

And after 3+ of trying I’ll bet it surprised the heck out of the owners of 1714 E Barrel Cactus Court . On this hot day in May, and in a price range that has been untouched lately, Barrel Cactus went to contract today listed at $2,495,000. Congratulations Nikki!
(listed by Russ Lyon Sotheby's Int Realty)

I’ve written about Barrel Cactus a few times over the years, most recently last month >

above it all in Pima Canyon

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you can ask whatever you want

4516 N Via Bellas Catalinas sold for $680,000 in 04 and for $890,000 in 06.
Then in September 2008 (no kidding, September 08) they zigged when they shoulda zagged and listed it for $980,000.

Six months later they called it quits, waited a couple of years, and listed it again this past January (new broker, new agent) for $750,000. And it closed escrow today for $750,000.
(meanwhile, your edge in real estate, zillow, pegged it at $650k)

4516 N Via Bellas Catalinas , Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

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don’t shoot the messenger

There’s been very little of note happening in Tucson Foothills real estate recently.

Today we saw,

3 new listings in the $3’s & $4’s.

5 price cuts in the $2’s, $3’s & $4’s

4 contracts at $135,000, $269,000, $351,900 & one at $599,000

4 closed sales at $375,000, $435,000, $537,500 &  one biggie (sort of) at $1,090,000
The biggie, however, started out in 04 asking $1,750,000, jumped to $1,850,000 in 05, then called it quits for six years and was listed last September at $1,395,000 and cut-cut  to  $1,249,000 it ended up at $1,090,000. After all that.

And that’s it. Another inauspicious day for Tucson Foothills real estate.

And it’s not that homes selling in the $2 to $500k range are not important. It’s just that they’re not particularly noteworthy since they’ve been selling like hotcakes for a long time now.  
And, lucky for them, it’s very old news.

What is noteworthy is that the rest of the market has suddenly fallen off a cliff. Again.

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a sale in Ventana CC

6451 N Ventana Canyon Drive was listed in January for $1,395,000, went to contract 90 days later and closed today for $1,375,000 ($248/sf). It last sold in 03 for $1,370,000.

6451 N Ventana Canyon Drive , Tucson, AZ 85750
(listed by Long Realty)

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everything is selling

5110 E Calle Barril is reported in contract today

And not only is it colorful, it’s also big, 8316 sf big. And cheap too.
It went to contract from a $775,000 ($93/sf) list price – yes $93/sf.

– but, get this, not before trying for $2,495,000 in 08, $1,999,000 in 09, $1,200,000
& $1,100,000 in 2011, do I hear $999, and finally dropping to $775,000 last month,

and bingo, some lucky buyer gets to call it home.

5110 E Calle Barril Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

in contract this past week

24 single family homes went to contract in the Tucson Foothills since Monday 5/7

20 of them were priced from $195,000 to $599,900

then one at $724,900 (a short sale), one at $899,000 and two at $995,000.

see for yourself > 24 in contract

That’s not a bad haul for the week, as long as you’re not one of the homes listed for more than $995 - there are 75 of them, priced from $996,000 to $15,900,000.

Meanwhile the inventory continues to drop, we’re down to just 303 homes for sale.

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not everything is selling like hotcakes

Up to about $1.5mil the Tucson Foothills real estate market has been doing
pretty well this year.

At the lower end of the foothills market, from $0 to $599,999
there are 168 homes for sale
112 are currently in contract
and 204 homes have sold since Jan 1
which works out to an extremely lean 3 1/2 month supply

moving up a notch to $600,000 to $999,999
there are 68 for sale
24 currently in contract
and 35 sold since Jan 1
which equals an 8 month supply, not bad at all, and with 24 in contract
it sure looks like this price range is still attracting buyers

in the 7 figures range,

at $1,000,000 to $1,499,999
there are 29 for sale
just 4 in contract
but 17 sold since Jan 1
so just over a 7 month supply, very encouraging if you’re a seller, but with just 4 in contract 
I can’t help wondering if interest isn’t waning

at $1,500,000 to $1,999,999 the clouds start rolling in

there are 19 for sale
just 1 in contract
and 7 sold = an 11 month supply. Not so good and, again, with just 1 in contract you have to wonder

and at $2,000,0000 & up there’s no wondering

there are 21 for sale (and most have been for sale for eons)
1 lucky homeowner is in contract
but not a single home sold this year
so it’s anyone’s guess how long it’ll take to even make a dent in this group

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more fallout from the boom

7459 N Calle Sin Celo sold for $1,475,000 in 2006. Then, against all odds, in 08 and into 09
it was listed for $1,649,000 then dropped down to $1,499,000 and finally called it quits. 
That is until a couple of months ago when it was listed for $995,000, and now it’s in contract.
A bittersweet sale at best, I imagine.

7459 N Calle Sin Celo , Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

While 2457 E Calle Sin Condena, also in Sin Vacas, came out unscathed. But these sellers bought in 2002, well before the boom, for $600k, and sold again today for $803.
And thank goodness they didn’t listen to Zillow who had it pegged at $724,700.

2457 E Calle Sin Condena Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

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a recommendation

For garage door sales, service and installation try Signal Doors

A home inspector I use recommended them. So I used them and they were terrific.
They showed up on time, were courteous, analyzed the repair needed, quoted a fair price and did the work quickly and expertly. They’re pros.

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to find your Tucson Foothills home

is the season winding down

I’ve been absent from this blog for a few days and mostly because I’ve been busy with actual real estate work that may eventually pay the bills. But even so, the truth is there hasn’t been much to report. I’m wondering if the season is winding down, maybe a little early this year, or is the recent droopiness of the stock market taking its toll. Or maybe it’s not that at all. And it’s just a natural, inexplicable, harmless and restorative, really, pause. We’ll see, pauses last a few days, and a few days are just about up.  Since my last post on May 3rd we’ve had;

a scant 7 new listings came on, 6 of them priced up to $652k then one at $1,295,000, but located in an area better known for homes priced at $652. So nothing terribly exciting there.

21 price reductions, 18 of them from the low $2’s to the mid $5’s then three in the $700’s,
and not a single cut in the upper ranges.

9 homes went to contract, but here again, 7 of them are priced from the low $2’s to $509 then 1 at $639 and 1 at $995. And, again, nothing in the upper ranges.

a measly 5 homes sold since May 3rd, and all 5 are in the $2 to $300k range. Honest.

But don’t despair, there has been some activity at the upper end. Three listings were canceled  – listed at $1,695,000, $1,395,000 and $1,749,000. The $1,395,000 listing started out in 09 at $1,850,000, so while they’re thinking they took a huge price cut, in reality they’ve barely kept up with the falling market.

More later, I hope

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April home sales in the Tucson Foothills

Sales and sale prices held up nicely in April - 73 single family homes sold at an average/median of $473,568/$389,000.

Unit sales in April were on a par with March, when 76 sold, and ahead, and often well ahead, 
of every other month going back to January 2011.

 

And while the average sale price is up a tad from last month, it’s down from most prior months and down from where it was last year at this time. But median prices shot up and are higher this month than every month going back to last July – because pricey homes are selling again. 

And it’s not hard to see that IF sales continue to be strong that prices will increase.

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much ado about not very much

4151 E La Paloma Drive sold for $715,000 in 2006. Then the new owner poured a pile of money into it renovating and remodeling.

and turned the kitchen from this;

 

to this;

along with other remodeling projects throughout the house. 
Then they listed it in March 09 for $1,000,000. And despite all the time, money and effort,
it didn’t sell. Not until after many moons and many price cuts, it finally sold today for $355,000. Yes, 3 5 5, after all that.

For all the juicy details see > here’s one for the books < which I wrote in January when it went to contract. 

4151 E La Paloma Drive Tucson, AZ 85718 (listed by Long Realty)

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another deal killed by another half-assed appraisal

2321 E Calle Lustre, a pretty great looking remodeled house in the old foothills, went to contract on March 2nd from a $949,000 ($191/sf) list price. And it should have easily appraised. But it didn’t. The appraisal came in substantially below the contract price,
so the deal was killed.

Now I can’t prove to you here that it should have appraised, but it should have, easily, and with money left over. It’s a no-brainer. But apparently not to the so-called professional appraiser.

Meanwhile the buyer, a prominent individual who is moving to the area, after having spent a lot of time, is back to square one and out searching for another house. But the sellers are really worse for the wear. They moved out and had all their beautiful furniture and other stuff moved out and put in storage. And now they’re in the process of taking a few giant steps backwards – and getting their stuff out of storage and back into the house in preparation for putting it back on the market and starting all over again. Meanwhile, they’ve spent a lot of time and a lot money and it’s all for naught because of a faulty appraisal. This has got to stop. Peoples lives are being thrown into turmoil because of the incompetence of the appraisal management companies and the appraisers they assign. And in most cases they walk away without another thought.

But maybe not this time. I understand the sellers are pursuing legal action against the appraiser and the appraisal management company. Good for them, I wish them all the luck and I volunteer to help in any way I can. Something’s got to be done to wake these people up.

I’ve written about my experiences with faulty appraisals HERE and HERE and HERE 
And we find ourselves in this mess thanks to the wisdom of the Obama-Dodd-Frank financial reforms. For a recent appraisal that was done for a buyer I was working with the appraisal management company was out of Mumbai. Seriously, they’re headquartered in Mumbai India and they’re assigning appraisers to do appraisals in the Tucson Foothills.
Now that’s the kind of change you can believe in.

UPDATE, it’s now back on the market
2321 E Calle Lustre Tucson, AZ 85718 (listed by Long Realty)

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it seems like everything’s selling

In Cat 10 5260 N Camino Sumo sold for $1,035,000 ($219/sf) from a $1,195,000 list price.
So while they took a little haircut from the list price, that was the original list when it first hit the market in November. It went to contract in early March, so 4 months from list to contract but it took longer than usual to close. And long closings are nerve wracking. The longer the time the more that can go wrong and derail the deal. (listed by Long Realty)

And tucked away in a very peaceful area near Sabino Canyon 6218 N Sabino Shadow Lane – listed at $1.295 -  sold for $1,200,000 ($257/sf) after starting out in December 2010 at $1,495,000. (listed by Long Realty)

295 E Rudasill Tucson, AZ 85704, first listed in Jan 2011 for $795,000 and recently reduced to $699,000 went for $699,000 ($132/sf) and not a short sale or foreclosure. But rather a 2009 built 5290 sf house on 1.28 acres. YIKES!! (listed by Keller Williams)

5221 N Rock Canyon Road Tucson, AZ 85750 started at an even million $$$ last May and finished today at $780,000 from an $899,000 list. (listed by Long Realty)

6682 N LOS LEONES , Tucson, AZ 85718 in Skyline CC did well. It was listed in February  at $489,000 went to contract a month later and closed a month after that, that’s today, at $470,000. Nice work if you can get it. (also listed by Long Realty)

6800 N Chaparral Avenue Tucson, AZ 85718 was listed last September for $549,00, had a couple of tiny price cuts, ending up at $514,000, and closed today for $477,000. Unfortunately, the sellers paid $782,500 for it in March 2006 – right about the time the market had its last burst before beginning its long, slow fall to earth. (listed by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)

SOLD Tuesday 5/1

We’re down to 311 single family homes for sale in the foothills, the lowest in my 10 years in the foothills

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sold sold sold

A reader wrote in commenting that I only write about some of the homes that sell in the foothills and not others.

That’s correct. I only write about the homes I think are noteworthy, interesting or representative of the market for one reason or another. And even if I wanted to I wouldn’t have time to write about all the homes that sell each month. And anyway, how tedious, who’d want to read it.

But I do regularly offer sales data for all the homes sold. And if you would like to see the SOLD listings of all the homes sold in the past 30 days (with pictures, details, prices, etc)  click over to my website > http://www.thefoothillstoday.com/ < and click >  JUST- Listed, Sold & Reduced

I try to update the Just Sold link everyday but it usually ends up being every few days.

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