The Catalina Foothills

a repeat performance in Cat 10?

When 4681 N Camino Sumo was listed in February 2010 for $995,000 - 2010 being the year of the reluctant buyer vs. sellers with their heads in the sand - I called it a no brainer . Because unlike the other 18 homes for sale in Cat 10, which were priced to sell in another era, Cmo Sumo was priced to sell in 2010. And sell it did, it went to contract 5 days later and sold for $988,500, leaving the other 18 clinging to their pie-in-the-sky prices.

Well 4681 N Camino Sumo is back on the market today listed at $1,095,000 ($240/sf) and -similar to 2010, though not nearly to the same extent - once again upper-end homes in Cat 10 are not having a very good year. 8 for sale from $1,095,000 to $1,895,000, none sold at $1.0+ this year.

4681 N Camino Sumo  Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

aren’t we lucky

From the NYTimes.com

By Robert J. Shiller

HOME prices have been rising rapidly, so much so that there is talk that we are entering another national bubble.

In fact, according to the S.& P./Case-Shiller Composite-10 Home Price Index, which Karl Case of Wellesley College and I developed, home prices in the United States were up 18.4 percent in real, inflation-corrected terms in the 16 months that ended in July. During the housing bubble that preceded the 2008 financial crisis, the largest 16-month increase wasn’t much bigger: 22.7 percent, for the period ended in July 2004.

Is it possible that we are lapsing into what I call a bubble mentality — a self-reinforcing cycle of popular belief that prices can only go higher?

Read all about it - Housing Market Is Heating Up, if Not Yet Bubbling
_____________________________________________________________

we don’t have those worries here in the Tucson Foothills.

Looking at sold prices for the period of Jan 1 thru August 31 for 2012 and 2013 there’s not a bubble to be found.

2012  – 584 homes sold @ $459,825/$369,000 (avg/median sold price)

2013 - 640 homes sold @ $462,135/$389,950

So thru August 2013 prices are up a miniscule .5% average and 5.7% median vs. the same period last year. And, unlike Mr. Shiller’s, these percentages are not adjusted for inflation. If they were they’d be, what, about 2% less.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

if you missed it the 1st time

5415 N Soledad Segunda – a rare and nicely updated Foothills charmer – went to contract after 7 days and has fallen out and is now back on the market. Hurry!

5415 N Soledad Segunda  Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

a foreclosure in Pinnacle Ridge

4438 E Pinnacle Ridge Place showed up today listed for $824,900 ($186/sf). And oddly enough this is its first time on the market since it sold new for $645,197 in 2001 from AF Sterling, the builder. As owners head into default they usually list the house, either as a normal sale or short sale, or both, in an attempt to avoid foreclosure. Not so here.

2001 built, 4,446sf, 4 beds 4 baths, 3 car, pool, 2 story.
4438 E Pinnacle Ridge Place Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Integra Group Real Estate, LLC 4187)

I’ve written endlessly on the desirability and super quick home sales in Pinnacle Ridge, most recently, HERE HERE & HERE

But this new listing makes it 3 for sale, and the other 2 have each been at it for 29 days – on the high side for listings to last in PR. And this new one is not particularly good news for another listing just up the street - at 6325 N Pinnacle Ridge Drive -  same exact sf, same year built, same builder, 2 story too, but at $860,000 (listed by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 70202)

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

a 1935 Joesler

4910 N Calle Angosta, listed today, which the listing describes as; Murphey-Joesler dream home for someone who appreciates historic homes and the rare opportunity to purchase such a property in essentially it's original state and ready for it's first renovation and restoration…. this home is a time capsule embodying the distinctive design and construction qualities found in Murphey-Joesler Catalina Foothills homes. Located on a hilltop with spectacular city lights and panoramic mountain views. 1720sf, 3 beds/3 baths, no pool or garage – $425,000.

just 3 pictures in the listing, the 3rd is of the Catalina's, and we all know what they look like.

For a Joesler aficionado or someone looking for something small and special in the Old Foothills this should be worth a look. It just came on this morning so I haven’t seen it yet, but  I will later today.

It was, for almost 80 years, on 3.4 acres but, of course, two additional lots have been split from that acreage – one to the north, one to the south. And as with any nearby or adjacent vacant lot, it’s the unknown that causes buyers to wonder. However, should you wish to enjoy this little gem in it’s original configuration, the two lots were also just listed for $279,000 each.

4910 N Calle Angosta Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Genesis Real Estate & Management 4902)

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

a typical Friday

Friday is a popular day for new listings, and with 12 making their appearance or reappearance, today is no different. They range from $259,900 to $1,799,000, with 3 of them from $1.1 to $1.799. Amongst them is very stately Territorial in the Old Foothills with 6061sf on 4 acres @ $1,799,000. Another is a shopaholic’s special, conveniently located a hop-skip-and-a-jump, literally, from La Encantada @ $1.1. The 3rd is a relisting of a Mike Wachs Spanish Colonial in La Puerta, now at $1,650,000, down from $1,750,000, down from $1,995,000.

Hot off the press > 12 new listings

But, disappointingly, just 2 contracts, at $425,000 and $550,000

And 7 homes sold today, but they were limited to $300,000 to $670,000

The number of homes for sale at the upper-end is growing, just a couple weeks ago at $1.0+ there were 76 for sale, today there are 86. And during that time just 2 have gone to contract.
More to choose from and more pressure on prices, it’s awfully good for buyers.

And that’s pretty much it.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

very few contracts last week, 9/16–9/22

From Monday September 16th through Sunday September 22nd  13 single family homes went to contract in the Tucson Foothills – a tie with the week of 8/5 – 8/11 for the fewest weekly contracts this year.

11 were priced from $260,000 to $560,000
and 1 each at $925,000 & $969,000
and that’s it!

The numbers for the previous week are HERE

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

two more at $1mil+, listings that is

First up is 3780 E Sumo Quinto, listed at $1,395,000 ($250/sf), for a 1997, 5571sf including guest house, 1 story (everything is in Cat 10) masonry constructed La Quinta. And 1st time on the market for Sumo Quinto, it was custom built for the current owners. La Quinta has been building superior quality homes in the Foothills and elsewhere in the Tucson area since 1968.  La Quinta, they’re the real deal. 3780 E Sumo Quinto  Tucson, AZ 85718 (listed by Russ Lyon Sotheby's Int Realty)

And maybe this La Quinta is just the thing to break Cat 10’s rather limp track record this year.

8 for sale from $875,000 to $1,895,000    avg/median list - $1,336,250/$1,312,500
0 in contract
4 sold since Jan 1, and all at the lower to mid end for Cat 10, from $386,000, to $870,000    avg/median sold -  $646,500/$665,000

And in Skyline Country Club, 6610 N St. Andrews Drive, newer construction that replaced a 1964 built house, either thru extreme renovation or a tear-down, listed at $1,495,000 ($213/sf), for a 2004 built, 7029sf, also with guest house, 1 story, frame stucco. Builder not specified.
6610 N St. Andrews Drive Tucson, AZ 85718 (listed by Russ Lyon Sotheby's Int Realty)

What’s curious is that the original 1964 house sold in 1998 for $330,000. Then in August 2002, a house at this same address showing a 2001 build date, was listed for $2,200,000, and did not sell. And to add to the confusion the Pima County tax assessor shows it as built in 1993(which I’m betting is way off). Who’s to say.

In any case, while Skyline CC is doing better than Cat 10 in the number of sales, they’re experiencing a similar gap between the price of homes listed for sale vs. homes sold. 

11 for sale from $560,000 to $3,495,000   avg/med list - $1,804,364/$1,300,000
1 in contract at $695,000
11 sold from $310,000 to $950,000   avg/med sold - $578,091/$575,000

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

spec homes just ain’t what they used to be

And thank goodness for that. Looking over the current crop of specs, though, with just 8 for sale, it is a small crop - a few years ago Pima Cyn alone often had 8 to 12 specs - today’s specs are much more modest (cheaper too) and better located than many of the specs built during the carefree ra-ra days. Back then builders thought nothing of squeezing a spec in here and there along the side of a busy road – (road kill) eventually though, after selling for pennies on the $$ and with many thru foreclosure, they learned that buyers weren’t clamoring to live by the side of the road.

The 8 for sale range from $899,000, which was listed just today, to $3,450,000, the granddaddy of the group listed 4 years ago and still going strong. But from $3,450,000 it drops steeply to $1,495,000, so a tightly packed group of 7 from $899 to $1,495. And not one is by the side of a busy road.

8 specs for sale

for perspective, here’s a post on the spec home scene in 2009  the last of the spec homes and 09 was just the tip of the iceberg for spec homes. And I like this one > if it’s cheap and by the side of the road, is it a bargain, < because it kills 2 birds with 1 stone, the spec scene and the mania to build by the side of the road.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

another big deal in Finisterra

5900 E Finisterra Drive, a new spec home, was listed in early January at $1,895,000 and today is reported in contract, still at $1,895,000 ($349/sf).

This is the 4th big deal in Finisterra this year, the others sold at $1,400,000, $1,480,000 and $1,625,000 – leaving just two for sale at $1.0+. 

5900 E Finisterra Drive Tucson, AZ 85750
(listed by Tierra Antigua Realty)

distress sales continue to dwindle in the Tucson Foothills

Currently there are 334 single family homes for sale and just 4.5% are distress sales (foreclosures & short sales).
At this time last year - 353 homes for sale and 10% were distress sales.

And;
there are 102 homes in contract and 15.7% are distress sales.
this time last year - 106 homes in contract and 35% were distress sales.

64 homes sold in the last 30 days and 9.4% were distress sales.
same period last year - 65 homes sold and 18% were distress sales.

Here’s a link to the 15 for sale, 16 in contract and 6 sold and  to Last year’s distress sale report - from there you can click to the report for September 2011, when foreclosures and short sales were all the rage.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

 

for just a teensy bit more

1281 E Paseo Del Zorro sold in July for $409,000 in 22 days, and was listed one month later (who knows why??) for $425,000 and went to contract in 1 day and sold today for $425,000. (listed by Long Realty). Pretty nifty to get out of it so quickly and cleanly.

Same house, same yard, same views, same everything, except the price. But it’s in Shadow Hills where the supply is low and the demand is high. Even Now.

6 homes for sale, 4 in contract and 16 sold in the last 6 months = a 2.25 month supply

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

sometimes prices just don’t add up

In Skyline CC 4904 E Oakmont Drive sold today for $800,000 ($192/sf), which wouldn’t raise an eyebrow except for the fact that it sold for $750,000 in 1993. What’s with that – 20 years and a 6% return.  And it’s not like the house was trashed or horrendously drecorated. It’s dated but otherwise in spiffy condition, and on a terrific lot in Skyline CC.

And the sellers tried for more, probably too much more though, in January 2008 they listed it for $1,695,000, then dropped it to $1,449,000 and rode that out for about 15 months, but no takers and they called it quits.

And it’s interesting that when they finally did bring it back on the market this April they dropped it all the way down to $949,000, but still no takers, not until it dropped to $839,000. Go figure!

4904 E Oakmont Drive Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

Campbell Cliffs is back

It expired in early July at $9,990,000 with 6.6 acres and is back today at $13,900,000 with the full 20 acres – which includes an additional 4 parcels of approximately 3.3 acres each.

That’s 25,000sf of house on 20 acres, with the Coronado National Forest in your backyard, yet a hop, skip and a jump to dining, shopping and whatnot.

see the web site > CampbellCliffs.com

and the listing > 7474 N Catalina Ridge Drive Tucson, AZ 85718 (listed by Long Realty)

And please call me to see the house if you’re a qualified buyer.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

a quick flip

Someone who knew what they were doing bought 6276 E Placita Lozana, in Cimarron,  this April for $275,000 when it looked like this:

and this;

 

and they remodeled it to look like this:

And this;

and this;

and put it back on the market in late July for $495,000 and went to contract 21 days later and it sold today for $460,000. So less than 4 months from the April close to the July listing, with a pretty big remodel in between. That’s impressive.

You really have to know what you’re doing to not get burned and make money with something like this. You not only have to buy the right house at the right price, but you have know what it’ll take – money & time – to do the remodel and come out at the other end with a profit that’s worth your while.

6276 E Placita Lozana  Tucson, AZ 85750
(Listed by Long Realty)

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

what a difference a day makes

Yesterday, the WSJ.com reported that;

After a yearlong rally, the U.S. housing market is showing signs of cooling …

While few economists and industry watchers believe the housing recovery will stall, there is growing evidence that the exuberance that prompted bidding wars and led to double-digit price gains is easing.

"It's clear there will be some moderation in demand," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

And I reported what they reported,  well that didn’t last very long

But today things sound a lot rosier;
From WSJ.today 
Home Sales Hit Highest Level Since 2007 

Sales of previously owned homes rose unexpectedly in August to the highest level since 2007 as potential buyers rushed to lock in deals before mortgage rates increased further.

But the industry's trade group warned that home sales could slow in the coming months due to higher borrowing costs and prices.

Well, I guess anything could happen, we’ll have to wait and see. But, unfortunately,  the August figures for the Catalina Foothills still hold.
August Homes Sales & Sold Prices plunged in the Tucson Foothills

Tip – if the link to the WSJ article takes you to a WSJ Subscription page, just Google the title of the article in Google News and you should get a working link to the full article

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

the latest scam

Scam Alert   Pima County Sheriff's Department

Forwarded from a vigilant member of the Catalina Foothills Estates Association

Sheriff’s detectives would like to raise the awareness of the community of an on-going scam. Citizens have reported they have received a phone call from a person claiming to be law enforcement, who told them they had an outstanding warrant. The phone number shows up on the caller ID as a valid Sheriff’s Department number. The caller directed the citizen to purchase a pre-paid credit card to pay for the warrant and was provided a number to return the call. Once the citizen called back, the person who pretended to be associated with law enforcement asked for the card number for immediate payment. Thankfully, the citizens who have reported these incidents to the Sheriff’s Department became suspicious and refused to give the card number. They successfully avoided becoming a victim of Caller ID spoofing.

Caller ID spoofing is a service that allows a caller to masquerade as someone else by falsifying the number that appears on the recipient's caller ID display. Your caller ID will show you have a call from law enforcement or a financial institution when in fact it’s from a scammer. Identity thieves use Caller ID spoofing to get sensitive information such as, your date of birth and Social Security number. Just because the caller ID on your phone shows a call from a bank or law enforcement, don’t be in a rush to give out personal information.

Here are a few tips to prevent you from becoming a victim:

Do not give out personal information to an incoming caller

Contact your financial institution to see if they were trying to contact you

Contact the law enforcement agency to see if you actually have a warrant

Law enforcement agencies will not have you send payments or purchase prepaid credit cards to satisfy fines

                         Report suspicious calls to law enforcement

well that didn’t last very long

At WSJ.com NICK TIMIRAOS and CONOR DOUGHERTY report
Home-Sales Frenzy Eases

After a yearlong rally, the U.S. housing market is showing signs of cooling as higher prices and interest rates, a slowdown in investor purchases and shortages of homes for sale weigh on one of the economy's brightest sectors.

While few economists and industry watchers believe the housing recovery will stall, there is growing evidence that the exuberance that prompted bidding wars and led to double-digit price gains is easing.

"It's clear there will be some moderation in demand," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. He noted that the use of electronic "lockboxes" used by listing agents, an indicator of foot traffic at homes on the market, showed a "measurable decline" during August.

"The market is having a bit of a hangover. We partied pretty hard, and you can't go on partying like that all the time," said Greg Markov, a real-estate agent with HomeSmart International in Phoenix.

Some agents say the biggest problem in the market is "seller greed"—that is, sellers pricing their homes too high, said Jim Klinge, a real-estate agent in Carlsbad, Calif. Faced with rising rates, buyers aren't going for higher prices. "They don't realize our 12- to 18-month full-tilt boogie is over," he said.

While higher rates and prices are knocking marginal buyers out of the market, others, like Ghalib and Nancy Wahidi, will remain in the market but look for a less expensive house. The Wahidis' original price range topped out at $1.2 million, but they reduced it after rates went up, said Dr. Wahidi, a 38-year-old physician. They are set to close this week on a four-bedroom $1.03 million home in Ladera Ranch, Calif., around 4% below its original list price.

Read all about it; Home-Sales Frenzy Eases

Tip – if the link to the article takes you to a Subscription page from WSJ, just Google the title in Google News and you should get a link to the full article.

_____________________________________________________________________________

And while we haven’t experienced the wildly escalating prices – sold prices that is, list prices are another matter -  that have been reported by the national media, we have seen some uptick in sold prices along with a healthy boost in sales. That is until recently. With the August report we saw that sales and sold prices dropped steeply here in the Tucson Foothills. And there were fewer contracts in August, which will mean fewer sales in September.

August Homes Sales & Sold Prices plunged in the Tucson Foothills

more supply amidst less demand

what’s the score

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

in contract last week, 9/9–9/15

From Monday September 9th through Sunday September 15th 18 single family homes went to contract in the Tucson Foothills.

14 are priced from $234,900 to $598,000
1 each at $649,900 & $699,000
1 each at $1,195,000 & $1,299,000

Not a bad week, especially with the lower upper-end making a showing.

The numbers for the previous week are HERE

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

they just keep coming

Now that Labor Day has come and gone and we enter our pre-season for fall sales we’re seeing more upper-end listings making their debut.

Three more today,

4615 N Via De La Granja in Cat 10, $1,275,000 - 6100sf, 1994 built. (listed by Long Realty) And first time for sale and a one owner home. 

As I mentioned in the post below, sales haven’t been especially good this year in Cat 10, so you’d think ‘who needs more inventory’, but a new home on the market might be just the thing and has a better chance of finding an interested buyer than those that have been sitting around for months.

Next
6428 N Desert Wind Circle in Ventana CC, $1,295,000 - 5023sf, 1996 built (listed by Long Realty) It also appears to be a one owner home, but not its first time on the market. Nope, it’s been around before (not since 2009 though) but did not sell.

And the 9,270sf French Normandy in Skyline CC that sold in July 2011 for $1,650,000,
this one,

 

is once again available, now for $2,950,000, and all spiffed up and promising; Stunningly remodeled French Normandy Estate on 4.3 acres bordering the Coronado National Forest …

If you’re looking for a French Normandy I can say with absolute confidence that this is the only French Normandy I’ve ever seen in the Foothills,
7049 N Mission Hill Lane (listed by Long Realty) 

the listings -  Three more today,

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

same time as last year, and the year before

Last September I did a post > same time last year < that looked at the homes for sale and sold (in the last 6 months) in some of our more popular gated communities.

So before September slips away let’s have a look at how those same communities are doing this year.
Going from east to west across the foothills;

Ventana CC
21 for sale – $329,000 to $5,595,000 @ $1,441,086/$1,095,00  (average/median list $$)
13 sold – $378,000 to $1,375,000  @ $727,231/$750,000   (average/median sold $$)
MOI = 9.7 (months of inventory) while the MOI is on the high side the gap between the price of the homes listed and those sold is even less encouraging.

Sabino Mountain
6 for sale – $299,500 to $994,500 @ $678,667/$717,000
10 sold – $305,000 to $1,374,000 @ $634,790/$566,450
MOI = 3.6
This year Sabino Mtn did a dramatic turnaround from its rather bleak sales of recent years.

Skyline CC
10 for sale – $575,000 to $3,495,000 @ $1,703,250/$1,299,500
7 sold – $430,000 to $950,000 @ $598,857/$575,000
MOI = 8.6, but, the stark imbalance between the price of homes listed and those sold does not suggest that 8.6 MOI is really where it’s at. Oddly enough Skyline did better in 2011 than last year or this year.

La Paloma
15 for sale – $260,000 to $1,295,000 @ $548,693/$487,500
24 sold – $195,000 to $1,750,000 @ $481,267/$430,000
MOI = 3.7
La P, a 4 star performance, though La P was also selling like crazy at this time last year.

Catalina Foothills Estates 10
6 for sale – $875,000 to $1,895,000 @ $1,336,667/$1,275,000
3 sold – $386,000 to $870,000 @ $685,333/$800,000 YIKES!!!
MOI = 12
No matter how you look at it it’s been a very lean year for Cat 10 – low sales and low priced  sales relative to the mega $$$$ homes for sale + high MOI.

Hacienda del Sol Estates
3 for sale – $859,000 to $1,350,000 @ $1,103,000/$1,100,000
1 sold – $875,000 @ $875,000/$875,000
MOI = 18, did well last year, not so much this year.

the Canyons
5 for sale – $2,495,000 to $7,900,000 @ $4,317,000/$3,500,000
0 sold –
MOI = ? there’s always next year.

Cobblestone
4 for sale – $750,000 to $1,295,000 @ $1,028,750/$1,035,000
4 sold – $670,000 to $1,100,000 @ $827,500/$770,000
MOI = a tidy 6 months
This is a huge improvement from where Cobblestone was at this time last year. Huge.

Sin Vacas
5 for sale – $549,900 to $1,090,000 @ $736,580/$679,000
3 sold – $546,000 to $715,000 @ $612,000/$575,000
MOI = 10
Not terrible but Sin Vacas has slipped from its stellar performance of last year.

Pima Canyon
7 for sale – $995,000 to $2,695,000 @ $1,620,557/$1,499,000
10 sold – $690,000 to $2,500,000 @ $1,080,000/$975,000
MOI – 4.2 
PC, while still doing very well, and because it is, has seen its upper-end listings go ever higher, (a victim of its own success) contributing to the price gap between those for sale and sold. Nevertheless, as I mentioned the other day > is the upper-end market finally waking up < it continues to outsell every other luxe community in the foothills - and I have no doubt that it will continue to do so.

So, a mixed bag, some communities are up from last year and others are down, but, obviously, more are down than up.

The report for September 2012 is here >  same time last year < and from there you can click to the rather dreary report for September 2011. It’s a September thing, enjoy it.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

Colonial Mexico in the heart of the Old Foothills

A very special 2002 built Mud adobe, 5147sf, including 1000sf guest house, on 2.8 acres, $1,699,000.

 

Were he alive today, I think even Joesler would admire this home.
See more here > 4511 N Camino Del Rey Tucson, AZ 85718 (listed by Long Realty)

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

is the upper-end market finally waking up

We went thru a long dry spell on contracts for upper-end homes in the Tucson Foothills – 56 days and nothing. From July 1st to August 25th not one home listed at $1,000,000+ went to contract. Then on August 26th a house listed at $2.2 went to contract and on that same day another, in Pima Canyon, also went to contract.

Then on 9/11 Gated Ridge Rd, listed at $1,299,000, went to contract and now 7582 N Mystic Canyon Drive in Pima Cyn, listed by Long Realty at $1,195,000 is reported in contract.

So maybe, hopefully, it is. Notice too, though, that 2 of the 4 recent contracts are in Pima Canyon – which, hands down, continues to outsell all of the other luxe communities in the foothills.

Of the 25 homes sold at $1,000,000+ this year 8 were in PC, 3 in Finisterra, 3 in Cobblestone, 2 in Hacienda del Sol, 1 in Canyon Ranch, 1 in La Paloma, 1 in La Puerta, 1 in Ventana Canyon Mountain Estates, 1 in Sabino Mountain, 1 in Las Vistas Encantada, 1 in unsubdivided area, 1 in Catalina Foothills Estates 2, 1 in Alta Vista.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

like peas in a pod

7391 N Finger Rock Place is back in the game. It showed up today listed at $2,495,0000 (396/sf), and moments later 7557 N Secret Canyon Drive also showed up listed at $3,500,000 ($668/sf). And both were for sale for quite some time prior to today’s listing - Secret Canyon started in late 2010 at $5,500,000 and Finger Rock in early 2011 at $2,995,000 - and both called it quits within days of each other this summer.

Since mid 2008 sales in the Canyons have been disappointing for sellers but an opportunity for patient buyers. In 2008 there were two sales - at $2.1 ($512/sf) and $2.6 ($490/sf) - the way it was. Since then there’ve been just four sales (in 5 years) and all four sold at steeply reduced prices and at $$/sf prices previously unheard of in the Canyons.
  
Sold;
$1,400,000 ($252/sf) – started at $3,250,000 ($585/sf)
$1,850,000 ($267/sf) – started at $5,000,000 ($722/sf)
$2,150,000 ($345/sf) – started at $3,800,000 ($610/sf)
$2,050,000 ($283/sf) – started at $4,500,000 ($622/sf)

7391 N Finger Rock Place Tucson, AZ 85718 & 7557 N Secret Canyon Drive Tucson, AZ 85718
(both listed by Russ Lyon Sotheby's Int Realty)

That makes five for sale in the Canyons, from $2,495,000 to $7,900,000 

The lack of sales in the Canyons is not a reflection on the Canyons per se, it’s a reflection of the upper-end market here which has yet to recover from the bust. And the Canyons, with some of the priciest real estate in the foothills, is carrying the heaviest load and is therefore the slowest to recover.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

a rare and nicely updated Foothills charmer

5415 N Soledad Segunda, listed at $525,000, goes to contract in 21 days.

Houses like this just don’t come along very often

It last sold in 2009 for $400,000 and looked like this- the only interior pictures from then

Who knows what the contract price is but even at list price, I think the buyers did well.

5415 N Soledad Segunda Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

8 new listings today

and 7 are actually new listings. The 1 non-new new listing has been listed for 154 days and was canceled one minute and relisted the next in order to resemble an actual new listing. Whatever, not to pick on that particular listing, it happens every day. It’s just the way it is.
But a more accurate designation for a relisted property might be, well, how about, Relisted, or Relisted Again or  3rd Time’s a Charm, and after all else has failed, Here We Go Again. Something like that would do it.

7 New Listings + 1 Relisted Listing

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

Skyline Bel Air comes roaring back

Another contract in Skyline Bel Air, this one for a house listed at $649,900, caught my eye because $649,900 is a tad on the high-side for SBA. But looking at the recent activity it’s not out of whack.

Since January 1st 18 homes have sold in Skyline Bel Air and they sold for an average of 97.4% of list price in an average of 35 DOM. And the two highest sales, at $607,000 and at $614,000, sold in the last few months. And there are 3 homes in contract and just 3 for sale – which works out to about a 1.5 month supply – so is it any wonder that the market in there is moving up.

The beauty of Skyline Bel Air is the location, location along with a good selection of older homes on lots with very nice moutain/city views at relatively low prices. The bulk of sales are from the mid $200’s to the mid $400’s - many of which are homes in need of renovation/remodeling. But now, with a stronger market, those new owners may find it makes sense to move forward and invest and renovate. And when that happens and those renovated homes sell at yet higher prices the base price in SBA will continue to rise.

In the early days of the boom I thought the homes in SBA were prime candidates for investment and renovation, but the boom went bust before it really got going. And a few of those who did move forward got caught in the squeeze. But this time around buyers are proceeding with much more care and caution and doing so in a market that, while brisk, is nothing like the sky’s the limit mindset of the boom years.

Make that 19 sold, before the ink was dry another sale was reported -
5850 N Hombre Lane Tucson, AZ 85718  for $435,000 (listed by Keller Williams Southern Arizona) Congratulations to those happy (former) owners.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

one lucky seller who wasn’t even listed

5247 N Gate Ridge Road was listed last December for $1,390,000 and five months into it it was reduced to $1,299,000, but to no avail, and the listing was canceled this August, still at
$1,299,000. And you’d think, well, that’s the end of that.

But today it showed up as a new listing, at $1,299,000, and (literally) five minutes later it was changed to under contract. So the deal was made while it was off the market and once a contract was written and it was signed, sealed and delivered, Gate Ridge Rd went back into the MLS.

Lucky, I’d say, what are the chances. In a bustling market maybe, but with just 2 other homes listed at $1million+ in contract since June 30th, and 76 waiting in the wings,

5247 N Gate Ridge Road , Tucson, AZ 85750
(listed by Long Realty)

A slow Wednesday, the only other contract reported today was at $449,000 and it went in 6 days.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

in contract last week, 9/2 – 9/8

From Monday September 2nd through Sunday September 8th 19 single family homes went to contract in the Tucson Foothills, with almost all the action huddled at the lower end.

17 were priced from $145,000 to $589,900
and 1 each at $675,000 and $850,000
and that’s it, a very lopsided market – check out the latest numbers under Market Snapshot and you’ll see what I mean.

The numbers for the previous week are HERE

Meanwhile, 36 homes were listed during that week with 7 of them listed from $1,000,000 to $2,695,000.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

just sold

The Just Sold link on my web site >  TheFoothillsToday.com < is still not working properly so until it is I’ll just post it here. All the other search links are up and running.

UPDATE – it’s now working and showing all Tucson Foothills homes sold in last 30 days.

Click to  > http://thefoothillstoday.com/just-listed-sold-and-reduced/ <

Single Family homes Just Sold in the last 30 days in the Tucson Foothills

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

more supply amidst less demand

Now that summer is officially over we’ve seen a slew of new listings just since Labor Day – 31 so far – 5 of which are at the upper end – from $1,250,000 to $2,695,000, despite the fact that the upper-end has been slower this year than in previous years.

For the period of January 1st thru August 31st fewer homes sold at $1million+ this year than in any of the previous 9 years. And of course that includes the bottom of the barrel years of late 2008 – 2011. 25 have sold so far this year – same period last year saw 34 sales – while at the height of the hilarity (2006) 94 sold.

What with upper-end foreclosures,short sales and spec homes that were going for pennies on the $$, and owners who had either finally given up or just had to get out from under, there were some screamin’ deals to be had in 2009 – 2011, and even a few in 2012. And whether or not they were able to get in on one of those deals I think upper-end buyers got hooked on those cheap-cheap prices and are still waiting for them to show up again.

And time is on their side because many of the upper-end purchases here in the foothills are discretionary purchases – 2nd or 3rd homes - that no one really has to have, but would like to if the right one comes along at the right price.

I also think that upper-end sellers may have equated the general run-up in the Tucson market (at the lower-end) and the brisk sales and rising prices in upper-end markets in CA, NY and elsewhere, with the upper-end market here in the foothills, and failed to realize, or accept, that they are totally different markets.

Summer is officially over and so in the coming months we shall see who is more eager to make a deal, buyers or sellers.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

August Homes Sales & Sold Prices plunged in the Tucson Foothills

A big drop in the number of homes sold

 

and sold prices dropped to their lowest point in the last 20 months.

 

Why? Was it buyer burnout. Did rising interest rates scare buyers away, rather than motivate them to get off the fence. Did higher interest rates force buyers into lower priced homes, or was it the complete lack of any high-end sales that contributed to the lower averages. Or was it just August being August. I don’t know. And of course this follows July when I wrote -
July Home Sales in the Tucson Foothills are through the roof

Here’s a link to the 65 that did sell in August – 58 sold from $167,500 to $590,000 with the remaining 7 going from $607,000 to $998,000. And nothing higher.

Let’s see where this puts us for January thru August, this year vs. last year.

2012 – 584 sales @ $459,825/$369,000 (avg/median sold price)

2013 – 640 sales @ $462,135/$389,950

So YTD sales are up 9.6% and prices are up a miniscule .5% average and 5.7% median.
And we’ve lost a little ground since July when sales were up 14% and prices were up 1% & 6.9% over 2012.

see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home

in contract last week, 8/26 – 9/1

From Monday August 26th through Sunday September 1st 18 single family homes went to contract in the Tucson Foothills.

15 were priced from $185,000 to $530,000
1 at $695,000
and, Ta-DA, 1 each at $1,349,000 and $2,200,000 (previously mentioned HERE)
the first $million+ contracts since June 30th.
a very decent haul for the week leading up to Labor Day weekend

The numbers for the previous week are HERE

I also see there’s been an uptick in new listings since Labor Day, particularly for higher-end homes which have been few and far between recently.  Listed Since 9/2/2013

And you can always click over to my web site> TheFoothillsToday.com <  to see all the new listings for single family homes in the Tucson Foothills.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

a curvaceous beauty in Pima Canyon

7973 N Pima Village Court hit the market today at $2,695,000 ($436/sf), masonry construction, 6,186 sf, built in 06 and last sold in 06 for $3,100,000.

 

 

7973 N Pima Village Court Tucson, AZ 85718
(Listed by Long Realty)

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

cranking up the pr machine, again

Back in the heyday (2005ish), Saguaro Ranch, an ultra-luxe community on Tucson’s Northwest side, was a sure bet for the next big thing. But instead it all came tumbling down in 2011 when SR went to bankruptcy. However, from what I saw, Saguaro Ranch, had it succeeded, would have been a pretty fantastic place. I wrote about it HERE HERE and HERE.
That was SR, Part l.

SR, Part ll
And facing an uncertain future since then, Saguaro Ranch was taken over by Northlight Financial LLC (“Northlight”), a manager of private equity debt and real estate assets.
And Northlight LLC is apparently anxious to make good on their investment as witnessed by the latest PR spin piece, ah, news article, from the respected Fort Mills Times extolling the virtues, real and imagined, of Saguaro Ranch.
Saguaro Ranch Added to the Northlight Financial Resort Property Portfolio

Surrounded by the Tortolita Mountains and nestled within the vibrant town of Marana north of Tucson, Saguaro Ranch is one of few new communities in the area that have enjoyed the rush of second home and retiree buyers that continue to call this area home. This area of Arizona enjoys the best of the Sonoran Desert along with world-class shopping, an international airport, a university, and numerous cultural events within minutes of Saguaro Ranch’s main entry gatehouse. (within minutes, sure, my chopper or yours. If you can make it from SR to world class shopping or the UofA , the Tucson airport, or anything that could reasonably be called a cultural event, within minutes, I’ll eat your Sombrero)

And it goes on - one of few new communities in the area that have enjoyed the rush of second home and retiree buyers,

Oh really,
Let’s see, there was a sale in Feb 2011 for $1,250,000 (from a $1,950,000 list price starting in 2010. And a sale in March 2011 (a foreclosure) for $2,100,000, which started out in Feb 2010 at $5,475,000. Oh, and in 2010, there was a fire sale for $190,000 for 4.5 prime acres with a teardown (uninhabitable)  house on it. And that’s it.

Currently there’s just one home for sale and it’s owned by the Sally Gerber Phinny living trust, the beneficiaries of whom are likely to be the Phinny’s (of Gerber Baby Food fame) whose brainchild was Saguaro Ranch. While others are rushing in, they’re bailing out.

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

a popular Sunday open house stop

5372 N Via Alcalde, listed in February for $749,000, went to contract today listed at $675,000 (it sold in 05 for $701,000).
I showed it just the other day and wondered why it hadn’t sold yet, I couldn’t imagine.
And now it’s on its way.

5372 N Via Alcalde Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

in contract two weeks ago, 8/19 – 8/25

better late than never 
From Monday August 19th through Sunday August 25th 15 single family homes went to contract in the Tucson Foothills.

all 15 were priced in the lower rung, from $250,000 to $535,000
and that’s it!

The numbers for the previous week are HERE

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Catalina Foothills home

when you’re the only game in town

If Villages Two & Four At Villages Of La Paloma is your dream location, you’re in luck, there is a home for sale. But there’s just this one - 6210 N Via Paloma Rosa was listed today for 639,000 ($317/sf).

Which, based on the comps, well, judge for yourself - three sales in there this year and they went for $375,000, $419,000 & $440,000, or $169/sf, $199/sf and $202/sf. And all of them are within 200 sf of 6210 and all were built within a year of each other and all were built by AF Sterling.

And not unexpectedly, Zillow pegs it at $443,916 ($221/sf)

6210 N Via Paloma Rosa Tucson, AZ 85718
(listed by Long Realty)

see thefoothillsToday.com
to find your Tucson Foothills home