June 24, 2007 by Donna Anderson.

The Foothills market is definitely one that is trying to stablilize. I find that in the primary Foothills zip codes of 85750 and 85718, that once the house is priced aggressively, it sells quickly and sometimes with more than one interested buyer making an offer. The key is to price the house 5% below the peak which occurred in March of 2006. Recently it has been locally estimated that Tucson has appreciated about 4% over last year.  I have not found this to be the case anywhere in Tucson and have found the Foothills has held its own better than Oro Valley, Vail, Marana and the rest of Tucson. Statistics can be less than totally reliable. If you look at local statistics for average days on the market it is always lower than is the case. This is because excellent agents relist their houses at a minimum of every 60 days and then the clock starts ticking again.  It certainly is reasonable to expect a Foothills home to take three or four months to sell when the price is right. There still is not an over-abundance of supply in most Foothills neighborhoods, however, there are some neighborhoods, such as Sabino Mountain, which has an abundance of two-story homes that are priced around the 500K range. It is best for Sellers of two-story homes priced around half a million to wait to list their homes later when inventory decreases. On the flip side, it is a buyers’ dream to purchase a two-story home in Sabino Mountain where you can get a great deal now and there is a lot to choose from. Sabino Mountain is a one-of-a-kind neighborhood located near Sabino Canyon sited on multiple mountain ridges with houses priced from $390,000 and up and is represented by such quality builders as Pepper-Viner and Monterey and semi-custom homes by Outpost and many custom builders.This new development started in 2001 and the last custom home sites are being built upon at the present time. There are many homes there that have Catalina, Santa Rita and Rincon mountain views, along with pristine and vast desert views and  sparkling city night skyscapes. Sabino Mountain is gated and has its own community pool and club house. To find out more information about the Tucson Foothills, please do not hesitate to contact me at 520-615-2598.

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June 5, 2007 by Donna Anderson.

Many of my clients have asked me to talk about what I think of the present day real estate climate.  I have hesitated to write because I find it perplexing. Although I do not find an abundance of homes on the market in the prime Foothills zip codes of 85750 and 85718, it is clearly a buyers’ market.  As a listing agent, I have found the quality of the people who visit my listings is not as good as it has been in the past few years: many do not have their homes on the market yet, or have not made the decision whether or not to call Tucson their home. The forecasts have been for prices to drop approximately 5% in 2007, but I find the 5% drop has already occurred. Time will tell if there is a further drop. The houses that are selling are the ones that are the very best in their price range and are priced aggressively.  Another factor that has hurt the market is the rising interest rates which hover close to 7%.  The good news for the Foothills zip codes is that many that work at major employers at Raytheon and U of A are ruling Oro Valley out since the commute is so long with all the I-10 interstate work going on.  Oro Valley is gorgeous and is priced lower and has been a major competitor to zip codes 85718 and 85750. June and July are the major sale months for two-story homes since they attract more families with school -age children.  One-story homes are attractive to both families and empty -nesters or second home purchasers; the months for selling for one -stories include the Winter months. I will try to keep my readers posted on our market and will continue to give you my straight-forward assessment.

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